El Paso County steps into Vinton wastewater debate

Hope hasn’t died for a new wastewater system in Vinton, Texas.

El Paso County commissioners authorized the county judge to sign an agreement with the Public Service Board.

The agreement allows the county to apply for federal grants that would potentially help fund a wastewater system project for the village with a price tag estimated at $21 million. The cost now is a maximum of $20,000 for an application process,and whether the county gets further involved is not yet determined.

The story is far from complete. Anger and argument have grown within the Vinton government.

Mayor Madeleine Praino continues to push for the village to seeks government funds, and build the wastewater system. However, the mayor pro tem is leading a group of three council member against the move. Both women claim to have the best interests of the community.

“I feel embarrassed to some extent,” said Praino, following the commissioners’ move that kept the wastewater system alive. “The feeling out there is the government couldn’t take care of its citizens in Vinton.”

Praino said she and two others are trying to move Vinton forward, but Mayor Pro Tem Juvencia Rios-Ontiveros believes they’re going about it in the wrong way.

“It shouldn’t be that way, but what they’ve done, the mayor and others, have forced us to not vote for this,” said Rios-Ontiveros. “There are a lot of discrepancies.”

Vinton doesn’t have a working budget currently. Without it, the council members siding with Rios-Ontiveros don’t believe Vinton residents can foot the bill for a wastewater system. They claim the village is already struggling. The issue is coming to a head now because the federal funds can only be allocated if the application deadline is met by Nov. 1.

The county court agreed to pay $20,000 to help push the application through, but there is no word whether they’ll take the reins on the complete project.

If Monday’s meeting was any indication, commissioners seem ready to help. However, they don’t seem happy about it.

“I’m annoyed that I have to vote for this, but frankly I don’t feel I have a choice,” said Commissioner Tania Chozet following her accusations that Vinton has a corrupt government.

Chozet’s comments were echoed by others in Commissioners Court, many of whom seemed fed up with a Vinton government that seemed unwilling, if not unable, to help the people they’re elected to serve.

While a wastewater treatment system would benefit roughly 550 homes in Vinton, the public works director said the issue is more than just a Vinton problem.

With more wells being drilled thanks to the drought stricken region, he said Vinton-area septic tanks could contaminate the County’s drinking water.

Indications were made that this would become a county wide problem. According to a spokesperson from the El Paso Water Utilities, that wouldn’t be the case for their wells. While EPWU is focusing on wellwater as part of a drought-prevention strategy, their wells are built to meet Texas Commission on Environmental Quality standards, meaning there is not much likelihood that groundwater contaminant caused by poorly contained home wastewater operations would affect the county’s drinking water.

That doesn’t mean everything would be fine. Those who rely on wellwater in nearby areas would not necessarily have the same standards for wells.

In reality, this problem is far from new. As far back as 2003, there was major concern about drinking water and wastewater runoff in Vinton. According to an inter-office memo from the Texas Department of Health, obtained by ABC-7, there appeared to be violations within the village of Vinton in reference to sewage and the possibility of spreading disease as a result. The memo states, “(it) should be considered to be dangerous to the health and safety of the people that live in the Village of Vinton.”

Sen. Jose Rodriguez and state Rep. Dee Margo spoke about their concerns during Monday’s Commissioners Court. Margo referred to the water system at Bill Childress Elementary School as “hanging on by a Band-Aid.” Others took to the podium and made complaints that arsenic was a real problem for a number of homes in the Vinton area.

While the application process is only expected to look at the wastewater system, and its possibilities, the county has directed its public works director to take a look at the possibilities that include a water system with the projects. The investigatory phase isn’t expected to have any cost, however, like the wastewater system, whether the county ultimately decided to get involved is yet to be seen.