Round Rock officials approve contract for wastewater master plan

On Aug. 11, Round Rock City Council approved a $302,578.34 contract with K. Friese & Associates to complete a master plan for the Brushy Creek Regional Waste Water System.

The vote to approve was made unanimously, absent Place 1 Council Member Michelle Ly.

"With the rapid growth we received from the four cities, we need to make sure we get ahead of the game," Utilities Department Director Michael Thane said. "So we'll get a good report of that when we start that that design for the next expansion there."

The four cities referred to by Thane are Austin, Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock, which all contribute to the Brushy Creek Regional Waste Water System. Both BCRWWS treatment plants are located in Round Rock. The total cost of the contract is $497,989.37. As Round Rock has a 60.76% ownership stake in BCRWWS, the $195,411.03 difference will be split among the other three cities based on share of ownership.

Under this contract, K. Friese & Associates will collect data from the whole system, perform a hydraulic model and capacity analysis for the regional system and develop a long-range plan for treatment and collection systems. This plan will be based on flow and population projections. It will include probable costs and necessary timing for these projects, according to city documents.

The contract will be paid out of the city's Regional Wastewater Projects fund.

This comes as the city is pursuing an expansion of its East Waste Water Treatment Plant on Hwy. 79, which will be upgraded to treat a maximum capacity of 30 million gallons per day, although Thane said the plant's footprint can treat up to 40 million with additional expansion.