As of Feb. 25, one water line remains damaged out of the four main water lines that broke in the city. Matt Feryan, emergency management coordinator for the city, said the remaining damaged line is located behind the Lancaster Theater but is a slow drip that should not impact water services.
“It's gonna require that we take the water tower behind City Hall offline,” Feryan said. “They were waiting to [make that repair] until we got through the winter storm, but I don't have a timeline on that.”
Feryan said the city does not have an estimated amount for how much the repairs will cost.
In light of recent events, the city announced Feb. 23 that all permit fees for plumbing repair and other work will be waived. Winter sanitary sewer rates, which refer to water usage, will not include February, Feryan said.
“It will more accurately represent the water usage of residents, and any spikes that occurred in February would not be [part of] that average,” he said.
Water consumption in the city skyrocketed over the course of the winter storm, with an average of 20 million gallons of water used Feb. 16 compared to a normal average of 5 million gallons a day during the wintertime.
“There may be folks that do experience spikes in their water bills," Feryan said. "We ask that those [residents] get in touch with utility and billing [at] City Hall." Over the course of seven days, Grapevine’s Fire and emergency medical services departments, as well as dispatch, saw major increases in calls.
Grapevine’s fire and EMS departments received 517 calls, a 733% increase over the same time period last year. Dispatch had 4,457 interactions, a 95% increase over the same time period last year.
On Feb. 16, Grapevine Mayor William D. Tate signed an emergency disaster declaration.
The declaration allows residents to apply for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster assistance. Residents must inform FEMA of all insurance coverage and provide documentation of either an insurance settlement or denial letter for their application to be processed. The disaster assistance does not cover fuel or food losses.
For more information, visit www.disasterassistance.gov.
