NewsLocal NewsIn Your NeighborhoodBell County

Actions

Bell County water district considering expansion, here's why

Posted at 3:15 PM, Jun 28, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-28 19:43:51-04

As a city grows so does the demand for water.

Management of Bell County Water Control & Improvement District No. 1 have been exploring the possibilities of expansion, but doing so comes with a hefty price tag.

“At this (point) it's not certain if we will go forward or not," said Ricky Garrett, the water district's general manager.

Things are still up in the air — and there's no plan set in stone,.

Here's why water district officials are considering expansion in the first place.

“We have a few customers who will need additional treated water capacity in the future," Garrett said, "so we reached out to them to see if they are interested in moving forward with an expansion project.”

With population growth comes the use of more water.

"Adding water supply or treatment capacity is always a difficult thing because its always for future things, future people," Garrett said.

It's a plan that will benefit residents in the long term.

Though the expansion sounds promising, it all goes back to what was first mentioned: Its price tag.

"It’s a very expensive proposition and again it's something that is gonna benefit people in the future, not so much the people today, so it’s a hard decision," Garrett said.

The expansion could cost roughly $115 million. Entities will join together to pay for the expansion if they're in agreement with the new proposed plan. The entities would recoup that cost through the bills of customers.