.gif)
COLUMBUS — The Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham delivered good news to city officials as well as a few checks for a total of $16 million in regional mitigation program grants for various water related projects around the town and the county.
Commissioner Buckingham along with State Senator Joan Huffman combined to provide the efforts that led to the grant award for Columbus. Both were in attendance to deliver the checks to the city as they have publicly stated their goals to improve the lives of residents at a local level.
“There is nothing more important than the quality of our water,” Commissioner Buckingham said, “It is the single most valuable resource in our state.”
The checks will be for several different improvements and initiatives around the city regarding water supply and drainage quality. According to Mayor Lori An Gobert, the grants awarded to Columbus will be vital contributions to easing some of the damage done by heavy rains in homes built on flood plain areas.
The funds will be used to help improve the drainage system from rainwater to limit how much standing water rises into homes and onto roads.
“We have a couple of areas where I say if we all cried too hard it would flood, let alone a good, hard rain,” Mayor Gobert said, “it will be game changing for those people who don’t have to change out their flooring every time they get a good rain.”
The General Land Office presented their checks to the mayor and members of city council at City Hall on April 2. Each city and county official present expressed their gratitude for the generous grant that will help them solve an issue that may not have had a solution without some outside assistance.
Every household in Columbus is treated by the lone wastewater treatment plant in town. This applies a lot of pressure to the plant as any potential shutdown could be catastrophic. The new proposed plant will help relieve some of the pressure and provide safe water back into the environment.
“Without the leadership of Senator Huffman and Commissioner Buckingham getting this job done for us, I frankly don’t know what we would’ve done in our community to raise that amount of money,” Colorado County Judge Ty Prause said, “We’re indebted to them, we appreciate all of their efforts.”
The grants will go a long way to improving the water quality not just in Columbus, but also the water that flows back into the Colorado River and to the rest of the state.
