At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, the city voted to move ahead on applying for a loan to fund a replacement well.
Three wells pump water into Marfa. One of those wells is about a quarter century past its service date, and if it breaks, Marfa City Administrator James Mustard said, “We can’t repair it.”
The city attempted to overhaul the well about four years ago, but a pipe stretched, preventing further inspection. Mustard said the well is in working order, but it is only a matter of time until something goes wrong.
“Just common sense,” Mustard said, “a piece of machinery will eventually break, and that’s what this is.”
When that moment comes, Mustard said, Marfa will lose over a third if its water supply, and the city will implement water rationing.
To avoid such action, the city is applying for a loan from the Texas Water Development Board to drill a replacement well. The project will cost over $700,000.
-- Anna Rose MacArthur