Georgetown Water Department continues to develop master plan

The Georgetown City Council approved a partial reimbursement to several developers for the installation of a 24-inch water line at its Jan. 25 meeting. Located along Ronald Reagan Boulevard near Sun City and CR 245, the water line will provide water to residential and commercial properties over 377.6 acres.

This reimbursement was processed as a water impact fee credit, which the city originally budgeted for in the 2018 master water plan. This credit will be paid to Plazo Tierra LLC, Georgetown Patio Homes LLC, Aaronson Tierra LLC, and Furman Tierra LLC.

By completing a water impact fee study, a summation of the department's costs, including the supply, treatment, pumping, transmission and storage for several planned projects, concluded the city was able to budget the reimbursement.

"The reason the city does not pay for the entirety of the infrastructure is because developers can usually get it done for cheaper than what we can," Water Utilities Director Chelsea Solomon said. "It makes a win-win."

With Georgetown experiencing record growth, the master plan will be revised in 2023.

"Inside of Ronald Reagan [Boulevard], or [US] 183, tends to be a hot-sell right now," Solomon said.

The Georgetown Water Department will soon turn its focus to a new phase of projects, including an expansion of the North Lake plant and the design of a new South Lake plant, which will more than double the city's water holding capacity.

The city is also looking at the potential of an aquifer storage and recovery system, essentially a large well system than will store potable water anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 feet underground, an expensive but long-term solution to maintaining water storage as opposed to ground storage, which tends to be more subject to the effects of climate, evaporation and contamination.

To learn more about the water department, visit www.gus.georgetown.org/water.