With a severe drought hitting the southwestern United States, many towns are forced to rethink the way they use available water. Mineral Wells, Tex., was planning on keeping their public pools closed this summer in an effort to conserve water.
However, those plans changed after the city received $25,000 from an anonymous donor in order to drill a well and install fencing and electrical work that will keep both of its city pools operable.
According to city manager Lance Howerton, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality gave the city approval to use well water as long as the water meets specific quality standards, and Howerton assured the city council that the water will be up to those standards.
The city estimates that the project will cost approximately $21,000. The elements of the project include drilling the well, building a concrete slab and fencing, and creating electrical and plumbing connections to get the water from the well to the pools.
Howerton encouraged the council to approve the project on the condition that the city will first receive the $25,000 before any work begins, and the council gave the project a go-ahead with a 5-0 vote.
City officials were originally concerned about how the possible closures of the pools would affect the regular swimmers, swim teams, water aerobics users, and other pool-goers. But thanks to the donation, residents of Mineral Wells will have a place to swim this summer.
