Schertz looks to provide water, wastewater to proposed development

Schertz City Council authorized a development agreement with BFR LLC, a boutique residential and land brokerage, committing the city to providing water and sewer service to the company’s 30-acre property April 15.

The property is located in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction at 12535 Woman Hollering Road, according to agenda documents.

ETJs were created by the Texas Legislature in 1963 and have allowed cities to invoke some regulatory authority over subdivisions outside of the city limits, which ensures those areas reflect that city’s development standards, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.

The approval limits city water and wastewater impacts fees currently being charged and allows for a multifamily complex to be an allowed use. The property owner agrees to petition for voluntary annexation once the multifamily project is constructed, according to agenda documents.

Digging deeper

With the completion of the Woman Hollering Creek Trunk Line and Lift Station project, Schertz staff calculated actual flows from wastewater treated by Crossvine batch plant and found that the city is already using its allocated 125,000 gallons per day of capacity.

Without treatment expansion, other new developments like Sterling Grove would need to move wastewater from up north to the OJR Plant if the city does not obtain more capacity.

“That’s not an unusual thing. We have subdivisions that are currently lifting up because either the south plant wasn’t in place or because of where they’re located they can’t get to the Woman Hollering Creek Trunk Line,” Deputy City Manager Brian James said.

Developments like Saddlebrook, Carmel Ranch and Willow Grove lift up to the OJR Plant.

Some background

In 2014, the city of Schertz entered into a Southern Plant Wastewater Services and Funding Agreement by and among Cibolo Creek Municipal Authority, Schertz and Cibolo for the construction of the CCMA South Sewer Treatment Plant. CCMA would build a sewer treatment plant with capabilities to treat 500,000 gallons of wastewater per day, according to agenda documents.

In December 2022, the city of Schertz and Green Valley Municipal Utility District entered into a mediated settlement agreement that assigned 75,000 gallons per day to GVSUD and an additional 50,000 gallons per day with GVSUD paying Schertz’s cost for this capacity. This means the city of Schertz gave up 125,000 gallons per day of capacity to the utility district. In early 2024, Cibolo opted in to the agreement which means the city has rights to half of the 500,000 gallons per day of capacity. As a result, Schertz only has 125,000 gallons of wastewater per day of capacity at the plant and is the only entity contributing to the plant’s flows, according to agenda documents.

“The problem is not that the plant is out of capacity, it’s that we’re the only ones flowing into it,” James said.

A quick note

The city must obtain additional capacity in the south plant from either Green Valley Special Utility District or the city of Cibolo prior to executing a development agreement.

Extra capacity must be obtained prior to execution of the development agreement, according to agenda documents.