Utility board OKs $280,050 master plan contract for water reclamation facility

The municipal utility board authorized the city manager to execute a $280,050 contract with Corolla Engineers to prepare a water reclamation facility master plan.

Rick Schaeffer, who presented the item, said the master plan will include a condition assessment, process and hydraulics modeling, wastewater quality analysis and recommendations for capacity, efficiency and redundancy across headworks, liquids treatment and solids handling. "Both of them are looking at the wastewater treatment plant," Schaeffer said of the linked PFAS evaluation and the master plan. He said the master plan should take about 12 months to complete and the PFAS evaluation runs about 24 months; the PFAS work is funded 100% by the Texas Water Development Board through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Emerging Contaminant Program.

Board members discussed whether to replace sand filters with cloth filters during future expansion. Schaeffer said sand filters are rated for a 4.5 MGD annual average and over 12 MGD peak flow, and that cloth filters would provide roughly double the capacity in the same footprint though they may be more expensive: "The cloth filters would be more expensive, but you get double the capacity out of the cloth filter." The board asked staff to evaluate the cost‑benefit of an accelerated timeline for filter conversion or expansion, and the Chair asked staff to return with an update on the sidewalks along Westlake Drive in January.

A motion to authorize the Corolla Engineers contract was moved and seconded; the Chair stated the item passed. The transcript does not include a roll‑call vote tally for this authorization.