Council weighs Escondido's request to buy surplus treated effluent amid pipeline, permit and contract constraints

Rick Williams, a city staff presenter, told the Horseshoe Bay City Council that the town of Escondido has formally asked to purchase surplus treated effluent from the city's sewer plant.

Williams said the city currently has agreements that send treated effluent primarily to local golf courses and to Freedom Ranch, and that only the top roughly 80200% of pond capacity is routinely allocated. "They are offering to pay a nominal fee for the effluent," Williams said, describing Escondido's proposal to purchase the surplus portion that becomes available in fall and winter storage. Williams outlined technical and legal constraints: the Horseshoe Bay Resort was contractually required to build a pipeline that would reclaim more of the plant's supply, that pipeline has not been completed, and state reuse rules and permits would be required for a third party to take water onto a different irrigation site.

Staff explained the surplus volume is seasonally concentrated in winter and wet springs and likely would not be available during peak summer irrigation demand. Williams provided a back-of-envelope cost example discussed with Escondido: raw lake water at about $170 per acre-foot (roughly 300,000 gallons) and an estimated annual sale of the 20% surplus at that nominal rate would amount to only about $12,000, making the arrangement economically minimal compared with the likely capital cost of new pipeline connections.

Council members asked whether the Resort's failure to build the pipeline would put the city in contractual noncompliance and what that might legally permit the city to do. Staff said the Resort's contractual obligation does not specify a firm construction deadline and noted they had previously given the Resort extra time while the sewer plant was built. Staff recommended obtaining a written timeline from the Resort and logging available water, and said permitting for Escondido to be added to the city's reuse permit would be a roughly 90-day process if pursued.

Williams and other staff outlined options: (1) negotiate a sale limited to the small winter surplus and accept the modest revenue; (2) encourage the Resort to complete the pipeline and allow Escondido to tap that pipeline; or (3) pursue a larger change such as asking the state for a modification to allow streambed delivery (a "bed banks" approach) though staff said that would require a regulatory change and was not guaranteed. Council members generally expressed that helping a nearby community makes sense if the logistics can be worked out and that staff should draft a contract and seek more firm timelines from the Resort and Escondido.

The presentation was informational; Council took no formal action on a sale at the meeting. The matter will return for further review if staff and the parties can document timelines and permitting steps.