WWA is the central management agency for 10 municipal utility districts in The Woodlands in Montgomery County.
According to a news release, the agency voted to authorize the San Jacinto River Authority to move into Phase 2 planning of its project to overhaul a wastewater treatment facility on Sawdust Road, the oldest such facility in the township. SJRA provides wholesale water to The Woodlands as well as wastewater treatment, according to its website. Phase 2 will include planning to optimize the treatment capacity needed for a new plant as well as beginning the negotiation process with adjacent property owners for any additional land acquisitions needed to rebuild the plant, according to WWA. It will also include updating cost estimates for construction.
The board also unanimously approved applying unused funds from a $1.5 million Texas Water Development Board bond sale in 2017 for preliminary engineering and a route installation study for a large-diameter sanitary sewer gravity conveyance line located south of Woodlands Parkway, according to the release. According to WWA, the gravity line could potentially eliminate five sanitary sewer lift stations, creating a potential savings over the life of the project. An exact amount of potential savings was not provided by WWA, but the statement said that operations, maintenance and repair of such lift stations represent a significant cost.
Erich Peterson, who was appointed general manager of WWA earlier this year, said work on infrastructure will be needed in the coming years.
“After 50 years, much of The Woodlands’ original water and wastewater infrastructure has reached the end of its useful life," Peterson said in a statement. "For The Woodlands to continue to be the best place to live, work and play, our trustees recognize it has come time to overhaul our aging infrastructure."
