Officials say water in City of Lone Star is safe

By Marlene J. Bohr
mbohr@steelcountrybee.com

The city of Lone Star reported a water leak on Feb. 28, which caused a few people to be without water for a couple hours before the leak was fixed, according to Mayor C.E. “Nick” Nichols.
“The water in the city of Lone Star is very safe and the wastewater (sewer) treatment plant is working just fine,” Mayor Nichols said. “The treatment plant is in total compliance with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), although rumors to the contrary have been circulating recently.
“The city did have to issue a ‘boil notice’ in mid-January because the city ran out of water while they were having the water tower inspected, refurbished, and painted. Both the interior and exterior of the tank were done with paint specifically approved for that purpose.”
Any time the water is off to the entire city, TCEQ requires that the water be boiled until it can be tested. 
“The city of Lone Star got the water back on the same day it went off and had it tested the next day by an independent laboratory,” Mayor Nichols said. “The tests came back good, and the city notified its citizens by going door-to-door that it was no longer necessary to boil the water.
“Each month, the city sends samples of both the water and treated wastewater to be tested and the tests have shown both to be safe.”
Although some sections of town do have water that looks “red,” Mayor Nichols emphasized that “the water the city purchases already treated from the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District is safe.”
“As to the wastewater treatment plant, the plant meets all the requirements of TCEQ,” Mayor Nichols said. “There is nothing wrong with the sewer treatment plant.  Just like every other town, Lone Star’s sewer plant is inspected every two years. 
“The city has been replacing some of the rotors at the plant, but this did not impact the operation of the plant. It was just more of an upgrade.”
Lisa Fisher, environmental investigator at TCEQ, said there have been no issues with the wastewater treatment plant in Lone Star.
“I have not had any issues with the wastewater treatment plant in Lone Star,” Ms. Fisher said. “There were no violations from the last inspection reports.”