CRANDALL, Texas — The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) is planning a prescribed burn of thatch at portions of the East Fork Raw Water Supply Project wetlands in Kaufman County.
CRANDALL, Texas — The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) is planning a prescribed burn of thatch at portions of the East Fork Raw Water Supply Project wetlands in Kaufman County.
The prescribed burning of thatch, the matted material layer of dead vegetation at the base of the plantings, will take place during a period between late December 2016 and possibly extending into March 2017, weather dependent, according to the NTMWD in a Tuesday press release.
The wetland is located north and south of U.S. Highway 175 in an area generally bound by Farm-to-Market (FM) 1389, FM 3039, Lewis Street, and the East Fork Trinity River in the Combine and Crandall area.
“Prescribed burning is an accepted maintenance practice for wetland areas for the purpose of removing the thatch and enhancing wetland performance,” stated the NTMWD release. “NTMWD’s Wetland naturally cleans water diverted from the East Fork of the Trinity River as one of the steps in the water treatment process.”
“Each year, the Wetland area accumulates significant vegetative thatch which is removed through a prescribed burn,” stated the NTMWD. “NTMWD is coordinating the prescribed burn with the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office and will work closely with them as the prescribed burn is performed.”
The East Fork Raw Water Supply Project wetlands encompasses nearly 2,000 acres and serves as a natural filtration of water before it is pumped back north to Lake Lavon where it is blended and stored before being sent to the Wylie Water Treatment Plant for further treatment and water service delivery to the NTMWD’s approximate 1.6 million customers in North Texas.
