When a water main breaks like it did last week, shutting down schools and businesses around Bullard, the need for adequate service is even more pronounced.

“When the line was laid years ago, a turn-off valve was not installed,” city manager Larry Morgan said. “The city crew was left with no alternative but to shut the water off at the water tower. Otherwise, the tower would have drained.”

Situations like last week’s scramble to get water service restored make Morgan glad to have such a competent new utilities director, he said.

David Hortman is not a new face around town.

Recently promoted to manage a team of three, Hortman began his tenure with Bullard as a wastewater operator five years ago. Before that, he had eight years of experience in utilities management in Whitehouse.

“When they ask you in school what you are going to do when you grow up, wastewater wasn’t it,” he said with a grin.

Though Bullard was small when Hortman was hired, he saw an opportunity. He learned along the way by taking care of Bullard’s daily water business, growing in experience as the town grew in size.

“We are a small enough town that we do everything,” Hortman said, referring to the way city officials have added two staff positions as subdivisions and new businesses have cre- ated economic growth, putting pressure on the town’s water supply and wastewater treatment facilities. “We started from scratch.”

Daily and weekly responsibilities include meeting state-mandated guidelines about testing for water purity.

“We do samples every day to make sure the water is pure,” Hortman said. “We go to each well every day and pull samples. Every month, we pull random samples through town and send them off to a lab to be tested.

“Even something as simple as the right pressure on the city water lines is as important as supplying pure tap water and enough quantity for watering lawns,” he said. “If we don’t have the right water pressure and you have a house fire, it can be a matter of life and death.”