Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City Council backs plan to extend water across Loop 250 to serve northeast Midland and nearby neighborhoods
Summary
City staff and council described a multi-year plan to pull a water main across Loop 250 in coordination with a TxDOT interchange project, a move officials say will lower construction costs, speed delivery of service to more than 400 acres of developable land and make it feasible for an existing neighborhood with groundwater shortfalls to connect.
The Midland City Council heard a staff presentation June 10 on a long‑term plan to extend a potable water main across Loop 250, proposing to coordinate the work with an accelerated TxDOT interchange project to cut costs, reduce traffic disruption and deliver water to existing neighborhoods and future development south of the Loop.
City staff said the city and the Midland Development Corporation (MDC) recently used design funding to accelerate the state’s Loop 250/Todd Drive improvements, unlocking approximately $26 million in TxDOT funding and shortening the project schedule by several years. Staff proposed pulling a water line across the Loop as part of that coordinated work so utilities and roadwork are done together, which they said would save roughly $2 million in construction costs compared with doing the work later and would make it far less expensive for nearby property owners to connect.
The plan presented calls for an initial city investment to bring a main close to the affected neighborhood; staff said that “city putting in about $2,000,000 for the project” would reduce private connection costs in the neighborhood from multi‑million dollar estimates to much smaller, feasible amounts. Staff described a roughly 0.7‑mile line alignment and said part of the route can be trench‑installed in coordination with TxDOT’s construction (reducing the need for costly bores across the full freeway footprint).
Council discussion stressed urgency for residents who lack reliable groundwater. Council members and staff said the approach is meant to be proactive — to support near‑term growth in the northeast while addressing an existing neighborhood’s supply problems. Staff noted the project is expected to require multi‑year design and construction work but that city design work is already funded and the city believes it has a path to accelerate construction without waiting on the next budget cycle.
Council members pressed for outreach and coordination. Staff said they have begun meeting with affected property owners and major landholders in the area and will continue one‑on‑one briefings. Staff also said the city would explore pro‑rating costs and other tools so property owners who want to connect will have options short of bearing the entire cost individually.
Mayor Lori Blong and multiple council members praised the cross‑agency coordination and said the project is an example of “getting projects done now to avoid higher costs later.” Staff said final design and schedule estimates will be brought back to council for review and formal approval before any construction contract is awarded.
The council gave no final vote on construction spending at the June 10 meeting; staff will return with design milestones, cost estimates and recommended contracting steps for council action.
