Poteet mayor: Relief in the works from city's water problems

$4 million project will replace old water lines

POTEET, Texas – Long known for its rust-colored water, the city of Poteet will now be able to replace even more of its old water lines filled with rust and sediment thanks to a $4 million federal grant.

Willie Leal, a retired federal agent elected as mayor of Poteet last May, said after an engineer finishes laying out where the new lines will go, work should begin late this year.

He said in addition to some lines that were already replaced, the project will certainly help, but it won’t be a total solution.

“I’m not going to say that’s going to resolve all the problems, but hopefully, it will resolve some of the problems,” Leal said.

He said even if the city puts in new water lines, many homes have old ones running out to their water meters. He said property owners are responsible for replacing those lines.

Anna Ybarra, who lives in Poteet, said the water “tastes funny, and you can smell it, not all the time.”

Still, Ybarra said she looks forward to the day when she no longer has to buy bottled water or bags of ice, as well as having to rewash white clothing stained with rust. She said that only adds to an already high water bill, which is “on the average about $150 to $175 a month.”

Leal said the prior administration had to raise water rates to meet higher costs, yet the Poteet’s residential water bills are higher than San Antonio’s.

“How many millions of people do you have in San Antonio compared to the 3,000 we have here?” Leal said.

Link: Poteet Public Utilities


About the Authors:

Jessie Degollado has been with KSAT since 1984. She is a general assignments reporter who covers a wide variety of stories. Raised in Laredo and as an anchor/reporter at KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley, Jessie is especially familiar with border and immigration issues. In 2007, Jessie also was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.

Luis Cienfuegos is a photographer at KSAT 12.