The City of Brownwood and the Brown County Water Improvement District remain in a holding pattern as they research to develop plans and estimate costs of building a pipeline to Lake Brownwood in a possible wastewater reuse project.
Brownwood City Manager Bobby Rountree gave a report during Tuesday’s council meeting regarding the estimated cost of the recently proposed plan to pipe wastewater back to Lake Brownwood.
“This proposal is an alternative use for the outflow from the city’s wastewater which may be more appealing than the idea of direct reuse to water customers and will allow for the cost to be distributed more fairly upon all of the customers within the BCWID,” said Brownwood City Manager Bobby Rountree.
In a memo to the council, Rountree explained that the city has been working to explore and consider all projects that will produce the most reliable and cost effective alternative water source available.
“This project may be economically feasible and may be more palatable to the public because other Texas cities are using a similar process,” said Rountree. “It may be more palatable to the other BCWID customers, because the additional water would be beneficial to all the customers and the costs could be shared equally.”
The City and the BCWID staff have been working together to determine costs for the proposed lake pipeline project, which is estimated at $9,176,192, which is a very rough estimate according to Rountree. These estimates will require detailed plans/specifications by an engineer should the City and BCWID proceed with the project.
In a joint meeting of BCWID and the city a few weeks ago, BCWID General Manager Dennis Spinks said that the main problem with that proposal originally was the cost of installing water lines and securing easements for the estimated 12 mile trip from Brownwood’s wastewater treatment plant to Lake Brownwood. However, with the discovery of land owned by BCWID and existing irrigation pipelines and easements which could be used to transport the treated water from the Brownwood wastewater plant back to the lake, the rough cost estimate is significantly less.
Many variables, such as the rising cost of fuel, permitting and legal costs will increase the estimate which is only an estimation of the cost for materials needed to build the 18-inch diameter and 13 mile long pipeline.
Rountree recently submitted a letter to the Texas Water Development Board requesting a six month extension on the city’s loan for the construction of the proposed wastewater reuse and treatment facility, which in another alternative that the City of Brownwood has been considering for some time. This extension will be considered at a TWDB meeting sometime in September. Rountree stated that the extension would give the council time to consider all options.
“We should give serious consideration to the BCWID’s proposal, but it should not rush our decision due to the TWDB deadline,” said Rountree.
Modeling or a study to determine what effect the wastewater produced at the city’s wastewater treatment plant would have on Lake Brownwood would also have to be completed before any consideration could be given to the project. This will determine what modifications to the wastewater treatment plant will be required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The next step according to Rountree is permit preparation which has to be completed before a permit for the wastewater release into Lake Brownwood is submitted for review. Then after permit approval, a public comment period must be completed before an engineer can be engaged to prepare plans and specifications.
“If an engineer were engaged prior to receiving TCEQ approval, the City/BCWID would run the risk of paying engineering fees without being assured the approval of the permit,” said Rountree.
This timeline could be as long as two years, which is the largest concern for most people. The project could take two to four years to complete, according to Rountree.
“My concern is the time, can we wait another two to three years?” asked Rountree.
He stated that there are other issues to consider, should the city and BCWID proceed with the pipeline project such as ownership of the water after it leaves the wastewater treatment plant, metering and permitting for irrigators and more. There are also ongoing responsibilities to TCEQ for the owner of the water.
Rountree stated that he was confident that the TWDB would grant the extension for the loan. If for some reason the extension was not granted and the decision were to be made to proceed with the construction of the reuse facility, the city could fund the project through the sale of Certificates of Obligation. If the extension is granted by TWDB, the funds can be sold anytime during the six month extension, according to Roundtree.
Rountree and City of Brownwood Director of Public Works David Harris attended Tuesday afternoon’s meeting of the BCWID board of directors.
Spinks explained the estimated costs to his board in a discussion item on the agenda. He explained that possibly some of the existing BCWID lines, approximately 5480 feet, could be used in the pipeline project.
During the discussion, BCWID Director Bert Massey asked Spinks about the certainty of the amount of water left in Lake Brownwood.
“Are we gambling that we have two years of water in the lake?” asked Massey.
Spinks assured Massey stating, “We have a very safe two years of water in the lake.”
Through the estimation of the cost to build the pipeline, Spinks stated that his staff determined the cost of water would be at $1.44 per 1000 gallons, which would include a 20% evaporation rate if the water was taken back to Lake Brownwood. “That analysis makes me feel like this is a worthwhile project,” said Spinks.
Rountree urged the BCWID board to consider the urgency of the projects being considered.
“Do we really want to have this done, considering the time,” asked Rountree. “That’s what I want you to consider. No matter what we do, we can’t stop here.”
Newly elected BCWID board president Johnny Hayes asked Harris how long it would take the City of Brownwood to build and prove the water reuse plant the city has proposed.
Harris explained that if the Brownwood City Council approved the wastewater reuse project at the May 27th meeting, it would take 14 months to construct and a 30 day review process to prove the plant is working properly before TCEQ would approve the plant to be operational to supply the treated water. He also explained that the components of the reuse plant have been proven in other plants, including the BCWID water treatment plant which uses some of the same components to treat the current water supplied to the county.
Modeling of the lake was discussed in detail by the board with comments from both Rountree and Harris about the importance of the study. All members of the board agreed and consensus was reached that a special meeting should be called as soon as possible for the BCWID to decide if the board desires to research the project and have the modeling study completed. The cost of which Spinks stated was estimated at $25,000-$30,000 and would take approximately 6 weeks to complete, according to attorney/consultant Brad Castleberry.
The date of the special meeting was not yet determined by the BCWID board and will be announced soon.
