One Texas Utility: Sex Crimes, Infrastructure Woes, And Reporting Problems

A sex-crime scandal, sewer infrastructure challenges, and a potential takeover by the state are just a few of the problems a water utility in Texas has on its plate.

Texas regulators are threatening to take over operations of a water and sewer provider because the utility is failing to provide proper records.

Officials in the tiny city of Bartlett in central Texas are hoping “that the information in a 34-page Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (DEQ) questionnaire it filled out and turned in [this month] will be the first step to prevent that from happening,” The Daily Telegram reported, citing City Administrator Sabra Davis.

Davis weighed in on the city’s situation, including a meeting with DEQ officials that conveyed Bartlett’s need to shape up quickly.

“We were told it was our last chance to get it together or they would take over our water and sewer operations,” Davis said, noting that residents would not have a say in rates if that happened. “We’re doing all we can to stop that.”

The city has faced staffing and budget challenges in recent months.

“The city hasn’t had a [public works supervisor] since Joe Johns was fired by the city in September 2015 because he was charged with three felony sex offenses by Harris County,” the report said.

At first, he was “placed on paid administrative leave, pending the results of the Harris County investigation into possible sexual crimes,” The Daily Telegram previously reported.

“Johns, a registered sex offender, [was] charged by Harris County with the online solicitation of a minor, sexual performance of a child employ/induce/authorize and trafficking of persons,” the report said, citing jail records.

As the city tries to staff up and meet state demands, it is facing water and sewer challenges. It issued, and later lifted, a boil-water notice in May as a result of E. coli in the water, KWTX reported.

And, “a manhole collapsed at the settling ponds and no one knows how long ago that happened or how long the sewage has been draining into a field. The city was in the process [this week] of repairing, cleaning and sanitizing the area,” The Daily Telegram reported.

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