Board authorizes $27.2 million professional services contract for Belton'to'Stillhouse pipeline project

The Brazos River Authority Board of Directors on Jan. 27 authorized the general manager and CEO to negotiate and execute a professional services contract with Walker Partners LLC for permitting, engineering, design, property-rights acquisition, and bid-phase services for a raw-water pump station at Belton Lake, a roughly 7-mile transfer pipeline and an outlet/discharge structure at Stillhouse Hollow Lake. The board approved authorization up to $27,225,300 for the work needed to advance the Belton-to-Stillhouse ("Bell House Drought Preparedness") project through design and permitting.

Brad Brunette, chief operations officer, and Walker Partners project manager Aaron Archer summarized the project's history and scope. The project responds to water supply commitments the authority made in the mid-2000s and to subsequent regional planning: pre-existing contracts and demand growth at Stillhouse Hollow mean the pipeline will be used in drought years to supplement supply rather than operate continuously. Brunette emphasized the 25-year planning history and that the pipeline supports existing contracts rather than enabling new raw-water sales from the lakes.

The contract scope before the board covers 30/60/90/100 percent design for pump station, pipeline and outlet; geotechnical and specialty analyses; risk-management and detailed permitting studies; public engagement; surveying and right-of-way acquisition; and bidding and procurement support. Staff described the intake pump station concept as an onshore building with a deep wet well and an underwater intake, housing up to four pumps; the pipeline route is approximately 7 miles and crosses varied terrain, including rock.

Brunette and Walker Partners said preliminary engineering completed earlier showed the complexity of intake and permitting work. The proposed contract sum for the design/permit/acquisition phase is $24,750,281 with an additional 10 percent contingency the board authorized for negotiation (bringing the not-to-exceed to $27,225,300). Directors questioned cost composition, use of subconsultants, right-of-entry for borings on private land, and whether eminent domain might be required for easements. Walker Partners said about half the phase work will be performed by the prime and half by specialty subconsultants; land access for borings will proceed via right-of-entry agreements ahead of acquisitions.

Board members debated the contingency. Some directors urged removing the full 10 percent contingency or reducing it to 5 percent; others advised retaining contingency given project complexity and long schedule. The final resolution authorized GM/CEO authority to execute the contract up to the not-to-exceed amount; the board recorded an abstention by one director and otherwise approved the authorization by roll call.

Public comment earlier in the meeting voiced concerns about building a new intake when facilities exist closer to the proposed pump station. John Asbury of Temple, Texas, questioned the need for a second intake less than two miles from the West Bell County Water District intake and suggested alternatives such as enhancing the existing intake and investing in aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) projects as ways to meet regional needs.

The project schedule in staff materials shows the design and permitting phase extending through 2028, with separate construction contracts anticipated for the intake/pump station and the pipeline and completion currently estimated in the early 2030s. Staff said they will return with construction-phase authorizations and updates as the project advances.