SAN ANGELO – Tom Green County Commissioners Tuesday approved a plan to allocate federal American Rescue Plan Funds to the South Concho Irrigation Company to repair the 135-year-old dam on the South Concho River at Christoval which has been leaking for decades and is in disrepair.
The South Concho Irrigation Company oversees the ancient irrigation canal system and dam which was designed to provide irrigation water to farms along the South Concho River north of Christoval. The dam has since provided water pressure for groundwater pumps in wells along the river behind the dam including the wells in City Park in Christoval which supply water for the Christoval Water District.
"There are a lot of players." said Pct. 4 Commissioner Bill Ford at the Tuesday morning Court meeting. The irrigation company, the water district, the Christoval Independent School District, Tom Green County, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and private land owners are all affected by the condition of the irrigation dam.
The Commissioners Court approved American Rescue Plan Funds not to exceed $750,000 for the project along with 50% of that funding in advance for engineering and design.
South Concho Irrigation Company President Reed Stultz told the court that engineers were planning on repairing the existing dam and not removing silt behind the dam or replacing the structure. Commissioner Ford said the dam provides water pressure for water wells behind the dam.
Ford said if the dam were to fail, the Christoval Water District supplying the community could find itself without a water supply. The dam across the South Concho River has been damaged by flooding and drought conditions over several decades.
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