Sardis-Lone Elm Water Supply
QUESTION:  Why is the water so warm especially in the summer time?

Answer:  Our main water supply is the Trinity Aquifer and the wells have an average depth of 2,700 feet.  The water is warm because of the heat that is naturally produced by the earth at this depth.  We pump water from the wells into storage tanks that sit on top of the ground where the water is stored until the elevated storage tanks (towers) need replenishing.  When this need occurs, pumps will transfer the water from the ground tanks into the elevated tanks and the distribution system.  During off-peak conditions (November-April), the water will sit in the ground tank long enough for it to cool; however, in the summer months, the time that the water sits in the ground tank is dramatically shortened so that cooling does not take place.
QUESTION: Is anything being done to cool the water?
Answer: Most definitely!!! We have drilled new wells into a different aquifer that will deliver water on average 26 degrees cooler than the Trinity aquifer.  The depth of this water is around 850 feet but the production is only 1/3'rd that of the Trinity.  If both wells are run at each station for equal periods of time the average cooling is around 10 degrees.  This method in itself is an improvement but we have taken it a step further.  Not only have we added a shallower well at four of our six existing pump stations, we have also added a surface water connection at our Bob White Pump Station.  This will dramatically lower the temperature of the water at this station while making it our location with the greatest amount of supply.   It will also help the entire system by allowing us to pump the Trinity wells less and allow for longer periods of cooling.  The connection and pipeline to the station on Bobwhite Road is complete and additional pumps will be installed in March of 2010 that will help to deliver the added supply of water.  Since 2007, Sardis has spent over $1.2 million to add cooler water supplies to the system.
QUESTION: Will the surface water taste and feel different.
Answer:  Yes.  The well water that you are accustom to is extremely "soft" in nature.  The surface water that we will receive from the Rockett Special Utility District is "hard" and will have a very different taste.  The entire water system will be affected by the additional supply regardless of whether or not that actual water reaches each tap.  By utilizing this supply and operating our Trinity wells less, the water leaving our Bobwhite Road plant will reach further into the system but it will not actually reach every tap system wide before being consumed.