NewsFlash
Town of Sunnyvale - Feb. 27, 2021
NTMWD lifts water conservation measures
The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) lifted its request to curtail or limit non-essential water use within its service area on Feb. 25. In coordination with the cities and utilities served by NTMWD, the District was able to consistently produce enough treated water to meet the water demands over the past several days.
Free bottled water
Construction and home repairs
Did you know that contractors are required to register and obtain a permit to perform construction with the Town of Sunnyvale? Some repairs fall within this category. Call 972-203-4188 for more information.
Generally, construction work is not allowed on Sundays or federal holidays in Sunnyvale.
Annual water system maintenance begins next week
The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) will perform their annual temporary change in disinfection beginning March 1. This maintenance procedure is essential to keeping water safe as it travels to your tap across a 2,200-square-mile service area.
The need for disinfection:
Disinfection is a critical part of water treatment to keep water safe. During NTMWD’s normal water treatment processes, disinfection is a two-step process that first treats the water at the plant and second adds disinfectant to maintain water quality as it travels long distances through pipes to homes and businesses
Temporary change in disinfection:
Each spring for about one month, NTMWD suspends the typical use of ammonia to allow the remaining chlorine to keep the water disinfected as it travels through the system. This temporary change in disinfectant helps maintain the system and high water quality year round. It’s important to do this before summer because hotter temperatures can increase the potential for bacterial growth in pipes.
During this change, you may see staff performing "hydrant flushing." This process helps the chlorine-disinfected water through the system by flushing water from fire hydrants.
You also may notice a different odor and/or taste. Even at low concentrations, some people are more sensitive to taste, smell, and skin contact with chlorine. NTMWD has provided simple steps to help minimize the effects of this.
If you have any questions or concerns about the quality of your water, please do not hesitate to reach out to a Town staff member.
Individual and FEMA assistance available
The first line of defense in any disaster is insurance, but if you are uninsured or underinsured, assistance is available.
Individual Assistance:
President Biden signed the Major Disaster Declaration for Dallas County, opening up Individual Assistance for everyone in Dallas County. Those wishing to apply for Individual Assistance can apply at DisasterAssistance.gov. This site can also be used to check your application status.
Individual Assistance covers:
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Temporary Housing Assistance
Lodging Expenses Reimbursement
Home Repair and Home Replacement
Other expenses and needs directly caused by the disaster including child-care expenses, medical and dental expenses, clean-up items, moving and storage expenses, etc.
FEMA Assistance:
FEMA can provide assistance to individuals and families for those items that are not covered by homeowners' or renters' insurance. Download the FEMA app or call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) to begin the process.
Before applying for assistance, take the following steps first:
- Take photos of your damaged homes and/or belongings.
- Make a list of damaged/lost items.
- If you have insurance, you must file a claim with your insurance company first.
- If you do not have insurance, apply for FEMA Assistance.
Additionally, if you have damage to your home or business that is not covered by insurance, you may qualify for a low interest loan through the Small Business Administration (SBA). For more information, call (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
High electric bills - comments from County Judge Jenkins
Due to the State’s failure to properly regulate electricity prices, many Texans are seeing ridiculously high electric bills, some reports of up to $17,000. Here are some things you can do immediately :
- Stop auto-payment of your bill either by removing information from your online account or working with your bank directly.
- Check with your energy provider to determine if you are on a fixed rate or variable plan and understand the charges you might be facing.
- If you are on a variable plan with no protections, you may want to work with your provider to see if you can retroactively change your plan to a fixed rate.
- Energy consumers should do what they can to educate themselves on their options. www.powertochoose.org is a good place to start.
- Consider a fixed rate 12 month plan and remind yourself each January to check your plan and lock in the best rate. Consider one of the 100% renewable or "green" plans.
- The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Clearinghouse National Energy Assistance Referral (NEAR) project is a free service for those who want information on where to apply for Low Income Home Energy Assistance. The toll free number for NEAR is 1-866-674-6327, or TTY 1-866-367-6228.
- There are laws and regulations that require a utility to provide its customers with notice before it can terminate service. During this notice period, customers can take the opportunity to correct any misunderstandings or incorrect information by the utility, obtain crisis/emergency grants of payment assistance, establish a payment plan for money owed, or register a complaint with the state public utility commission.
Damage Survey
Governor Abbott announced a statewide effort to collect damage assessment data for this unprecedented winter storm our state experienced over the last week.
The objective of this survey is to identify damages across Texas and to help emergency management officials gain an understanding of the extent of the disaster.
Please submit one survey per impacted address. Click here to access the survey.
Community Vaccination Center opened
The center will be opened seven days a week, for six weeks.
For more information, or to register for the vaccine visit DallasCounty.org or call 1-855-IMMUNE9. The registration hotline is available from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., seven days a week.