Bastrop city officials say Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 3 will soon become obsolete, as the facility needs retrofitting to meet the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s new phosphorus level readings and discharge into the Colorado River requirements.
“The city must comply,” Bastrop City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino said in a staff report.
What residents should know
A $5 million Faraday Reactor, a water treatment technology capable of converting effluent into potable water, was identified as a viable solution and will be discussed during a March 24 Bastrop City Council meeting.
Carrillo-Trevino emphasized that this course of action has the best return on investment.
“This water can be used for industry or sold to neighboring jurisdictions in need of water,” she said. “During times of extreme need, it can also be used as a drinking water source. However, that is not the city’s intended use at this time.”
Some context
Wastewater Treatment plants No. 1 and No. 2 are offline during construction, and flows are being redirected to Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 3 at 384 SH 304, Bastrop—a facility that came online May 7, 2024.
Rehabilitation of Wastewater Treatment plants No. 1 and No. 2 began in September and has a scheduled completion date of July 23, 2026. The project is being financed with approximately $2.3 million in funding through the American Rescue Plan Act grant fund and $112,699 through the city’s Wastewater Capital Improvement Plan fund, according to city documents.
Also of note
Carrillo-Trevino previously questioned the TCEQ’s decision to roll out new phosphorus level readings and discharge into the Colorado River requirements without notifying the city during the design of Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 3.
“Is that bad planning? I don't know, but shame on the state for not letting us know something's coming down the pipe so that we can at least plan for it as we're in the planning stages,” she said during her State of the City address last September.
The outlook
If the city enters negotiations with VVater, the water treatment technology provider, for the $5 million Faraday Reactor, Bastrop city staff will present cost and bond information for possible action at an April 10 meeting, according to city documents.
