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Levelland debates water service beyond city limits; staff outlines 10‑step process and voluntary annexation requirement
Summary
Council and staff discussed long-standing policy and three 1981 resolutions governing water service outside Levelland’s city limits; staff summarized a 10-step approval process that includes establishing need, checking water availability, infrastructure cost allocation and voluntary annexation, and council asked staff to draft a clearer policy for January review.
Council and staff in Levelland spent substantial time on Nov. 1 discussing policies for extending city water outside municipal limits. Staff acknowledged a long-standing, case‑by‑case approach reflected in a set of 1981 resolutions and presented a 10‑step process the city has used in past instances.
The steps staff outlined begin with establishing the applicant’s need for city water and confirming available supply and system capacity. Staff said infrastructure costs (upsizing lines, installing new mains) are frequently the deciding factor: if lines must be up‑sized to serve new taps, the city and applicant must determine who pays those costs. The process calls for a council resolution authorizing service, a petition for voluntary annexation by the customer within 30 days, a service-plan agreement describing which services (water, sewer) will be provided, public hearings and the ordinance readings required for annexation.
Staff and councilors emphasized practical constraints: water availability tied to the aquifer, EPA‑installed lines near contamination plumes and the need for contiguous annexation in most circumstances. A council member noted existing out‑of‑city services such as Mackin Road Trailer Park that pay an elevated rate (1.5x the city rate) and stressed that policy should be able to accommodate economic development opportunities while protecting the city’s water allocation.
Council asked staff to take the 10‑step outline, craft it into a clear policy and return with recommended language in January for formal adoption. The council did not adopt a formal policy on Nov. 1 but directed staff to prepare a proposed policy, including options such as phased cost recovery and discretionary exceptions for job‑creating projects.
