What this means
After nearly a year, the city will end its development moratorium. The moratorium, first enacted Aug. 29, 2024, during a special meeting, paused certain development approvals while city staff worked on increasing water and sewer infrastructure projects.
“We have a lot of possibilities out there,” said Norman McGuire, assistant city administrator and public works director, during the Aug. 13 workshop meeting. “We're constantly addressing this moratorium issue and water challenges within the city. We've been very aggressive on it. You guys have been just as aggressive and supportive of us on this.”
How we got here
City Council discussed the potential of a citywide development moratorium due to constraints on water capacity in April 2025, as recommended by McGuire. City officials also first alerted the City Council of the declining water capacity last April, according to prior reporting. In May, Mayor Duke Coon said the city immediately needs six water wells and will need up to 13 wells between now and 2037, with each costing around $12 million to $15 million, as previously reported.
According to prior reporting, during a June 2024 meeting, the City Council adopted seasonal irrigation restrictions in effect from May through October.
Also of note
During the Aug. 14 meeting, City Administrator Gary Scott said the city’s May 2025 request to change the authorized water capacity requirement from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality—which was expedited with support from Sen. Brandon Creighton and Rep. Cecil Bell—was successful.
Scott said the new authorized water capacity requirement is lower at 0.46 gallons per minute per connection, compared to the state baseline of 0.6 gpm, which is crucial for the city's water capacity requirements.
The change comes with three conditions, including expiration either in 42 months of issuance from the date of the letter or 2029, and maintaining daily usage numbers for three consecutive years.
What’s next
As previously reported in June, Scott said several additional wells and upgrades are scheduled to come online over the next 15 months:
- Water Plant No. 30: September 2025
- Well No. 6 & Well No. 14 replacements: April 2026 (increased capacity from 1,000-1,200 gpm to 2,000 gpm)
- Well No. 32 (The Woodlands Hills area): October 2026
