Government
BY GRACIE WARHURST
City aims to secure future water supply with Recharge agreement
What else?
Georgetown is also in the beginning stages of a project to build a waterline from Circleville to northern Georgetown to transport water from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer into the city, according to city documents. City o cials approved an application for funding from the Texas Water Development Board for $274 million in low-interest loans at the May 12 meeting. The loan will fund a new water treatment site in Circleville and the construction of the 30-mile pipeline.
Georgetown city o cials approved an initial agreement with Recharge Water at a May 12 City Council meeting—an e ort to meet the city’s future water needs. Recharge will construct and operate a system that will deliver up to 34,800 acre-feet of groundwater per year from the Simsboro Formation of the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer. The city expects to begin receiving water by 2031. The agreement is a 30-year term, and includes the option for two additional 30-year terms. Infrastructure and capital costs for the Recharge project have not been nalized, and the city has kept speci c dollar amounts con dential, according to city documents. However, the agreement with Recharge will cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars less than an alternative agreement with EPCOR, a city news release states. Georgetown will purchase the water on a “take-or-pay” basis, which means the city is responsible for paying for the reserved water whether they use it or not. The pay agreement
“This is a major milestone in our e orts to secure a new, reliable long- term water source for Georgetown. ... We’re con dent that [Recharge] can reliably provide the high-quality
groundwater we need to meet our future needs.” DAVID MORGAN, GEORGETOWN CITY MANAGER
In case you missed it
Georgetown voters approved a proposition May 2 that permits the sale of a majority of the city’s water utility territory outside its city limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction. Nation Utility Infrastructure will take over portions of the territory in Salado, Florence and Liberty Hill. Meanwhile, Killeen and Jarrell will take over their cities’ water territories, respectively. The sale will reduce the city’s long-term water needs by 60%, Georgetown Strategic Project Manager Caroline Stewart said. “We will need a lot less water long term than we would have if we did not sell o a portion of our CCN,” Stewart said.
will cover the base cost of the water, operational expenses and capital costs to build the new infrastructure. The city will not pay any water reservation fees to Recharge until the formal water supply agreement is nalized, anticipated for the end of 2026.
Recharge agreement
Phase
Year
Acre-feet of water
Wells
1
2030
13,800
3 wells in Lee County
2 more wells in Lee County
2
2033
24,000
2 more wells in Bastrop County SOURCE: CITY OF GEORGETOWN COMMUNITY IMPACT
3
2038
34,800
12
COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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