Leander approved a $1.03 million purchase of a pipe replacement, which allows the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority to continue work on the previously repaired 36-inch raw underwater pipeline.

The overview

• The BCRUA will be replacing 1,400 linear feet of a 36-inch underwater pipeline. The purpose of this pipeline is to transport raw water from the BCRUA floating intake barge on Lake Travis, according to meeting documents.
• Officials are prepurchasing the pipe materials prior to awarding the construction contract, which will expedite the project.
• The prepurchasing of materials reduces the construction schedule by three months, according to the city. It also allows the projected 30-day shutdown of the raw water intake to occur during the wintertime, when the water demand is low.
• The total cost of the pipeline is $2.23 million with Leander’s portion being 46.67% of that, costing $1.03 million. Funding will come from the city’s utility capital projects fund.

What they’re saying

“We’ve talked about the raw water line numerous times, so at this point, this is the final permanent repair of that line, and we’re trying to move forward,” Executive Director of Infrastructure Dan Grimsbo said at the meeting.

Related highlights

Council approved an interlocal agreement with the city of Cedar Park for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the drought contingency raw water intake, resulting in the cost of $1.7 million.

The cities of Cedar Park and Leander previously constructed an underwater pipeline and floating raw water intake for the purpose of pumping water from a deeper part of Sandy Creek as a result of drought and water levels declining in the summer 2013.

In 2015, Lake Travis' water levels improved with rains, causing the barge to be decommissioned, removed from the water and stored, according to meeting documents. With the recent drought and declining water levels, the design and reconstruction of the floating raw water intake are necessary.

The raw water barge will have a pumping capacity of 30 million gallons per day, according to the city: Leander will receive 9 million, and Cedar Park will receive 21 million.

Estimated costs for the raw water intake project is $5.6 million, with Leander’s portion being $1.7 million and Cedar Park’s $3.9 million.

The interlocal agreement between the two cities allows for ownership and cost allocations of the intake project as well as the operation and maintenance of the pipeline, barge and pumping system, according to the city.