This comes as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has determined that the facility is not meeting a standard for its current permit.
What you need to know
The City Council voted to engage Garver Engineering to conduct a study of its South Fork Wastewater Treatment Plant on Sept. 11 at the request of the TCEQ to determine how the city can bring its treated wastewater to standard.
Per city documents, the treatment plant is not reducing the amount of dissolved solids, chloride and sulfate sources to a low enough ratio to meet TCEQ standards. David Thomison, the city's director of public works, says the plant was not designed to reduce these levels to a level low enough to comply with these standards.
The contract for engineering services will not exceed $185,287, city documents show, and is included in the waste water fund of the 2024-25 budget.
Annual reports of the study will be provided by the engineering firm by Dec. 31 of each year through 2027, when the study is planned to conclude.
How we got here
This comes as the city is working to implement a potable reuse program, which a project funding request from the Texas Water Development Board states will help improve the quality of the treated effluent discharged into the San Gabriel River by the plant. This would see treated effluent rerouted to meet demands for treated potable water in the area, according to the request.
