What we reported

The Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority has approved a financial agreement among its member cities of Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock to expand its water treatment plant, which delivers water from Lake Travis to the three cities. Round Rock City Council voted to approve the debt of $4.44 million at an August council meeting. The project will cost approximately $17 million but will be split among each city based on expected water capacity use.

The latest

BCRUA plans to expand the capacity of its shared water treatment plant from treating roughly 17 million gallons of water per day to more than 30 million gallons per day, BCRUA General Manager Tom Gallier said. Gallier said this is necessary to keep up with the fast population growth each of the three member cities are experiencing. Final design work is projected to be completed in mid-2018, and construction will likely take 18 months, Gallier said.

What’s next

Following the completion of the water treatment plant expansion, BCRUA will proceed with plans for a well water intake pumping project that will allow the authority to pump from a deeper level within Lake Travis. Gallier said this project will allow BCRUA cities to be better protected from water shortages during droughts. This project is expected to be completed in 2025 or 2026. This story is one update from The January Issue. View the full list of Top 10 stories to follow in 2018 here.