In response to increased demand and growing population projections, LCRA has been planning for centralized surface water transmission facilities in western Travis County since the mid-1980s. This region is an ecologically sensitive, historically rural area (beyond the Village of Bee Cave) where well water is not reliably available in times of drought and the demand for water service continues to increase.
Assuming the demand is there, LCRA's long-term plans include proposed water treatment plants, water storage tanks and water transmission lines.
The long-term plan is an engineering representation of what the infrastructure could look like based on studies and projections. What it will look like is a function of the regional planning process and actual growth.
Summary of the system
LCRA's long-range utility plans are based on service to a projected 45,000 households and an additional investment of $225 million through 2035.
LCRA's Board recently approved a five-mile water line to serve new and existing development on Hamilton Pool Road and water service to Sweetwater Ranch on Highway 71. Plans for much of the region does not yet include specific site locations, engineering and design. Staff hasn't, for example, designed a particular distribution system because demand for services and growth patterns are unknown.
In general, long-range provision of surface water west of the Village of Bee Cave along Hamilton Pool Road and west along Highway 71 could be provided by extending service from the existing West Travis County Regional Water System and supplementing treatment capacity with a new water treatment plant near Lake Travis. Service west of the Pedernales River calls for another water treatment plant that would provide regional service to both existing subdivisions and proposed raw land development. Both new plants would use surface water from Lake Travis.
LCRA's plans are based on one house per three acres of land. However, this is an average and some developments may be denser depending on municipal and county platting requirements.
The expansion of centralized wastewater service will depend on the location, timing and density of growth in the region.
Application to extend western Travis CCN
In May 2004, the Board authorized staff to apply for an expansion of LCRA's existing water Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) to cover appropriate uncertificated areas in this region. Staff is researching whether a CCN is the most appropriate way to provide water utility services while also protecting water quality in this region. If the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality grants LCRA a CCN for this area, then LCRA will have the primary right and obligation to provide water service within the certificated service area.
This means that LCRA would be required to serve water to anyone who applies for service and meets LCRA's terms and conditions of service. Moreover, the grant of the water CCN to LCRA means that other retail public utilities, such as water supply corporations or municipal utility districts, generally may not provide water service within LCRA's CCN unless TCEQ determines otherwise.
While the timetable is not finalized, LCRA's proposal to apply for the water CCN for this area is a good operational approach because it allows LCRA to plan more efficiently and economically for future growth.
