The Water District No. 10 board, which serves the city of West Lake Hills along with neighborhoods Rob Roy and Camelot, voted unanimously Feb. 18 to place a nearly $46 million bond referendum on the May ballot. Board President Clif Drummond said the bond money would go toward increasing the capacity of water lines in the district and the pumping power of the stations to increase water pressure for fire hydrants. "We believe the district needs more fire flow in hydrants, and we need to make capital improvements to our infrastructure to make that happen," he said.

Evolving plan

During summer 2014 the district discussed a potential November bond before ultimately deciding the price tag was too high. "We had to prioritize," Drummond said. The district created a list of projects with a total price of about $83 million before narrowing the list to about $53 million. "The $83 million was just too expensive," he said. "That was every possible thing we could have done." Despite cutting about $30 million from that 2014 proposal, the feedback WD10 received indicated the tax impact on residents would still be too great. The board adopted a preliminary engineering report Jan. 19 that identified 19 projects totaling nearly $42 million. "We serve the entire district," Drummond said. "Not just isolated areas [where the water pressure may be low]. These improvements are not a question of recent growth, but to provide benefits and better fire protection to the entire district. "Because of the area where we live we have one of the highest fire risks in the state of Texas," he said. "We believe that we need to increase fire flow to keep a house fire from becoming a wildfire." Michael Lacey, fire marshal of Emergency Services District No. 9, which serves the area affected by the bond, said he thinks the bond improvements would help protect existing structures and future growth in the district from potential fire risks. "Having 2,000 [gallons per minute] of flow from the fire hydrants changes [the fire departments] ability to utilize equipment while fighting a fire," he said. "If we don't have adequate water we are limited in our tactical abilities, and that puts the community at risk."

Bond costs

In addition to the $41,661,801 in identified improvements, the board is asking voters to approve $3.9 million in construction contingencies, $6.6 million in inflation adjustments and $2.7 million in non-construction costs. To lessen the tax burden on district residents the board will pay $5 million out of its cash reserves toward the bond, bringing the total to about $$46 million Drummond said. "By paying that money out of our reserves we will save $9.3 million in interest over the life of the bond," Drummond said. The 25-year bond, if passed, would increase taxes for district residents by 10.5 cents per $100 of property valuation by the 2017 tax year. The initial increase would be 6.5 cents per $100 in the 2016 tax year. The tax increases come in addition to the 2.9 cent maintenance and operations tax already in place for the district. The estimated average home value in the water district is $808,417, making the average tax increase $525 for 2016 and $849 annually starting in 2017, Drummond said.

Projects

More than a dozen of the 19 projects outlined in the engineering report will increase pipe sizes, and the remainder are designated for increasing and upgrading pump stations, adding backup generators and implementing a new control system for the district. The estimated five-year project would kick off with the Bee Caves Road widening project. A 16-inch distribution line would be placed from Bulian Lane to Buckeye Trail and later from Buckeye Trail to Red Bud Trail. Drummond said the first $7 million of the project is dedicated to improving the spine of the distribution system along Bee Caves Road. The other large sums come from adding generators and improving the pump capacity of the McConnell Drive pump station$9,436,800and the creation of a new pump station with generators at Flintridge Road$7,200,168. "If you increase the size of the pipes you also have to increase the size of the pumps to pressurize those pipes," Drummond said. "This will increase water pressure throughout the entire district."

Down the pipe

"Of the options available to the water district, not doing anything is not an option," Drummond said. The district, which was established in 1958, has not seen many changes in its more than 50-year history. "We have no outstanding debt and have only done four bonds in our history," Drummond said. "What this [bond] would do is essentially make a 60-year-old water system more robust." Early voting for the bond begins April 27, and the election is May 9.