Waste Water

MISSION STATEMENT

To see that the operation and maintenance of wastewater facilities, the use of materials, management practices, construction, and all record-keeping and reporting are economically and ethically sound and in the public best interest. To conduct a sewer system evaluation, identifying excessive infiltration and inflow points of entry into the sanitary sewer system and implement a timely construction improvement plan to mitigate infiltration and inflow into the collection system.

Maintenance & Repairs

Monday-Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Call 254.953.5649
After Hours Emergency Call 254.702.4893

As a result of growth of the City, wastewater treatment is up 40% over the past five (5) years. The City's sewer plant is capable of treating three (3) million gallons per day. We currently treat approximately 2.0 million gallons per day, which reflects 66% of the plants' capacity. At 90% we will be required to expand the plant to handle our future flows. The plant can be expanded to 6 million gallons per day.

Waste Water Collection

The City's approach to wastewater collection problems has been on a reactive basis. It is the City's intention to become proactive in facing sewer problems. The City purchase a vacuum and cleaning truck in recent years to clean out plugged manholes as well as to clean sewer collection lines. This has helped to maintain the sewer lines as well as to reduce the amount of sewer overflows. Sewer lines that were installed before the 1970s are usually clay, and the manholes are made of brick. Clay lines usually consist of 5' lengths and are difficult to seal. They are very brittle and have a tendency to crack when the ground shifts. Brick manholes are prone to deterioration because of hydrogen sulfide and methane gas. The mortar between the bricks usually crumbles, creating voids between the brick and allowing the inflow of water

Elevation differences within the City increase sewer costs to develop certain areas. This creates the need for more lift stations and force mains. The Stillhouse Hollow Lake area, for instance, does not have sewer, and it cannot easily be served by a centralized collection system due to the topography of the area. Development for this area would require eight (8) lift stations, 43,370 linear feet of gravity lines, and an additional 10,278 linear feet of force main. The total cost of such a project would exceed $1,750,000.

The City received a CDBG grant to replace the sewer main from the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) down to Indian Oaks. This project was completed on June 7, 2002.

In February, 1998, the City completed a Wastewater Master Plan identifying the needs of the wastewater system. The plan makes recommendations needed to satisfy these needs.

Septic Tanks

The Bell County Health Department manages (keeps records, inspects, authorizes) all septic systems for the City of Harker Heights. You can contact them by calling 254/526-3197, or by going to 309 N. 2nd, Killeen, Texas. A good source of information on septic systems is the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality website at
http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/compliance/compliance_support/regulatory/ossf/ossfmaintenance.html

Objectives

  • To provide wastewater collection and adequate sanitary service to the citizens of the City of Harker Heights.
  • To operate treatment facility systems that are economically and ethically sound.
  • Develop a course of action that will result in an effective rehabilitation of the sewer system.
  • Reduce excessive infiltration and inflow points into the sewer system.
  • Reduce the number of sewer stoppages.
  • Develop a reporting system to monitor our progress.
  • To find an efficient way to use water (treated effluent from WWTP for irrigation purposes).

Means to Achieve Our Objectives

  • Perform a physical inventory of the sewer system. This will consist of physically and visually observing the conditions of the sewer system.
  • Manholes will be numbered and inspected for distances apart, cracks, sealings, seepage, integrity, and depth.
  • Visual inspections will be performed on each property.
  • TV survey will be used to help identify the conditions of sewer lines.
  • Smoke testing will be used where video taping is hard to complete. It will show us where leaks occur in the system.
  • On some lines it will be necessary to measure flow under normal dry conditions. When rain has occurred, the abnormal flow needs to be detected to determine how much infiltration is occurring in different sections of the collection system.
  • Develop internal sewer infrastructure south of FM 2410.
  • Start feasibility upgrade on Wastewater Treatment Plant.
  • Develop a plan for the reuse of gray water.
  • Prioritize improvements in the Capital Improvements Program.