The board of directors of the Brown County Water Improvement District set irrigation rates and discussed several other matters regarding lake water and property.
Irrigation rates were increased 10% for the year, as decided by the district in November of 2013 to annually raise rates 10% each year for the next 10 years at that time. Rates currently will be $72/acre foot, an increase from $65/ac. ft. 2-inch taps were set at an annual rate of $400, up just $6 from last year’s annual rate. All other fees and leases, such as dock fees and island leases remain the same as 2013 rates.
“We agreed that the lake is low and that docks are sitting on the ground and not getting used,” said BCWID General Manager Dennis Spinks. “We haven’t raised these (dock fees & island leases) in the last four years.”
A report on the pipeline project to pump water back to Lake Brownwood from the City of Brownwood’s wastewater treatment plant was also discussed. Rex Hunt of Alan Plummer & Associates presented a report on the estimated cost of the pipeline as well as possible improvements that will be needed at the water treatment plant to bring the water to an acceptable quality (according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) before it is released back into Lake Brownwood.
Hunt advised the board that the project will cost $11,788,000 to build the pipeline and a small plant to remove phosphorus from the water before it reaches the lake. Spinks stated that BCWID is consulting with their financial advisor First Southwest in San Antonio to determine the end cost for wholesale customers.
“The project is approximately $12 million, which will be paid over a 20 year period,” said Spinks. “We have not decided on moving forward with the project. We are making the decision to see if this would be a good alternative water source.”
Spinks explained that the board members feel like it is a very viable option, as 100% of the output of the wastewater treatment plant could be piped back into Lake Brownwood, with only some loss of water due to evaporation once released back into the lake. Spinks said that the City of Brownwood stated that the water reuse plant would be able to treat 1.5 million gallons of water per day, and that board members feel like the pipeline project would result in having more water available for the citizens of Brown County.
BCWID proposed the pipeline project to pipe City of Brownwood wastewater back to Lake Brownwood after treatment. This was an alternative plan to Brownwood’s to treat the wastewater with a new treatment plant and reuse it in the city’s water system.
The retail customers of Brown County will ultimately pay for either project, Spinks stated. “We don’t want to overburden our customers but I believe that most individuals would pay a premium to have a secure source of water.”
He explained that the board is now working to see what it will cost each individual water customer on average. The projects are similar but not the same in cost to the customer.
The Brownwood water reuse plant would be paid by the taxpayers of the City of Brownwood; however other customers of BCWID outside of Brownwood would have increased water rates due to the loss of revenue due to the lower amount of water being purchased by the City of Brownwood. A slight rate increase should be expected to offset the 1.5 million gallons/day the City of Brownwood would not have to purchase.
With the pipeline project, the cost would be a raise in rates for all water customers to pay for the project.
Although a good rain event could bring the lake level back up, Spinks stated that the board is looking at 20-40 years in the future. “We have to supply water to customers now and in the future.”
In other matters on Tuesday’s agenda:
*Board members approved the fiscal year 2013/2014 audit report presented by Joyce Cornelius, CPA.
*Spinks gave an update on the possible annexation of remaining areas of Brown County into the district’s boundaries, as requested in a petition by property owners. Spinks stated that the district has been unable to find a legal meets and bounds survey of Brown County or of all the county’s precincts to show the meets and bounds of the properties being considered for annexation as required by Chapter 49 of the Texas Water Code.
“This makes it very difficult for us because we were trying to facilitate that request (for annexation) but have found nothing that meets the requirement,” said Spinks.
Spinks stated that all property within Brown County, not just lake front properties, needs to be annexed into the district because the district now services the water needs of all water customers in Brown County and that those people need representation. Currently, some representation is given to lake front property owners as they now have two board members who live at the lake, Jimmy Jones and Johnny Hays. Jones and Hays also own other property currently within the district. He stated that all customers deserve the right to vote, but that “the way the law stands now, they do not have that.”
*Lake Level: Currently the lake is at 1412.32’ msl, which is 12.68 feet below spillway. This level brings the lake to 46.8% capacity.
“We’re in really good shape compared to everyone around us,” said Spinks. “Abilene lakes are 30% and below. One good rain event could fill up Lake Brownwood.”
