The Pflugerville City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved $105 million to begin construction of a 15-mile water main that will double the amount of water flowing into the city. Construction will start soon.
The pipeline, called the Secondary Colorado River Raw Water Line, will increase the amount of water flowing from the Colorado River to Lake Pflugerville from 12,000 acre-feet to 24,000 acre-feet per year, officials said. An acre-foot is the amount of water required to cover one acre with one foot of water.
The council initially approved construction of the pipeline and began appraisal work in October 2022. At Tuesday’s meeting, the council approved three separate contracts with three contractors who will each be responsible for a portion of the pipeline.
Construction is divided into three phases that will take place simultaneously. The first part will expand and modernize the pump station on the lower Colorado River at a cost of $12.8 million, including the construction of a fourth pump. The second will build a 10-mile section of the pipeline within Austin city limits at a cost of $56.7 million. The third phase, which will cost $35.3 million, will complete the remaining five miles of pipeline to Pflugerville.
Jeff Dunsworth, assistant director of utilities and city engineer for the city, said it will be more efficient to use different contractors because the pipeline passes through multiple jurisdictions with different regulatory agencies. He said this eases the burden of relying on one contractor for the entire project.
“It gives them flexibility with the city so that we don’t … have all our eggs in one basket,” Dunsworth said. “(Not having) one contractor to complete the entire length of the pipeline allows for faster progress on the project.”
Dunsworth said the addition of the new pipeline will adequately maintain water supplies until at least 2040, taking into account an expected population growth of 4% per year. He said beyond 2040, the city is looking at new water conservation and recovery technologies that will be more useful and affordable over the next 10 to 15 years.
He also said the pipeline will be made of a lighter material manufactured in Texas and will use a protection system that resists corrosion. He said this has saved the city about $17 million.
Councilman Rudy Metayer called the pipeline one of the most important projects the city is working on. He praised those working on it for finding ways to be both innovative and cost-effective.
“We set the standard for the state,” Metayer said. “You’re all well aware that other people around the state are watching what we’re doing here.”
The pipeline is one of three major water projects underway in Pflugerville. The city is also working to expand its water treatment plant and build a new regional wastewater treatment plant.
Dunsworth said all three projects should be completed by 2026.
89th legislative agenda
The council also approved a resolution establishing Pflugerville’s legislative agenda for the upcoming 89th legislative session, which will take place on January 14.
The agenda supports potential legislation that would give the city more control over its city limits and extraterritorial boundaries, such as the city’s ability to annex and its ability to enforce its own municipal regulations. It also calls for reversing previous legislation that has already eroded it, officials said.
Councilman David Rogers said the agenda’s positions on issues like annexation and requests to overturn legislation could “poke the bear” because they usually require multiple sessions.
“I don’t know if we gain anything or change the trajectory of anything LThe Legislature is doing this by specifically saying… ‘we want you to undo what you did last session,’” Rogers said.
Councilman Jim McDonald said even if this type of legislation doesn’t pass in the next session, it’s still important to fight for more local control.
Councilman Doug Weiss said the Texas Legislature expects to be prodded in this way, but the city still needs to lay out its priorities and divisions.
“If we don’t poke the bear a little bit, the bear will find something else to get angry about,” Weiss said. “We need to make sure we show our frustration before they come up with something else to make us angry.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Pflugerville approves $105 million for new water main
