During a special meeting Nov. 29, the Magnolia City Council unanimously approved the Magnolia Economic Development Corp.’s 4A project list, which included a project to provide a temporary water system for the east side of Magnolia.

The project is projected to cost $550,000, Economic Development Director Rachel Steele said at the meeting.

“What that covers is essentially nine months for a temporary water system that will be contracted out through three vendors,” Steele said.

The council’s approval now allows the MEDC to start paying deposits to the vendors, Steele said.

At the meeting, City Administrator Don Doering said the temporary water system should be up and running by the second week of December.

During a special meeting Nov. 22, the MEDC unanimously approved the contracts for the vendors.

“Currently, Magnolia Place and Heritage Green are the only two developments that currently have construction underway and businesses open,” Steele said during the MEDC special meeting. “They are experiencing some water pressure issues, as we’ve been aware of.”

Steele said the east side of Magnolia is experiencing so much growth that it is taxing the water lines already in place.

The city is building a water plant and tower on a 2-acre piece of land the MEDC sold to the city, for which construction is projected to be completed in later in 2023, Steele said.

Steele said without the temporary water system, the businesses on the east side of Magnolia cannot pass tests for things such as fire suppression, which are needed to acquire a certificate of occupancy and subsequently open.

“The temporary water system will introduce to the east side only approximately 80,000 gallons of potable water for the dedicated use for just the commercial businesses,” Steele said.