Engineers consulting with the city of Shavano Park will develop a water model analysis, which local officials said will help them identify and address issues and opportunities related to the town’s water infrastructure.

The background

City Council on March 25 approved a work order tasking Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam—one of the city’s on-call engineering firms—to formulate a comprehensive water hydrology model, an action step outlined in the long-range town plan that local leaders approved in 2023.

John Baker, vice president at Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam, said town officials have been relying on a water system map produced in the late 1980s.

City officials said building a water system hydraulic model will achieve the following objectives:
  • Help Shavano Park’s water utility personnel plan capital replacements by identifying the age and material of water mains to determine their usable life
  • Determine the appropriate water main size for future installation based on the number of home service connections and water usage
  • Determine whether additional booster pumps are needed to boost fire suppression capability
  • Improve the city’s Insurance Services Office rating, which reflects a community’s fire preparedness and can affect homeowners insurance rates
  • Determine whether additional water capacity is needed
“There’s a lot to be done to make that model useful,” City Manager Bill Hill said.


Dig deeper

According to local officials, LAN engineers' representatives recommended a three-phase work order:
  • Formulate a geographic information system, or GIS, map showing locations, materials and ages of all water infrastructure elements
  • Create a digital hydraulic water model
  • Produce a technical memorandum documenting system capability and fire flows, and suggest improvements
City staff recommended council approve a task order covering LAN engineers’ efforts to craft a GIS map, which LAN officials estimate will cost between $30,000 and $50,000. The GIS map initiative, specifically, will be accompanied by a full assessment of Shavano Park’s water system, a list of potential improvements and hydraulic modeling software.

Public Works/Water Director Johnny Villarreal said a water model will never be 100% complete, and that it will be a living/breathing document.

"It may show us certain chokepoints that even we’re not aware of,” Villarreal said.