Leander moves back into Stage 2 water restrictions following BCRUA pipeline repair

The city of Leander moved back into Stage 2 water restrictions April 2 following the completion of the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority’s underwater pipeline repair.

Crews began working on a long-term fix to the BCRUA’s underwater pipeline Feb. 28. In preparation for the repairs, the city entered Stage 4 water restrictions Feb. 12.

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The work that took place between Feb. 28 and the end of March required replacing and testing a 1,418-linear-foot section of the 36-inch pipeline that transports raw water from Lake Travis to the BCRUA water treatment plant. Once at the plant, the water is converted into drinking water and dispersed to each BCRUA partner city—Leander, Cedar Park and Round Rock.

The repair required the entire BCRUA water treatment plant to stop operations because the raw water line must be separated, replaced and reconnected. Because of this, Leander’s overall capacity was reduced from 24 million gallons per day to 9 million gallons per day as the city relied solely on the Sandy Creek Regional Water Plant, officials said.

Replacing the portion of the pipe is intended to prevent failures that occurred three times over the last three years.

Keep in mind

Stage 2 water restrictions allow one-day-a-week outdoor irrigation watering and hand-held watering at any time.