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Harlingen approves TWDB funding and bond ordinances to cover nearly $42 million in water and sewer projects
Summary
Harlingen’s Waterworks board and City Commission approved a package of Texas Water Development Board grants and loans totaling about $41.7 million, with roughly 58% grant funding, to fund wastewater plant upgrades, the Little Creek interceptor and a raw water Jefferson line; all motions carried unanimously.
Harlingen’s Waterworks board and the City Commission on the evening of the special joint meeting approved a series of Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) funding agreements and related revenue bond ordinances totaling about $41.7 million to support three major water and sewer projects.
The packaged assistance includes grant and loan components across three TWDB programs. A financial adviser summarized the aggregate offer as $41,681,404 in funding, of which about $24,146,000 is grant money and approximately $17,000,535 will be borrowed at below‑market interest rates. "So of this, almost $42,000,000—58% of this is a grant," the financial adviser said during the presentation.
Why it matters: The funding covers upgrades the city’s leaders and utility staff said are necessary to support growth and protect homes and businesses from sanitary sewer backups. The two sewer projects—a wastewater treatment plant headworks upgrade and the Little Creek interceptor—were described by General Manager Rodriguez of Harlingen Waterworks as the system’s most critical capacity improvements; the interceptor was estimated in the presentation at roughly $30–35 million. The third project replaces a decades‑old raw water Jefferson line that brings river water through Irrigation District No. 1 into the City Lake and the water plant.
Officials said the package combines multiple TWDB programs, including water loan assistance and economically distressed funds, and noted strict timing requirements. The financial adviser said the TWDB commitments require closing by Feb. 21 to keep the grant dollars intact. "These programs ... have very stringent timing requirements," the adviser said, and emphasized that some commitments would expire if the city did not close in time.
What the commission did: The Waterworks board first approved each funding item and related bond and escrow agreements, then the City Commission confirmed the measures. Each motion on the record carried unanimously; the transcript records each vote as "motion carries" without a roll‑call tally in the meeting minutes.
Next steps and rate implications: Staff said the grants and low‑interest loans will reduce the amount the city must borrow, postponing or lowering the burden on ratepayers. Waterworks staff told the commission they expect a rate adjustment tied to project timelines, likely in October 2026, but said earlier planned increases were delayed to wait until construction could begin. The projects are in various stages of design—design completion for key elements was estimated this summer with possible construction starts by year’s end.
Funding and timeline details are posted in the meeting packet; staff said they will forward presentation material for public posting. The commission and Waterworks took the formal actions necessary to submit documents to the Texas attorney general’s office and proceed toward closing.
