BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS WATER TREATMENT PLANT EXPANSION
The City of Brenham is looking to start the planning process of expanding its water system’s treatment capacity.
On Thursday, the Brenham City Council will act on a professional services agreement with Strand Associates for no more than $110,000 for engineering services related to a water source evaluation and a water treatment plant expansion plan.
In December, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) conducted a compliance audit at the water treatment plant and found that the water system’s total production capacity had exceeded 85 percent of its existing capacity. The city says its ability to serve new residential and commercial customers is limited unless it increases the system’s treatment capacity.
The professional services agreement would engage Strand Associates to evaluate future water needs, alternative water sources and options for expanding water treatment capacity. The evaluation would take six months to complete. The timeline for the study, design and construction for water plant expansion is approximately five years.
In a similar item, the council will take up a consulting services agreement with R.W. Harden & Associates for a groundwater availability study. The cost for the study, if approved, would not exceed $24,500.
Also on Thursday, the council will:
- Receive a development services department update.
- Appoint members to serve on the city’s housing task force.
- Consider a resolution repealing and rescinding previous resolutions concerning the city’s gas fund and maintenance of cash reserves. It will then act on a resolution for a $1 million letter of credit with Bank of Brenham for gas fund reserves, with an annual fee of $12,500. With rising gas prices and legal fees related to Winter Storm Uri, the city says it has become more challenging to consistently maintain the cash reserve balance required by its gas supplier, Municipal Gas Acquisition and Supply Corporation. A letter of credit will satisfy the supplier’s requirements.
- Act on a resolution providing for a temporary moratorium on the application, receipt, processing, consideration, approval and/or execution of leases of city-owned real property at the Brenham Municipal Airport. The moratorium is to provide time to complete the Airport Master Plan.
- Consider an ordinance on its first reading to abandon the undeveloped portion of Live Oak Street bounded to the south by Sycamore Street and located to the east of the northeast intersection of North Chappell Hill Street and Sycamore Street,
The council will meet Thursday at 1 p.m. at Brenham City Hall.
Click here to view the agenda packet for Thursday's meeting.
As a Brenham resident…….Somebody please tell me that our water supply is safe if the City has exceeded their capacity by 85%? Also what about new construction of homes in Brenham that will need to take on water? How is the City going to manage this?
This seems to me like something that should have happened 5-10 years ago so that we would be prepared for this. And if I had to guess, I’m willing to bet that there were people within the water department that were telling the city officials this 5-10 years ago but they didn’t want to hear it.
Well no. There are thresholds that are predetermined when water treatment expansion needs to happen. TCEQ has now determined they need to expand. This is the way it works for cities. I’m sure you’re not here just to criticize the city but just in case you were this is normal. So if a worker in the water department brought it up it’s not that anyone disagreed, heck I bet the director would have welcomed the study early, it just wasn’t in the category to act on yet. The growth is now warranting it. I’m sure 5-10 years ago if this wasn’t warranted based on TCEQ and the city did it you would have complained about spending unnecessary money.