Granbury secures $57.8 million grant for new desalination plant as city recounts emergency water main repair

Granbury city leaders announced on Aug. 5 that the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has awarded $57,800,000 in principal forgiveness toward a proposed desalination plant intended to address rising demand and emerging contaminants in Lake Granbury. The award is contingent on final TWDB board action and requires the city to make funding commitments within six months of the funding determination letter, City Manager Chris Kaufman said.

The grant announcement came as Kaufman and public-works staff briefed the City Council on a separate recent crisis: a major break in a main waterline under U.S. Highway 377 that required a mayor-declared disaster and emergency contracting. Kaufman described the TWDB letter as “the biggest grant I’ve ever experienced” and said the city will need to issue debt to match program requirements.

Kaufman and Assistant Director of Public Works Paul Gast described the timeline of the main break: on July 27 crews identified the leak and began emergency work; contractors from Fambro Construction were mobilized Aug. 1; by Aug. 2 the city arranged an emergency water interconnect with AMUD to supplement system delivery; and crews completed the new bore and pipeline and flushed lines for activation on Aug. 5. The city manager said materials were sourced from as far away as Houston to meet urgent needs.

The break reduced storage tank levels to below 20% capacity, prompting a sequence of conservation measures. Kaufman said the mayor issued an initial disaster declaration that allowed immediate remediation without delay for typical public-bid timelines. The city manager later issued a stage 1 voluntary water conservation plan; when voluntary measures proved insufficient, staff moved to a stage 5 mandatory conservation plan that banned irrigation and daytime car washes and restricted other nonessential uses until repairs were complete. Kaufman said the stage 5 requirement was lifted at 3 a.m. on Aug. 5 after repairs and flushing were finished.

Kaufman credited multiple city departments and outside partners for the response, including public works, parks, police, fire, finance, purchasing and billing, and county emergency management. He also thanked Fambro Construction and county maintenance and emergency-management staff for assistance and noted a nearby private landowner gave permission to use his property for repairs.

The TWDB funding letter identified the desalination plant and related emerging-contaminant work as the project; Kaufman said the award is structured as principal forgiveness and that city staff must finalize financing and commitments within the six-month window specified by TWDB. Kaufman also said the project is in the city’s capital-improvement plan.

Why it matters: City officials said the two developments — an awarded TWDB funding commitment for a desalination and contaminant-removal project and a high-profile water-main failure — underscore both long-term infrastructure needs and short-term system vulnerabilities. The desalination funding, if finalized, would significantly alter capital plans and financing needs; the main break illustrated gaps in delivery redundancy and the need for emergency mutual-aid arrangements.

What’s next: Kaufman said staff will work through the logistics of issuing debt under the TWDB program and return to council with detailed financing options. City staff also said they will meet with affected adjacent property owners about any residual site restoration and will continue follow-up reviews of system redundancy and emergency procedures.