Follow Up to Round Top’s Missing Water Mystery

The Record caught up with Round Top mayor Barry Bone Monday to ask if he has found out how the town went from using 25,000 gallons of water a month to 80,000 gallons.

Let’s just say it was a combination of things.

“There was a small leak caused by a valve stuck open by debris,” the mayor said after consulting with Glasco, the company with the maintenance contract on the town square. “It’s been fixed and when all the valves are closed, the meter is not running.”

Irrigating the landscape of the town square is the only thing the town uses water for other than the two public restrooms.

Glasco took over the maintenance contract a year ago and has added some irrigation infrastructure according to the mayor.

The sprinkler system was installed over 20 years ago.

Mayor Bone said he first became aware of the water issue when he began preparing the budget for next year and noticed the discrepancy in town water bills. “I think it’s a combination of the leak, a bigger system and more frequent watering,” he said, adding that he needs one more data point, next month’s bill, to be sure. “The grounds look good though.”