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County hears ARPA water projects update; easement issues threaten one rural arsenic project
Summary
Consultants reported most ARPA‑funded water and arsenic projects in McLennan County are near completion, but easement acquisition problems at one project (LTG) may require rerouting and could jeopardize the federal spending deadline of Dec. 31, 2026.
Lockwood, Andrews & Newman presented a quarterly ARPA water‑project update to the McLennan County Commissioners Court on May 6, reporting broad progress on arsenic mitigation and non‑arsenic infrastructure improvements funded with county ARPA allocations.
Consultants said several projects are fully complete or nearing completion. The update noted a federal ARPA requirement that projects and associated funds must be spent and projects completed by Dec. 31, 2026. ‘‘The project needs to be completed,’’ one consultant said, explaining federal rules match expenditures to project completion dates.
Consultants identified one project of particular concern: the LTG arsenic project. The engineer reported that critical landowners are not granting easements on the proposed alignment, and the project team is evaluating rerouting the waterline along alternate easements. The consultant advised that eminent‑domain proceedings would not meet the ARPA deadline and said the county and the project engineer are exploring reroutes or renewed easement negotiations.
Other updates showed work on generators, redundant power and SCADA upgrades at several treatment plants, and additional scope items where unused funds from completed projects were redirected to other needs (tank painting, line upgrades, design costs). Prairie Hill and other projects were reported to be in design or bidding and expected to start construction shortly.
Commissioners voted to accept the report; court members and consultants said they would continue monitoring the LTG right‑of‑way issue closely and meet with the local project engineer to identify next steps and timelines. Consultants said if funds cannot be spent in a timely way on planned projects, the county would look to repurpose unobligated funds to other qualified ARPA water infrastructure needs.
