Pflugerville, water company reach agreement to freeze rates

The meeting is at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Pflugerville.

The agreement calls for SouthWest to withdraw its application to merge Windermere Utility Co. with six other water companies throughout the state, not seek any rate increase for 12 months and waive any other new miscellaneous fees for the same period of time.

In return, Pflugerville will pay SouthWest $176,752 and agree not to institute condemnation proceedings for 12 months. The city will also extend its contract to sell wholesale water to the company for a year.

The agreement comes six weeks after the council approved a resolution authorizing city staff to take steps to fight a water rate increase and address water quality issues, including the use of eminent domain by the City of Pflugerville to acquire the water system.

"Your council is bound and determined to do anything it can do, up to and including fighting the fight and condemning Windermere water if that's what it comes down to," Mayor Jeff Coleman said at a Feb. 28 City Council meeting.

Monarch Utilities filed a transfer application with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in February 2011 and a rate increase application the following month. Pflugerville made moves to halt the increase in August, eventually denying it in November.

Monarch appealed that decision to TCEQ, but that appeal will be withdrawn as part of this agreement.