The city of Round Rock will seek a low-interest loan from the Texas Water Development Board to partially fund ongoing expansion of the East Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant to meet future demand growth.
The big picture
In May, city officials approved measures to seek outside funding for a 10 million gallon per day increase in capacity at a regional wastewater treatment plant located in Round Rock. The plant services Round Rock, Austin, Cedar Park and Leander, but only Round Rock and Austin will be entitled to the additional capacity.
The system consists of two wastewater treatment plants and about 45 miles of regional collection lines.
In a nutshell
The loan would come from the Texas Water Development Board's Clean Water State Revolving Fund, and would finance part of the city's expansion to from 30 million gallons per day to 40 million gallons per day of wastewater treatment capacity at this facility, Public Works Director Michael Thane said in a May 26 Round Rock City Council packet briefing.
Round Rock City Council also approved an item to adjust its existing agreement with Plummer Associates Inc. to manage paperwork and the loan process, as well as pursuing a second round of funding through the water development board's 2027 CWSR program. Plummer is the firm engaged by the city to rehabilitate the facility. The change in costs associated with the additional work is $124,980, and will come from the city's budget for regional wastewater projects.
The details
Total costs to expand the wastewater treatment plant are around $117.6 million, Thane said, and the city is seeking the loan due to these high costs. While the expansion is a partnership between the cities of Austin and Round Rock, the latter will claim 90% of the expanded capacity and must pay a proportional amount of the expense.
