Posted: Wed, 17 Nov 2010 07:42 AM - 11,363 Readers

By: Austin-American Statesman

If all goes as planned, Thursday's vote by the Austin City Council could be the charm for the city's planned $500 million water treatment plant.

There are at least four votes (of seven) for approving the $300 million that is needed to finish building the plant on a site near Lake Travis. But no one should take anything for granted because this is a project that has taken more than 25 years to move from concept to reality. Austin needs this water treatment plant, and the council should not delay it further.

The deal should have been sealed last year when the City Council voted 4-3 to approve building the plant. The deal certainly should have been done after the city spent $100 million on site preparation, equipment purchases and engineering. The timing also should have helped close the deal because by building the plant now, the city could take advantage of recession pricing for construction and generate jobs.

And though this facility is called plant No. 4, that is a misnomer because Austin has only two working water treatment plants. The oldest — the Green Water Treatment Plant — was shut down in 2008. The new plant would supply roughly the same amount of water (50 million gallons daily) when it goes online in 2014 as the Green Water Treatment Plant did before it was shut down. That would supply another 175,000 homes in one of Austin's high-growth sectors. But none of those arguments have deterred opponents who have only gotten more vocal — and desperate — as they've run out of options.

Thursday's meeting at City Hall won't be any less contentious as opponents, largely environmental activists, battle over the big money. They know that once the $300 million has been approved, the project moves forward with greater certainty. The wild card that could delay it would come from a court if it sides with opponents in one of the lawsuits filed to derail the treatment plant. That is a long shot.

City Council members would be wise to focus on Austin's need for a new water treatment plant. We mentioned that Austin has just two existing plants; they too, are aging, having been built in the 1950s and the 1960s. Also, those plants both are located on Lake Austin, which could present problems in supplying clean and reliable drinking water if something happens to contaminate the lake since both plants draw from the same source.

The No. 4 plant would be on deeper and purer Lake Travis, giving the city an alternative water source in the event one lake gets contaminated. And because of Lake Travis' high elevation, the water would flow downhill to its destination, meaning that it would be moved very efficiently.

The fight over the water treatment facility has largely been framed as one of development versus the environment and conservation. It's a false choice. The truth is that both approaches are needed.

Environmentalists also are questioning the site where the plant is being built, and some have asserted that a new plant might not be needed at all if we just conserve enough. This year with all the rain, our water use did dip to about 135 gallons per capita per day. But just a year ago with drought conditions, it was nearly 170 gallons per capita per day on average.

We do realize that adding a treatment plant is not the ultimate solution; it is expensive and will raise rates on water bills for residents. And it won't resolve all issues regarding Austin's drinking water supply. Conservation also must be enhanced. But Austin can't conserve its way out of its water dilemma. And the city needs a new water treatment plant as one part of the larger solution to meet future growth trends.