Pflugerville city leaders said they want to harness millions of gallons of treated wastewater the city would otherwise release into Gilleland Creek and provide it to local business.

According to a wastewater master plan City Council discussed Oct. 16, the city could pump millions of gallons of reuse water to areas with growing commercial and business prospects. Reuse water is treated wastewater below the standard of drinking water, but it can be used for irrigation and industrial enterprises. The plan could take years to come to fruition, City Manager Brandon Wade said.

"[Reuse water] gives an opportunity for us to utilize a resource that we already have," Wade said. "And it gives us a great deal more flexibility when it comes to development in the future."

City Councilman Brad Marshall said reuse water could extend Pflugerville's potable water supply and helps with water conservation, among other benefits.

"If a business uses a lot of water, reclaimed water has the potential to significantly reduce the water costs for that business," Marshall said in an email. "Additionally, the supply of reclaimed water is not significantly impacted by droughts, so the reliability of the system can be of importance to a business."

The master plan calls for additions at the Gilleland Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant that could yield up to 5 million gallons of reuse water per day. The master plan will go before the Planning and Zoning Commission in December and then potentially to City Council, Assistant City Manager Tom Word said.

Wade said users of large amounts of water could receive reuse water, thereby reducing demand for the city's drinking water supply. Reuse water could also be piped to office building cooling towers.

The Pflugerville Community Development Corp. and city officials have touted Pflugerville as a future office market. Current projects could lead to office towers being built at the 130 Commerce Center, a business park on SH 130, and Sunshine Village, a large potential development at Pflugerville Parkway and FM 685.

Wade said the city has already run pipes capable of carrying reuse water to the possible future location of a data center off Pflugerville Parkway.

The reuse utility could cost up to $14.25 million, but the cost could vary depending on how and where reuse water infrastructure is built. City officials have not yet calculated a cost per 1,000 gallons, Word said.

The city would need seed money, Wade said, to set up a reuse utility accompanying the water and sewer utilities.

Startup funds could come from the water and/or sewer fund. The money could be loaned to the new utility and eventually paid back with reuse utility revenue, Wade said. Funding could also come from the city's general fund, but Wade said he is "somewhat reluctant" to tap the general fund because of its high demand.

In building the system, the city could extend reuse pipelines incrementally into different zones along SH 130.

"Not all of the demand is going to come on at the same time," Word said. "The city looked at phasing the improvements at the treatment plant."

Word said there is also the possibility of running pipes to a single region if one large user were to need it.

Northeast Metro Park, located near the wastewater plant, already receives reuse water from Pflugerville for irrigation. Wade said it is unlikely reuse water would be piped into west Pflugerville because of its higher elevation and distance from the treatment plant.

Other cities already have reuse projects in place. Austin's purple pipe system channels reuse water to golf courses. Round Rock pumps reuse water to The Dell Diamond and Old Settlers Park.