Clarification of 11/30 council report

We at The Record have been asked to clarify a portion of our report in last week’s paper about the most recent town council meeting. We had reported that recent test results at the local water treatment plant had caused some concern to public works director Rod Webster and Mayor Lois Hubbard. Both wished to reassure Odessa citizens that the tests performed at the treatment plant had nothing to do with the water coming out of residents’ taps. In fact, recently completed tests of the well water had produced very good results, with no sign of contaminants.

The tests that caused concern, on the other hand, were performed on wastewater at the sewage treatment plant and had to do with the ratio of solids to liquids. Increasing the removal rate of solids to three times per week was expected to quickly alleviate those concerns, and that is what Webster and his town crew have begun doing.

Further clarification was also suggested regarding plans for roadway reconstruction to be paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) due to the harsh weather conditions last winter that resulted in numerous potholes. In consultation with its engineering firm, the town council had decided that streets in which water mains were located and which were at the same time candidates for reconstruction to eliminate potholes would have new water mains installed to replace piping that was in places very old and/or in very poor condition. This does not mean that Odessa’s entire water system is being replaced – only those portions under streets that are scheduled now for reconstruction through FEMA funding.