Development
BY GRANT CRAWFORD
A project to pull water from the deepest locations of Lake Travis to supply the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority—a partnership made up of the cities of Round Rock, Leander and Cedar Park—is roughly halfway complete. Once completed, the BCRUA’s Raw Water Intake project will have the capacity to pump 145 million gallons of raw water from the lake per day. The project is meant to help the three cities meet future water demands by providing a stable source year-round. Phase 1 of the project included the construction of a oating barge and raw water system on Lake Travis, pulling roughly 32 million gallons of water per day from the lake. However, ocials say the barges are susceptible to drought conditions. Once the deep-water project is nished, the barge system will be discontinued. “This is going to give us protection under severe droughts,” said Michael Thane, Round Rock Public Works director. “So when the lake is dropping, we’ll still be able to pump water.” Water project to be drought resilient
BCRUA Raw Water Intake Project 1 Raw water intake
4 Raw water pump station
2 BCRUA maintenance building
5 Proposed piping connection
3 Existing Cedar Park Water Treatment Plant
6 Existing Sandy Creek Water Treatment Plant
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Lake Travis
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BCRUA Raw Water Intake Tunnel
Existing BCRUA Water Transmission Main
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6
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BCRUA Raw Water Transmission Tunnel and Pipeline
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Area ocials tour the 300-ft tunnel of the Raw Water Intake Project. COURTESY CITY OF ROUND ROCK
SOURCE: BRUSHY CREEK REGIONAL UTILITY AUTHORITY COMMUNITY IMPACT
© GOOGLE EARTH
Water distribution for Phase 2 of the BCRUA's Raw Water Intake project Round Rock: 40.8 MGD Cedar Park: 42 MGD Leander: 62MGD
Going forward
The details
The deep water intake project, which began in 2022, includes the construction of a two-mile pipeline delivering water from intake screens to a new pump station. A raw water transmission tunnel and pipeline will move the pumped water to existing Cedar Park, Leander and BCRUA water treatment plants. Thane said the combination of BCRUA projects, along with its other sources, secures Round Rock’s water well into the future. “This will take us a long way out there—probably around 2070 and 270,000 customers,” he said. “So we have water under contract that can meet our demands for the next 45 years.” In 2022, the BCRUA approved a contract with Thalle Construction Co. and SAK Construction for $224.8 million to build the intake system. The total cost is estimated at $293 million and is funded with cash contributions and contract revenue bonds, according to the BCRUA. Also under construction is Phase 2A, at a cost of $120 million, to increase the BCRUA water treatment plant’s capacity to about 65 MGD.
Total 144.8 MGD
SOURCE: BRUSHY CREEK REGIONAL UTILITY AUTHORITYCOMMUNITY IMPACT
Cost distribution The member cities of BCRUA will each contribute funding for the Raw Water Intake Project.
The main shaft will be able to pump 145 million gallons of water per day.
COURTESY CITY OF ROUND ROCK
Round Rock: $63.4 million Cedar Park: $65.1 million Leander: $96.3 million
Both Phase 2 and Phase 2A of the project is expected to nish by the summer of 2027. Meanwhile, the organization is planning for Phase 3 of the water system, which will expand the BCRUA’s water treatment plant to have a capacity for 106 MGD per day, although a timeline for the project hasn’t been determined.
Total $224.8M
SOURCE: CITY OF ROUND ROCKCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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