By Robert Medley
Managing Editor
The use of Okarche water by people who live outside the town limits will be restricted immediately, and a moratorium on such sales was mentioned during a town meeting of the public works authority.
Trustees, meeting Thursday ,Aug. 24, approved sale of water to customers who do not live inside Okarche town limits, but at the advice of the town attorney, restrictions will be in place.
The people approved for water use will not be allowed to sell water to others.
Gary Davis was approved for water use to tap into the Okarche line near the intersection of NW 2320 and N. Chiles Road. The agreement is pending but will restrict Davis from letting anyone else use the water he was approved to use for a home under construction.
Water issues continue to be at the forefront of infrastructure plans and concerns. Okarche is under a Department of Environmental Quality consent order to build a plant to treat the high levels of dangerous nitrates found in the water for two decades.
Trustees heard a presentation from a company that rehabilitates water towers. Okarche’s water towers will have to wait, however, as trustees said there are other concerns first, and tabled an item to consider a water tower paint job and maintenance program.
Future sales of Okarche water to people who live outside the town limits should be restricted, said attorney Bryce Kennedy.
“We should consider making these rules,” Kennedy said.
Trustee Jason Kroener said he was concerned the town is “setting a precedent” by allowing people from outside Okarche town limits to tap into the supply. He said he did not want to see “30 people” lined up next month to tap into the supply.
“I just want to be very careful about the precedent we will be setting,” Kroener said.
The request from Davis was approved, pending an a “water restriction agreement. Also, a similar request to tap into the water supply by Clark Rother for a rural water tap near 5357 NW 22 was also approved by the town Thursday with the same pending water restriction agreements, trustees agreed.
