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Heath approves up to $25,000 interlocal agreement with RCH Water for wholesale‑supply feasibility study
Summary
Council approved an interlocal agreement to reimburse RCH Water up to $25,000 for a feasibility study on whether RCH can supply Heath with wholesale water; staff said potential volumes discussed ranged from about 0.5 million to roughly 3 million gallons per day, and North Texas Municipal Water District approval could be required.
The Heath City Council voted unanimously on April 22 to approve an interlocal agreement to reimburse RCH Water up to $25,000 to perform a feasibility study on wholesale water supply to the city.
City staff member Mr. Creed presented the item as part of the city's broader "water bridge" planning. Staff said they and the city engineers met with RCH and identified the Laughlin Pump Station as a possible source. The presentation said potential supply amounts discussed in preliminary conversation ranged from about 0.5 million to roughly 3 million gallons per day; staff emphasized those are preliminary figures pending the engineering study.
The study will model RCH's system and determine how much water it could prudently sell while still serving its own customers. Mr. Creed said the pump station involved is on property RCH plans to serve from a new pump station tied to Lake Tawakoni, and that RCH would benefit from selling water rather than flushing water from an isolated portion of its system.
Council members asked a series of legal and operational questions. Several raised the following points: whether RCH actually desires to sell water, whether the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) would permit a customer‑to‑customer sale while ongoing litigation remains, whether the study's costs include legal review, and what infrastructure costs Heath might face to receive and convey the water. Mr. Creed said the interlocal agreement is to reimburse RCH for the engineering and any RCH legal fees incurred in performing the study; the ILA estimates $20,000 and authorizes reimbursement up to $25,000 if additional work is needed.
Council members discussed risk: staff cautioned that the NTMWD indicated it would not consider customer‑to‑customer purchases while litigation is pending, meaning any sale would still require subsequent approvals. Members also noted the study is a relatively small outlay compared with the potential value of securing up to several million gallons per day of supply; one council member called the cost "a drop in the bucket" compared with new source costs.
The motion to approve the interlocal agreement carried unanimously. The agreement does not obligate Heath to purchase water; it only funds the feasibility study so city staff and the council can assess technical and contractual options before any purchase negotiations.
