Liberty Hill approves $960,213 work order to design pilot advanced water purification plant

Liberty Hill City Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve a work order with engineering firm Garver LLC to design a pilot advanced water purification facility, the first major design step toward a direct potable reuse system for the city.

The council approved work order W07-2400273, “pilot plant design for advanced water purification facility,” in an amount not to exceed $960,213. The motion passed 5-0.

The pilot facility is intended to test technologies and provide a permanently owned demonstration plant at the South Fork wastewater treatment site that operators can use for training and for evaluation of treatment components before full-scale construction. Greg Spud, project manager with Garver, said, “the AWPF facility will treat wastewater to potable water standards.” Jeff Meadows, Garver engineer, described phase 2A as the detailed design phase that produces drawings, bid documents and a bidding process for a contractor to build the pilot.

Why it matters: Liberty Hill received an award from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) that totals $28.55 million for the AWPF effort, of which $10 million is principal forgiveness. Council and staff said the AWPF aims both to expand the city’s limited water supply and to address a strict total-phosphorus effluent limit at the South Fork wastewater plant that the existing facility cannot consistently meet. Garver and city staff presented a multi‑phase plan that starts with pilot design (phase 2A), proceeds to pilot construction and testing (phase 2B), and—if the pilot proves successful—moves to full design and construction of a scalable 5 MGD facility with capacity to expand to 10 MGD.

Garver outlined funding and permitting efforts tied to the work order. The firm will pursue multiple funding paths, including continued TWDB support (the existing TWDB package includes principal forgiveness), potential WIFIA (federal) loans, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation planning grants, and state earmarks. Meadows said the WIFIA option can finance large shares of a project and is a draw loan that defers principal repayment until after project completion. On permitting, Garver said it will coordinate with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to develop agreements that tie South Fork compliance timelines to the AWPF project schedule and to pursue alternative compliance approaches—such as mass loading limits—where appropriate.

Public outreach was a prominent topic in council discussion. Garver’s contract includes a public communications scope to develop project branding, tour scripts for the pilot facility, messaging and graphics, and media support. Council members asked for a subtask-level breakdown of the public outreach and funding‑assistance fees before the city proceeds into later phases.

City staff and Garver said current phase 1 work (effluent characterization and the pilot protocol) remains active while phase 2A begins; the effluent characterization must run 12 months per TCEQ guidance. Garver noted the city had already initiated stakeholder interviews and produced a communications plan. Councilmembers and staff asked Garver to provide additional itemized cost detail on funding assistance and outreach sub-tasks so council can track future budget requests.

The council vote approved the phase 2A work order tied to Garver’s existing professional services agreement; staff said the contract language preserves TWDB reimbursement eligibility. The motion to approve the work order was made and seconded during the meeting; the transcript did not identify the mover or seconder by name. The vote was recorded as 5 in favor, 0 opposed.

Looking ahead: Garver and staff said the loan closing for the TWDB award is planned for late 2025, pilot construction would follow bidding, and pilot operation and reporting to TCEQ would precede any full-scale design. Council members asked staff to return with more detailed cost breakdowns for the outreach and funding-assistance tasks before major construction contracts are executed.