espantosa: appalling, frightful, unearthly, wonderful, awful, dread, dreadful, fearful, formidable, ghastly, ghoulish, grisly, gruesome, horrible, morbid, scary, shocking, terrifying.¹⁾

La colonia Espantosa is a community of approximately 7580 households located about 2½ miles south of Crystal City, and bordered by U.S. Highway 83 to the West and Ranch Road 1407 to the North.near the intersection of State Highway 85 and Ranch Roads 65 and 190, about six miles west of Big Wells.

• topozone.com 1:250,000, printable, and

larger scale

• Pics from 2007-05-03 site visit

As soon as we find out what we are doing, it goes here.

• Maps showing the location [bw]
• Sketches of key project components [em]
• Site Assessment
  • Climate: Patterns of temperature, precipitation, wind, and solar exposure
  • Geology: Strata, soil, subsurface hydrology, surface hydrology, and drainage
  • Environment: Wetlands, endangered species
  • Access: Roads and rail
  • Utilities

src

Also, we should try to get some testimonials from residents to put here.

• Economic Assessment [js]
  • Area Demographics
  • Expected Benefits
  • Expected Costs
  • Funding Sources (bonds?)

In 1992, La colonia Espantosa had a population of 188 living in 47 dwellings on 47 of 150 individual lots spanning 826 acres. This has since increased to approximately 75 dwellings, but still nobody has water service and sewage disposal continues to be on-site. In 1992, The Texas Water Development Board estimated $188,000 (275,000 USD2007)²⁾ was needed for water treatment and an additional $94,000 (138,000 USD2007) for distribution to all 150 lots. They also estimated another $188,000 was needed for sewage treatment, but did not identify a need for sewage collection.³⁾

The design population for this project is 600, the buildout population assuming every lot in Espantosa is occupied at the current occupancy rate.

Start, work until we get to the end, then stop.

• Legal and Political Assessment
  • Codes: State and local; pumping restrictions [bw]
  • Political Boundaries: include regional authorities (aquifer and river), and designations (distressed area, etc.)

The following matrices summarize how we plan to contribute toward improvement of Espantosa. The infrastructure systems are prioritized approximately by need and by how much we expect to be able to do with the resources available. In Texas it is not surprising for water needs to dominate this list.

Like all plans, these are subject to change as we work through the design process. For example, more detailed evaluation of graywater distribution alternatives may show them to be impractical for Espantosa in the immediate future, and obviate the need for further work at this time. On the other hand, we may make more progress on wastewater treatment or flood control than is indicated in our current plan if resources permit.

If there are no serious contraindications, drinking water distribution, stormwater drainage, graywater distribution, and wastewater collection systems can be designed to be routed almost entirely along the transportation infrastructure. In addition to greater community acceptance by minimizing intrusion onto private property, designing and installing these water systems concurrently with transportation improvements will save time and money over installing them seperately.

“Attached is an excerpt from a paper containing a general decentralized diagram - cluster example. Also, a document I found that contains an embedded figure on the 2nd page you might want to try and extract for use.”Decentralized Example, Tribal Wastewater — Michael Thomas email 5/2/2007

This is our schedule for the summer and fall terms.

Also, let's put some other stuff here.

• Anticipated Problems and Solutions
  • Contacts
  • Local cooperation
  • Funding
  • Groundwater high in iron is likely.
  • If it is saline, groundwater treatment may not be economically viable.
  • It is unlikely enough surface water is available.
  • May need to get water from elsewhere.

• Infrastructure Assessment
  • Water Distribution [bw]
  • Water Treatment [dw: draft due 2007-04-24]
  • Wastewater Distribution [dm]
  • Wastewater Treatment [le]
  • Transportation: Roads and rail
  • Electric, gas, water, solid waste [em]
  • Community Center, Parks [js]
• Project proposal suitable for applying for funding
• Water Distribution System Plans—Project Contacts†: Mr. Strybos
• Water Treatment Plant Plans—Project Contacts†: BexarMet ASR
  • Location and Site Assessment
  • Pump House [js:draft due 2007-04-24]
    • Control Room
    • Chemical Storage
    • Bottling RO Unit—Project Contacts†: BexarMet/United Water Ultrafiltration Plant
  • Aerator and flocculator/clarifier
  • Chlorine (not gas) Addition and Contact Chamber
  • Pressure or Elevated Storage Tank
  • Bottling Room—Project Contacts†: BexarMet/United Water Ultrafiltration Plant
  • Bottled Water Warehouse w/Loading Dock