The backstory
Magnolia has been dealing with a water capacity shortage for two years. City officials enacted a temporary development moratorium in December 2022, which has been extended four times, most recently in April.
In 2023, the city started adding several water wells in an effort to meet the demand for water. Since last year, the city has added two more wells with four more in the works. Water wells Nos. 7 and 8, at a cost of around $7.7 million, produce approximately 15,000 gallons per minute.
How it's going
Along with installing water wells, the city is moving forward with adding a 500,000-gallon elevated water storage tank. The city has 400,000 gallons of stored water.
City Engineer Tim Robertson said this tank will increase that capacity to 900,000 gallons, which will give the city the ability to more than double the amount of single-family home connections.
Magnolia has approximately 3,600 connections, with around 11,000 still expected to be needed within the next five years, Robertson said.
About the project
The $3.7 million contract for building the storage tank was awarded to Landmark Structures, a company that specializes in designing, fabricating and constructing tanks and vessels.
Landmark Structures was one of three bidders, coming in $14,000 higher than the lowest bidder. However, the company's final completion time was 50 days less than the lowest bidder, Phoenix Fabricators & Erectors.
Construction is expected to start on the water tank in 1-2 months and will take approximately 430 calendar days to complete. The contract includes construction of the storage tank, associated piping, electrical work and site restoration.
One more thing
Once the tank is completed, council members can determine the color and logo they want placed on it. Mayor Matthew Dantzer referred the agenda item to staff, who will bring forth their recommendations at a later date.
Also on the agenda
City Council also approved the budget and tax rate calendar for fiscal year 2024-25 at the May 14 meeting.
- June 28: First draft of proposed budget brought to City Council
- July 25: Tax assessor calculates no-new revenue and voter-approval tax rates
- Aug. 27: Special City Council meeting to discuss tax rate
- Sept. 10: Public hearing and adoption of budget and tax rate
- Oct. 1: New fiscal year begins
