Agreements passed by Pflugerville City Council at its April 9 meeting will pave the way for continued cooperation between the city and the SouthWest and Manville water supply corporations, according to city officials.
Council passed a resolution authorizing a $250,000 payment to Manville Water Supply Corp. in exchange for taking over all water utility provision to the Sorento subdivision. The resolution stated the takeover is a "gesture of cooperation, conciliation and goodwill by the Manville Water Supply Corporation."
Before the agreement, approximately half of the subdivision's 944 homes fell under Manville's coverage area, with the city supplying water for the remaining area. The purchase will allow the city to serve the entire subdivision, which is currently being developed on Weiss Lane.
"There is real development pressure on that particular tract, and it would have been served by two different water providers, which would have been confusing," Pflugerville Assistant City Manager Trey Fletcher said. "It was a benefit to the community to [take over service]."
The city has taken over water service coverage areas from Manville before, including an area southwest of Pflugerville Parkway.
Manville also announced April 12 its plans to spend more than $350,000 to upgrade its service pipelines and pumps throughout the city. Included in the figure is a $241,608 project to replace 2,100 feet of 12-inch pipeline with newer 16-inch pipe along Heatherwilde Boulevard. A second project will cost $115,571 to add pumps to Manville's elevated tank plant at FM 685 and Gattis School Road. The project is intended to improve service to areas near the Greenridge subdivision and Gattis School Road.
"Manville has served the area for many years and will continue to do so in a cost-effective and reliable manner," Manville WSC General Manager Tony Graf said in a news release.
The Manville system's older pipelines have led to line breaks and other issues in the past, and the city has taken steps such as approving a $300,000 expenditure in March to run a redundant pipe to the Royal Pointe subdivision, which is currently served by Manville, in order to provide backup service to the area if another break should occur.
"The city and Manville [are] trying to find areas where we can agree ... or allow the city to take over the service," Pflugerville Mayor Jeff Coleman said.
The council also approved extending negotiations with SouthWest Water Supply Corp. through April 9, 2014, with SouthWest agreeing to freeze rates during that period. The city and SouthWest are working to compromise on utility rates, and City Manager Brandon Wade said negotiations are moving forward.
"I am very encouraged by the discussions we've had with SouthWest of late," Wade said at the council meeting.
The current rate discussions between the city and SouthWest started in 2012 when SouthWest proposed a 67 percent rate increase for customers of the Windermere Water Supply Corp., SouthWest's provider company in Pflugerville. At that time, the city agreed to pay SouthWest $176,752 to purchase water from Austin to cover Pflugerville's peak demand and to drop proceedings that could have ended the city's service with SouthWest. In return, SouthWest agreed to freeze rates for a year. The city and SouthWest have worked since then to foster an agreement and alleviate issues, including rate increases, and the April 9 decision will allow the two parties to continue negotiations.
"During the past year [the city and SouthWest] talked quite a lot with each other ... and over the past year we've discussed very thoroughly what we won't accept from each other," Wade said. "What we've done now is focused in on an area where we can have some success, and not just short-term success, but long-term success."
