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Georgetown outlines water plan, South Lake treatment plant schedule and goals to ease watering limits
Summary
City Manager David Morgan described the city's integrated water resources plan, the upcoming South Lake Treatment Plant phases that will add treatment capacity, and conservation and enforcement measures tied to automated meters.
City Manager David Morgan told residents that Georgetown’s water territory spans about 400 square miles, far beyond the city’s roughly 63-square-mile corporate limits, and that the city is pursuing multiple strategies to meet growing demand.
"Our water territory is 400 square miles," Morgan said, noting the utility serves customers into Burnet and Bell counties and that Liberty Hill High School is among the westernmost water customers. He said over 85% of current water supply is surface water obtained through the Brazos River Authority and, to a smaller degree, Lake Travis, with a limited share from groundwater through the Edwards Aquifer.
Nut graf: Officials said the city has adopted conservation as the first strategy while pursuing resource diversification — including Carrizo-Wilcox groundwater contracts, wastewater reuse, aquifer storage and recovery — and that the South Lake Treatment Plant will add significant capacity expected to change summer watering restrictions.
Morgan said the integrated resource plan identified a need for roughly 100,000 acre-feet of additional water over the long term. He said the South Lake Treatment Plant’s first phase is on track to come online in June, adding about 22,000,000 gallons per day of treatment capacity; a second phase planned for the following summer would add another 22,000,000 gpd for a total of about 44,000,000 gpd. Morgan said the combined project is “around $290,000,000” when all components are included.
The city manager said the municipality is automating enforcement of watering limits by using automated-meter data to detect irrigation patterns and that the city’s goal is to move from once-a-week watering to two days per week if capacity improvements proceed as planned.
Morgan also discussed wastewater planning: a major distribution line is under construction along Berry Creek, and the city is scoping two new wastewater treatment plants — one on the east side and another on the far northwest side — to manage growth.
Ending: Morgan urged residents to check irrigation controls, plant appropriate native vegetation, use available rebates for controller checks, and sign up for newsletters and the ClearGov portal to receive project updates.
