Kempner Water Supply Corp. is trying to resolve problems at its new Stillhouse Hollow Lake treatment plant that have resulted in water discoloration and sedimentation for many customers, KWSC General Manager David Sneed said Tuesday night in a called meeting of the KWSC Board of Directors.

Residents of Lampasas, Kempner and various parts of the county’s east end for several weeks have experienced water in various shades of yellow, green, red and brown. Discoloration has been most pronounced and widespread, Sneed said, on the eastern side of KWSC’s service area, particularly in the Big Valley and Lomas Rodando subdivisions and near the Ivey Mountain tank.

In addition to color and sediment problems, some customers have reported water with a rotten egg odor, which Sneed said may result from high levels of hydrogen sulfide in the Stillhouse Hollow Lake — the water source for both KWSC and Central Texas Water Supply Corp.

Discoloration began in May as a result of a “burnout” process intended to clean KWSC pipes, Sneed said. A switch from an ammonia and chlorine cleaning combination to chlorine alone scoured “biofilm” off the inside of water pipes, resulting in sedimentation and color problems, he said.

Although water color improved for a short time, the low dissolved oxygen level in Stillhouse Hollow recently resulted in much higher than normal levels of hydrogen sulfide, iron and manganese in the water KWSC receives from the lake, Sneed said. A new set of water discoloration problems have developed as a result, the general manager said.

A pilot study conducted before the opening of KWSC’s new treatment plant found iron and manganese concentrations of about 0.01 parts per million in Stillhouse Hollow, said Perry Steger, president of Georgetown-based Steger & Bizzell Engineering Inc., which KWSC retains for engineering services.

Samples of raw water taken Monday, however, showed concentrations at least 30 times higher for both metals, Bizzell said.

KWSC customers’ water has not been contaminated by bacteria and has met Texas Commission on Environmental Quality safety standards, Sneed said. He apologized, though, for the water’s appearance and said he understands why some customers may not want to drink the water.

“We created a lot of problems for you folks, and I’m sorry for that,” Sneed said.

KWSC temporarily shut down its new plant on Stillhouse Hollow Lake last Thursday, and KWSC customers have been receiving treated water from Central Texas Water Supply since then. KWSC will not begin using water from its plant again, Sneed said, until the company corrects problems with coagulation, filtration and oxidation processes at the new facility.

“We’re not going to put that plant online until I know it’s right,” he said.

The water plant should be prepared to supply KWSC customers “within days,” Sneed said, as he said “95 percent of the problems” have been corrected. KWSC officials hope to resolve water discoloration by the end of this month, the general manager added.

KWSC patrons packed the company’s board room at the recent meeting, and several said ongoing water discoloration and sediment problems have posed hardships at their homes.

Kempner resident Jackie Harrell showed board members a photo of water from her home that looked like strong coffee.

“This is 2010, and [this is] not the kind of water that I would expect or that you would expect,” she said.

Alicia Menard of Copperas Cove said her family has had to buy bottled water and has replaced refrigerator filters several times since the water color problems began.

“I’m afraid to bathe in it, and I don’t want my kids to use it,” she said.

Michael Ullevig, who lives on County Road 3343 north of the Kempner city limits, thanked KWSC staff for their courtesy in responding to water problems. He added, though, that because sediment layers are developing in his toilets and swimming pool filters, he has had to pay for unusable water.

“There’s a lot of money going to waste in our households ... ,” he said. “Who’s going to reimburse all the people for this?”

KWSC officials will consider sending customers a series of rebate checks for portions of the last two months’ water use, Sneed said. A water discount in December also is possible.

KWSC also may be able to purchase water filters in bulk, Sneed said, to give slight discounts to customers who had to replace filters because of discolored or sedimentfilled water.

In addition, the general manager asked board members to consider lowering KWSC’s impact fee from $2,800 to $1,500 or less.

Sneed and board members also said KWSC will try to develop a schedule, organized by water route, for customers to flush their water lines. On designated days, Sneed said, customers may contact the KWSC office with meter readings before and after they run their water for several hours. Those meter readings will allow the company to avoid charging customers for water they used when flushing their pipes.

KWSC plans for the next 15 to 20 years, Sneed added, include looping dead-end water lines, many of which have been particularly prone in recent months to sediment and discoloration.

Several customers asked what actions board members will take to ensure water does not become discolored again when KWSC’s water plant reopens. Tests are proceeding daily, Steger said in response, adding that nothing appears to be wrong with the new facility.

“We just need the right chemicals at the right injection points,” he said.

KWSC is withholding about $750,000 in payments to its treatment plant contractor until water problems are resolved, Sneed added. Partial payment also has been withheld from the engineering firm that designed the plant, Sneed said.

The general manager claimed ultimate responsibility for the changes in water color, though.

“As far as the brown water, that’s [my fault],” Sneed said. “I made the decision to start the chlorination.”

Near the conclusion of the meeting, KWSC board secretary/treasurer Harvey Farish urged customers not to think antagonistically. Board members, Farish said, have just as strong incentives as other customers to see water problems resolved.

“It ain’t a ‘we’ and ‘them’ system,” Farish said. “This water system, it’s ours.”

Lampasas City Manager Michael Stoldt, who had a chemist analyze Lampasas water because of discoloration in the city, said the chemist told him some good may result from the water problems that began with the “burnout.”

The recent change in cleaning chemicals, Stoldt said the chemist told him, gave pipes the most thorough cleaning they have had in years. Although more particles than normal were scrubbed and fell into the water supply, drinking water should be much cleaner in future years once current problems are resolved, the city manager said.

“I believe in the long run we’ll all be better off because of this,” Stoldt said.