The meeting number 53 under Resolution and Ordinance approved the allocation of $1,064,000.00 out of Water & Sewer System Consolidated Construction Fund for the construction of a water system between the city of Houston and the surrounding suburbs. The contract was awarded to Lockwood, Andrew and Newnam, Inc. This was supposed to be a professional engineering service contract. The aim of this contract was to design a ground water facility and also re-pump improvement of the water system. The minute also provided funding for CIP Cost Recovery relating to construction of facilities financed by the Water & Sewer System Consolidated Construction Fund.
Approval of this project would allow for better water and sanitation around the city and the neighboring settlements. Since Texas is an area with a reportedly alarming level of water shortage, the project will be a huge step towards safeguarding the hygiene and water supply requirements of the Texans. Construction of the water system will also allow for a wide coverage of water supply.
Most of the sophisticated water supplying plants are located within Houston, and, therefore, there is the need to spread the social amenity to the surrounding settlements. Since Houston is a larger urban settlement, there is a tendency of centralization of the necessary skilled manpower. This move will allow people who live in the suburbs to enjoy the same services as the people who live in Houston.
The construction will also help to evade the need to build new water plants in the settlements around Houston. Apart from saving the costs for building the water and sewage plants, it will save on cost of labor since there will also be a need to employ new employees in the new plants established. In this way, it will reduce the budget of the city and the state as a whole, therefore, reducing the burden of the taxpayers.
The minute also allowed for renovation of the pumping system of the water and sewage plant in the city of Houston. This will also boost the sanitation levels of the residence of the city. Many water related health problems are sometimes related to the poor management practices and poor decision making of the City Council. Some of these decisions include failure to allocate enough funds for repairing the sewage system and piping system. Frequent repairing of the water and sewage system, though in the long run seems expensive, is less costly in the long run.
The move by the council to approve this minute will also allow for appropriation of the Water & Sewer System Consolidated Construction Fund. Sometimes the necessary sanitary development projects fail to achieve success due to misappropriation of funds. This move seals the loop since the minute provides an official agreement issued to the public.
The engineers assigned this job are well known for their good job. Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam, Inc is an award winning national engineering firm offering planning, engineering, and program management services. The firm is consistently rated in the top 100 A/E firms by 'Engineering News-Record' magazine. The fact that it is a subsidiary of Leo A Daly, an international planning, engineering, interior design and architecture, puts the firm at a good position professionally. The firm is able to access the expertise of nearly 1,000 professionals with high manpower and professional skills. Therefore, this means that apart from the work being completed in the most appropriate time, the city will enjoy high professional services. This will ensure that the water and sewage system is kept reliable and up to date. Therefore, I also approve this project as it is aimed at improving the state of the city.