Stage 4 water restrictions were lifted Saturday after a week of stringent water conservation measures and completion of two Bell County Water Improvement and Control District No. 1 projects. Completing the connections of a 5,000-foot replacement of a failing section of the 48-inch main pipeline and a new 3-million-gallon surge storage tank marked a turning point. Together, these projects not only remedied persistent problems but strengthened the region’s water resiliency against future emergencies. Ricky Garrett, general manager of Bell County WCID No.1, explained how for more than a decade, a specific segment of the 48-inch concrete-steel cylinder pipeline had plagued operations with frequent and costly leaks. “All the leaks … on the originally constructed 48-inch main, except for one, have occurred on this 5,000-foot section that is now out of service and is replaced with the 54-inch steel pipeline,” Garrett said. “From our experience and history of the leaks, we have essentially r...