The memo is a nonbinding agreement with no cost associated, according to city documents.
Effectively, the city of Pflugerville is asking the city of Round Rock, the LCRA and the BRA to study the feasibility of having Round Rock's treated wastewater from the Brushy Creek East Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant conveyed to Lake Pflugerville to then be treated at Pflugerville's water treatment plant so that it is potable and can be used by residents. Currently, that effluent wastewater is treated and either reused or dumped into Brushy Creek, Utilities Director Michael Thane said during the Jan. 25 packet briefing.
"We're not here to incur more costs," Thane said. "We're here to help our neighbor but also make sure it's right for Round Rock."
The memo simply serves as an agreement to have multiple discussions regarding the feasibility of Pflugerville's request and possibly conduct a feasibility study, according to city staff, but ultimately does not determine whether the city of Round Rock will take actions to approve such an arrangement. It will be valid for 12 months.
City documents state Texas law allows for the LCRA to contract with and provide the BRA up to 25,000 acre-feet of water to be used anywhere in Williamson County per year under a set of special conditions. This includes a "no net loss" of water in the Colorado River's watershed and an authorized surcharge on water sales to conserve, replace or offset the amount transferred.
Of this 25,000 acre-feet, 20,928 acre-feet are obtained by the city of Round Rock. According to the city, it works with the BRA and LCRA to identify methods of satisfying the no-net-loss clause for its contracted water, saving the city money, reducing future surcharge costs and additional stability to its water rates. The city of Pflugerville's request could potentially satisfy this requirement, according to city staff, because Lake Pflugerville is located in the Colorado River watershed.
"This is intriguing to us because we are worried about that 25% surcharge," Thane said. "When we're taking all of our water into consideration, that could be somewhere between $700,000 or $800,000 a year. That's at 25% today. The Legislature did not put a cap on that, the LCRA could vote to go to a 30% surcharge for your system."
