Liberty Hill staff and consultants updated the City Council on July 23, 2025, about the Advanced Water Purification Facility (AWPF) project — branded PureWater LHTX — including the pilot program, regulatory steps and a public outreach timeline.

Consulting engineer representatives said the project responds to projected water demand and stricter effluent limits at the South Fork wastewater treatment plant. The city’s water master plan identified potential maximum day demand approaching 10 million gallons per day by 2050 versus current treatment capacity of about 1.5 million gallons per day. "AWPF was identified as a key way as part of that master plan report to close that gap and meet that demand," the engineer said.

Why it matters: Consultants said changes to the South Fork plant’s discharge permit drove part of the AWPF logic. A court‑reviewed permit issued in April 2025 set a phosphorus limit of 0.02 milligrams per liter (down from 0.15), requiring additional treatment; engineers told the council that reaching that level of treatment is nearly potable quality, making reuse a logical option.

Project scope and schedule: Consultants described a four‑phase program. Phase 1 completed pilot planning and 12 months of effluent characterization; the city is in Phase 2a (pilot facility design). Phase 2b will build and operate a pilot plant for six to eight months to generate data for TCEQ. If pilot results support it, the team will move to Phase 3 (full‑scale design and bidding) and Phase 4 (construction and startup). The team said it is targeting substantial completion of a full‑scale facility around 2030.

Public outreach and transparency: Katz and Associates, the firm handling outreach, described research, messaging and planned public engagement. Brent Eidson said the outreach work includes stakeholder interviews, a communications plan, infographics, FAQs and a project website (purewaterlhtx.org). He also announced a public town hall for Aug. 14 at 5:30 p.m. at the Liberty Hill Learning and Event Center. "The demonstration facility that's going to be operational will also be part of the public outreach tool," Eidson said, adding that tours and station‑based Q&A will be part of the town hall.

Regulatory process: Consultants said the pilot data will be packaged and submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to demonstrate that the treatment meets drinking water requirements under the state’s regulatory pathway for direct potable reuse. The team described ongoing continuous monitoring and planned data sharing to help inform and reassure the public.

Council members asked about schedule; consultants said the project is "so far so good" on schedule for the Phase 2 design, with pilot operation and subsequent steps to follow. No formal council vote was taken on the project during the update; the presentation was informational and focused on outreach planning and pilot design.