Alice council authorizes TWDB Project Information Form for South Side Wastewater upgrades
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Summary
Council authorized staff to submit a Project Information Form to the Texas Water Development Board for roughly $31 million in upgrades to the South Side Wastewater Treatment Plant, including treatment modernization, SCADA, safety, green infrastructure and nonpotable reuse; project may be eligible for up to 70% loan forgiveness depending on TWDB ranking.
The City of Alice council authorized submission of a Project Information Form (PIF) to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) on Feb. 17 after a presentation from consulting engineer Nick Dornack of Doucet (now part of Kleinfelder).
Dornack said the South Side Wastewater Treatment Plant, constructed in 1969 with significant upgrades last recorded in 1984, is "on its last legs" and requires a comprehensive overhaul. He said the plant is permitted to discharge up to 2,600,000 gallons per day but currently discharges about 1,000,000 gpd to local creeks that lead to Baffin Bay. Dornack described the plant as meeting current permit limits and having no recent violations but warned the aging infrastructure increases the risk of future violations and higher maintenance demands.
The proposed project would modernize treatment systems (including aeration and clarifiers), add SCADA monitoring, replace gaseous chlorine with liquid chlorine for safer operations, and install green-infrastructure measures such as permeable sidewalks and vegetated swales to reduce stormwater runoff. Dornack said the upgrades aim to produce Type 1 effluent to enable nonpotable reuse (for irrigation and other uses) and to serve a planned 358-home development through additional conveyance infrastructure.
Dornack presented a preliminary budget that included approximately $13 million for treatment and safety upgrades, about $4 million for reuse infrastructure, roughly $500,000 for low-impact/green infrastructure, and just under $6 million for permitting, engineering and construction management, for a schematic total near $31 million. He noted TWDB offers $100,000 for an asset management plan if one is not on record and said the project could be eligible for up to 70% loan forgiveness depending on TWDB ranking and statewide grant availability.
After a brief question-and-answer exchange clarifying that the reuse water would be nonpotable ("That's non potable. So it'd be like for irrigation."), a council member moved and the council voted to authorize submittal of the TWDB Project Information Form for FY2027 Clean Water SRF funding. Dornack said staff would provide the PIF to council before final submittal.
The authorization starts the competitive ranking process; if invited by TWDB, the city would submit a full application and proceed to detailed design and funding negotiations.