JWC Fresh Water District Overhauls Ben Bolt Water Tower to Prevent Outages

JWC Fresh Water District has taken the Ben Bolt water tower out of service for a $300,000 maintenance overhaul, KRIS 6 News reported, with crews completing a week of interior sandblasting to remove rust and dirt and replacing rusted components. Octavio Flores, general manager for the district also referenced as Jim Wells County Fresh Water Supply District No. 1 (FWSD #1), said the tank will be cleaned, rechecked inside, repainted and recoated as part of the upkeep.

Flores told KRIS 6 News that routine maintenance is overdue: "Well the water tower is supposed to be clean at least once every 10 years. So it's time to do it again. It's time to clean it. To recheck everything inside and repaint it, recoat it." The work is expected to take another three weeks to complete, KRIS reported, after the initial week of sandblasting already performed on site in Ben Bolt.

Local resident Rita Ramos described ongoing household impacts as the tower is serviced, saying, "I guess it's a good thing but at the most part what about the quality of water itself now. Should be addressed a little better," and adding that her family "relies exclusively on bottled water for drinking." Ramos said effects show up when washing clothes and reported repeated equipment failures: "We've had to replace the water hose multiple times because it kinda calcified together to the pipe itself. The water heater also went real quick. It's just very hard," she said.

Flores also told KRIS that the state regularly inspects the district's water quality and that the district "has always passed both water and tower inspections." The maintenance removal from service appears limited to the Ben Bolt tank; KRIS did not identify contractors or provide a start date beyond the week of sandblasting already completed, and no official boil-water advisories or alternative water provision were cited in the on-the-record material.

The overhaul comes as FWSD #1 pursues broader infrastructure work and expansion in rural Jim Wells County. Communities Unlimited's feature on the district notes historical problems across Ben Bolt and Green Acres, including deteriorating infrastructure and failing septic systems that contaminated groundwater, and reports the district served "hundreds of households." Derek Shore's Communities Unlimited piece quotes Flores acknowledging past deficits: "We're 50 years behind. That's the reality out here," and cites a $1 million grant from the Texas Water Development Board that the organization says is supporting plans to take over the struggling English Acres system and expand service; Communities Unlimited also reported TWDB gave verbal approval for a water interconnection project in March 2025.

District officials say the Ben Bolt tank overhaul is routine preventative work intended to prevent larger outages for the rural community. With one week of sandblasting finished and component replacements underway, the district anticipates returning the tower to service after roughly three more weeks of work, while continuing to press forward on the longer-term upgrades tied to the TWDB-supported expansion.