Officials considering May bond for water system improvements

The Aug. 18 deadline to call for a November bond election came and went without Water District No. 10 officials calling an election. President Clif Drummond said the district could not justify asking area residents to pay such a high tax burden.

The proposed November bond would have been in excess of $52 million and resulted in an eventual tax burden of about $1,200 annually to district residents.

"It was just too expensive and had too big of a tax impact on residents," Drummond said. "The feedback we have received is that we were asking too much of district homeowners."

WD10's decision was announced during an Aug. 13 joint meeting among WD10, West Lake Hills City Council and Emergency Services District No. 9.

"I'm pleased to see Water District 10 examine this issue so thoroughly," West Lake Hills Mayor Dave Claunch said.

Drummond said the district will move forward with a plan to call for a May bond election that will include only the highest-priority items from the previously discussed November bond.

"We are starting at ground zero," he said. "We will continue to seek input on the projects that would be undertaken in that future bond."

Claunch said he hopes the district will use the next few months to get the details of the bond figured out in order to proceed in May.

Drummond said the district will most likely propose a bond to pay for a select number of items, such as the Bee Caves Road pipeline, which the district is required to have ready by the end of 2014 for the widening of the roadway. He said the district will also look at the renovation and upgrade of the McConnell pump station located near Laurel Valley and Yaupon Valley roads. The estimated cost of just the two projects is more than $18 million. Drummond said the district will also need to build a new connection between the pump station and the new Bee Caves Road pipe.

"We last [upgraded] a pump station about seven or eight years ago," Drummond said. "We need to upgrade the number of pumps, size of pumps and all that goes with it. If we [just do those three improvements] that will aid the district in significant ways."

Drummond said although the district is only considering the highest-priority items for a May bond, the improvements would be felt districtwide.

"A water system functions similar to a mobile," he said. "If you push one end of a mobile, the whole thing moves. If you make improvements to any end of a water system, the whole system sees a benefit.

"We want to take this proposal to residents and credibly say these are the highest-priority items," Drummond said. "This may not be the end of it, but we can only do [a bond] as the people of this district can afford to pay for it."

The deadline to file a May bond is in February.