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…