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Wimberley signs Aqua Texas sewer contract

The Wimberley City Council unanimously approved a contract with Aqua Texas for sewer system services during tonight’s special council meeting.

The long-term debate over whether the city should own its own effluent treatment plant or have effluent processed by Aqua Texas has been settled with a 10-year contract. The effective date of the contract is when the city officially issues the new bonds for the project or when the TWDB issues a favorable environmental statement, whichever action comes last. The city will own the collection system. Aqua Texas will treat the effluent.

“We pay a monthly fee for the treatment of our wastewater,” City Administrator Shawn Cox said. “That is based off their meter fees. The agreement is $4,398.43 per month for up to 50,000 gallons per day. Over 50,000, we shift into a new monthly payment of $7,037.49 per month. The total contract allows for up to 75,000 gallons a day to be treated. If we were to ever go over 75,000 we would need to negotiate a new contract. Currently we are at around 30,000 to 33,000 gallons per day with the businesses we have right now (under normal business operations).”

The city will owe half of a $300,000 connection fee within 15 days of the final approval.

Part of the contract stipulates that the city will be able to access the effluent treated at the Aqua Texas plant for reuse if it chooses. However, the treatment is currently to type 2 standards, not the type one level of treatment the city’s planned treatment plant would have produced. The city would also be responsible for the costs of transporting the effluent.

The contract can be terminated “by mutual consent,” according to Cox. The contract is for 10 years with an automatic three-year renewal is no cancellation notice is made.

The most recent estimates for completion of the sewer system are in the fall of 2020.

The city must still complete the construction of the sewer system, which includes the design and construction of a new portion north of Cypress Creek to Aqua Texas’s lift station near H-E-B. It is expected that design will be given to TXDOT this week for approval.

The Texas Water Development Board must also approve the plans and a favorable environmental finding is still needed.

Cox said that, due to state limits on the amount of change orders in a contract, the city will have to bid the new section of sewer north of Cypress Creek in a new contract. However, there are still funds available from the loan and grants for the project.

“We have about $657,000 left,” Cox said. “That includes total contract price. That includes the change orders. That is if we were to finish everything today and had paid everything on the current contract. It takes into account the money released and the money allocated.”

While official costs for the new section of sewer won’t be known until the bids are made for the project, Cox said that the city “anticipates that will be sufficient funding for what we need.”

Construction is expected to start in the middle of July and finish by October. After construction is completed there is a portion of time necessary to test the project before it opens later in the Fall of 2020.

Wimberley View

P.O. Box 49
Wimberley, TX 78676
Phone: 512-847-2202
Fax: 512-847-9054