Nearly-complete chem building covers city’s fine from TCEQ

The City of Gladewater is getting retroactive credit from TCEQ following construction of a $400,000 chemical treatment building at the Water Treatment Plant.
Part of an approved Supplementary Environmental Project, it covers a $24,500 net penalty the municipality received for various violations from 2023 and early ’24.
The project is still underway. Construction on the building began in June 2024; it’s finished, but the plumbing is in progress, according to Gladewater City Manager Charlie Smith. The pipes will transport chemicals from the new structure to the adjacent water plant for treatment.
“We still lack a little bit… They’ve got it designed now, and we’re at the point they’re going to start bidding that project,” Smith said. Once everything’s finished on the SEP, the fine’s off the books without any additional expenditure beyond what was previously committed: “We’re going to be good with that because there’s so much that went on.”
Per TCEQ’s enforcement action and subsequent order, there’s some specific reporting ahead to get everything square on the SEP while simultaneously ensuring the same violations don’t occur again.
According to the state, the municipality missed some requisite reports in 2023 and was late on others. The city also “Failed to comply with permitted effluent limitations” according to an investigator’s review in 2024 – the pH balance in “discharge” water was out of bounds that January.
“Some of the readings were still off,” Smith said, “so they decided to go ahead and move forward with the fines.”
Regarding backwash in the water system’s ‘ponds,’ Public Works personnel have since cleaned the pass-through wastewater collectors. Meanwhile, Water Plant Supervisor Wendy Emmel is implementing plans for regular cleaning, disposal and additional chemical treatment.
“TCEQ is very particular about where you take that stuff and test it before you take it to the landfill,” Smith confirmed.
The estimated cost schedule for the chemical building and chemical feed system is $396,240, per TCEQ’s paperwork.
Other mitigation projects are in the works as well to clear up other fines – Gladewater’s working to cover past violations with SEPs while focusing on keeping current operations clean and kosher.
“We’ve got some good plans down there,” Smith said, aiming to upgrade the intake building in the future as soon as budget allows: “We’re going to replace it and some of the equipment down there just to help make our plant run more efficiently.
“We’re talking with SPI. They’re working on it right now, upgrades at the water plant that will probably be part of our next Fiscal Year.”