Pflugerville residents will see an increase in their water usage rates due to scheduled construction aimed at strengthening the city’s wastewater and sewer-management systems.

The construction plans, combined with the fact that the city has not increased its water usage rates in more than a decade, necessitated the hike, according to Pflugerville City Manager Brandon Wade.

“There’s a lot of concern out there that [residents’] rates are being raised to pay for development. Well, we actually have something called developmental impact fees,” Wade said. Essentially the city calculates a fee for developers based on the cost of improvements the city has to make for the development.

On Sept. 26, Pflugerville City Council voted to adopt a fixed-rate increase of $3 per month for wastewater charges in 2018, as recommended by city staff and NewGen Strategies, a municipal consulting firm hired by the city to study its water and wastewater program. There will be no increase to the water fixed-rate in 2018 and 2019, though the fixed charge will increase by $1.10 in 2020.

The city determined the average Pflugerville resident would see his or her total water and wastewater bill increase by $4.50 per month over the next two years, approximately a 6 percent hike in his or her total bill.

Pflugerville’s rate increases will help foot the bill for necessary improvements to the city’s current wastewater treatment facility, which include the construction of a new trunk line running from Pflugerville Parkway to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, located near the intersection of East Pecan Street and SH 130. At the same time the trunk line is put in, an expansion of the wastewater treatment facility will begin construction.

That expansion is estimated to cost as much as $40 million.

At some point in the next 18 months the city will break ground on a new wastewater treatment facility in New Sweden. That facility, located on a small parcel of city property surrounded by the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, is planned to serve the utility needs of residents and potential developments to the east of Lake Pflugerville.

The New Sweden wastewater station will be built for an estimated cost of $1.5 million, paid for with impact fees collected from prospective developers, per Wade.

“The New Sweden plant will be quite small, but it will have all of the flexibility to expand,” Wade said.

Construction of the plant was necessary due to imminent development pressure and Pflugerville’s desire to get out in front of that demand, according to Wade. The city manager said Pflugerville has managed to set aside designs, plans and money for water access and wastewater services.

“When someone tells us they’re ready to start developing this area, we’ll be ready to start building the plant,” Wade said.

The New Sweden  plant will be built with a trunk line that runs northwest, ending near Cele Middle School.

Pflugerville has plans in place for another wastewater treatment facility in the southeastern stretch of the city’s limits, though Wade said the project was 20 or 30 years away from construction.

Additionally, Pflugerville built a new lift station, a facility designed to move wastewater from one area to another, in 1849 Park over the summer. The construction was completed and some operations began before the school year in order to serve the recently opened Weiss High School. Eventually the station will be able to provide wastewater service to areas east of SH 130.

Ultimately, Wade said, the goal is to entice developers to the area, which would bring in more development impact fees and expand the tax base. Expanding Pflugerville’s water and wastewater capabilities can help to accomplish these goals, at least partially, by establishing access to infrastructure crucial to development.

“You can think of these sewer lines as an investment in our infrastructure to help keep our tax rate low,” Wade said.