Local Water Company Using Good Fortune To Help Others
KELLER (CBS 11 NEWS) - When the McCombs moved onto their new piece of property in Keller, they were literally flooded with water problems.
"He would dig a fence post hole and it would fill with water," Chelsea McCombs said of her father's efforts to work on the 20-plus acres of land. "All you had to do was add concrete!"
The McCombs had found a long-forgotten spring. It was located where settlers had once lived, in a town called Double Springs. The town existed until the mid-1800's, when the railroad was built just a few miles away. The town plugged the spring with a large barrel and literally moved their homes and businesses to what is now downtown Keller.
"This is where the spring actually comes out of the ground," landowner Joe McCombs said, as he lifted a large, stainless steel lid on a cistern made of stones. "What I did is dug in front of the spring where the barrel was and dug underneath it, so it actually flows into this in-ground silo."
Water now rushes from pipes into the well below and some flows into a large pond nearby. Other water is diverted to a nearby bottling plant where the family can either ship out the water to retailers in bulk or bottle it for home or office use.
But the family also taps into its resources to help other families. They recently shipped a truck load of water to help the residents of West who were impacted the fertilizer plant explosion. Even though that donation brought attention to the little known water company, the family has reached out to help others before. "If they have special function or something like that we do some donations for charities or they can buy the water from us and sell it and make a profit on it," Chelsea McCombs said.
The spring where the water comes from is named in remembrance of the families' own tragedy. It's called Samantha Springs in memory of their three-year-old who died from heart problems back in 1993.
Now the spring flows from a small stone building over a connected griss mill. The water splashes softly as it flows from the spring, down a short channel and into the pond where geese swim peacefully. "There's just something about the water and everything," Chelsea said of the property. "Its just real peaceful."
The springs have become a sparkling reminder of North Texas' past, and its goodwill. Chelsea said satisfied, "It's kind of our little treasure out here."
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