The Woodlands Edition | March 2026

BY VANESSA HOLT CONTRIBUTIONS BY KARA WILLIS

Who it aects

Town Center waterline replacement

Water service and trašc could see impacts from rehabilitation projects, Peterson said. The current South Shore sanitary sewer project, which includes repairing manholes, requires frequent single-lane closures to protect workers. However, other forthcoming projects will have a larger impact, he said. “When we get into the waterline rehabilitation projects, that is going to be a little more impact,” he said.

This includes a $24.2 million project potentially starting by the end of 2027 to rehabilitate lines in Town Center. Peterson said that will include single-lane closures over a longer period of time in the Grogan’s Mill area. Design work is underway on that project. Service interruptions will be limited to when the lines are tied in to service at each end. “Every e’ort will be looked at to minimize interruption,” Peterson said.

LAKE WOODLANDS DR.

45

GROGANS MILL RD.

SIX PINES DR.

LAKE WOODLANDS

TIMBERLOCH PL.

N

SOURCE: SAN JACINTO RIVER AUTHORITYCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Public input

Next steps

Contested May 2 MUD elections MUD 1: 2 seats available, 3 candidates MUD 6: 2 seats available, 4 candidates MUD 7: 3 seats available, 4 candidates MUD 36: 2 seats available, 4 candidates MUD 67: 3 seats available, 4 candidates

As part of its e’orts to gather feedback, Wood- lands Water formed the Community Working Group last year, consisting of MUD representa- tives, residents and stakeholders. Feedback, along with results from the waterline assessment study, has led Woodlands Water to reconsider several previous recommendations for the SJRA’s revised 10-year project plan this spring. The SJRA and MUDs will re-evaluate some waterlines not addressed immediately for work in years 12-15, Peterson said. Initially projected costs will likely come down as a result of this and other reductions, he said.

Discussions about what projects will move forward will fall to future MUD board members. Norton said an inŸux of retirees from the oil and gas industries has joined the MUD boards in recent years, bringing expertise in overlapping areas. It has also made the elections, which take place in May, more competitive, she said. “The current MUD directors are very much focused on a business mindset to solve our problems,” said John Thaeler, a MUD 67 director and retired geologist. In May, ¤ve of the nonpartisan MUD boards will see contested elections in The Woodlands. Norton said MUD directors also increasingly live within their districts, which is not strictly required by Texas law. “It’s important MUD directors are residents and drink the water,” Norton said.

242

45

RESEARCH FOREST DR.

LAKE WOODLANDS DR.

Original projected annual costs

$40,847,280

FY 2026

GROGANS MILL RD.

$59,236,800

FY 2027

N

SOURCE: THE WOODLANDS WATER AGENCYCOMMUNITY IMPACT

$102,361,900

FY 2028

SOURCE: SAN JACINTO RIVER AUTHORITYCOMMUNITY IMPACT

37

THE WOODLANDS EDITION

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