Posted: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:57 AM - 8,411 Readers
By: Marty Toohey
The Austin City Council is scheduled to name a general contractor in two weeks to build a $508 million water treatment plant that has been on the drawing boards for decades.
Water Treatment Plant 4 would need final approval next spring, but selecting a contractor would keep it on schedule to open by 2014, when Austin officials say the city could face water shortages. Water utility officials said they want to start construction in the spring.
Meanwhile, critics said they want the council to delay selecting a contractor. A delay, they say, would allow more time to study whether water conservation measures could allow the city to push back the plant's construction — or even eliminate the need for it entirely.
The public discussions on the plant resume today, when council members will hear an update on the plant during their regular meeting.
"Even with our water-conservation measures, we're going to need this plant," Austin Water Utility Director Greg Meszaros said.
A coalition of environmental activist groups is asking the city to delay construction at least three years. The groups, including the Save Our Springs Alliance and Environment Texas, contend the plant is too costly, and they say the city should focus on conserving water instead of spending millions to provide more of it.
"It's an enormous waste of money based on the assumption of decades of water waste," said Bill Bunch, executive director of the Save Our Springs Alliance.
Water Treatment Plant 4 has been officially in the works since the 1980s but has encountered numerous obstacles. For instance, the city wanted to build it on an environmentally fragile parcel near Bull Creek. But after public outcry, the city bought two other Lake Travis-area properties and selected one off Bullick Hollow Road, near the Oasis on Austin's northwest edge, as its preferred choice.
Two newly elected council members, Bill Spelman and Chris Riley, have called for delaying a final decision until at least the end of summer. That would give the city more time to determine how well water conservation measures enacted last year are working, they say.
Assistant City Manager Rudy Garza said the council must select the contractor in August to keep the project on track for completion by 2014. He said selecting the contractor should not be confused with a final vote on the project.
"Our recommendation to the council is to move the project forward on Aug. 6, but this way, they will still have an opportunity to have their questions answered" before making a final decision, Garza said.
The council is also scheduled to vote later this year on other preliminary work, such as clearing ground at the site. Those preparations would add about $6 million to the $69 million the city has already spent or committed.
If the project finishes at the estimated $508 million — the price tag has risen steadily through the years — it would add $3.20 to $4 a month to the utility bills of the average-value Austin home, Meszaros said. The average home value in Travis County was $295,744 this year, according to the appraisal district.
City officials say there are numerous reasons to start building the plant this spring. City projections show Austin will need the facility's 50 million gallons a day some time between 2014 and 2016, depending on how effective the water conservation measures prove to be.
By shifting some of the load away from the city's two aging treatment plants on Lake Austin, the city could also reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 10,000 metric tons a year or more, according to city estimates. Meszaros said that's the equivalent of taking about 2,000 cars off the road.
Meszaros said that taking bids now, in the midst of the recession, could also knock between $23 million and $45 million off the cost of construction.
The project also would create thousands of jobs, according to city estimates. Garza said about half the construction money is expected to go to Austin contractors, and several business-advocacy groups are asking the city to move forward on the plant.
"There aren't a lot of projects going on right now, and small-business men really need a shot in the arm," said Frank Fuentes, president of the U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association and an Austin resident.
Bunch disputes the city's water-use projections, noting that Austin's peak day occurred in 2001, when the city had 100,000 fewer residents. He said the city doesn't need the plant and shouldn't be swayed by a discounted cost.
"Hummers are really cheap too right now," he said. "But do we really want to go out and buy one?"
