Lone Star Regional Water Authority President Landy Warren
The Lone Star Regional Water Authority cut the ribbon on its first major project October 20.
Mayor Larry Bush (photo inset) says the completed project solves many questions for the city; What can we do to protect the safety of the town and all the citizens from all the anomalies that may occur? What happens if the only pump we have goes down and we can’t get water flow?
Thanks to direction from agencies and individuals in Jarrell, and in partnership with the Lone Star Regional Water Authority, the 500,000 gallon tank is in operation and now Jarrell has the capability to provide industrial water flow and firefighting supply for the next 15-20 years. The city is also planning to triple its wastewater treatment plant to handle the growth in residents.
Mayor Bush explained, “[Jarrell] unfortunately lost the opportunity to have the Caterpillar company build here, which would have meant 400 jobs. They bought a lot of land but the current regional water supply was not able to provide fire flow. We had no way to get water there. Today, if they show up we can say ‘whatever you want!'”
Landy Warren, President of the Lone Star Regional Water Authority (photo far left) says they are already working on their next project; a $27 million conjunctive use and delivery system between Circleville and Jarrell, to the tune of 10.5 million gallons per day. Working with the Brazos River Authority, they will mix Brazos well water with surface (Lake Granger) water to dilute the mineral content and reduce the amount of treatment needed.
“Slowly but surely our individual coalitions have come together. Historically, municipalities have found it challenging to agree, but we are starting to get people to think more regionally. As new people and ideas show up in Central Texas, greater trust is developing and we have less of the ‘we never did it that way before’.”
Mayor Bush thanked city leader Troy Bradshaw, who invested personal funds to build the first tower, and City Council for approving the funding. “Our city is now on firm ground. We have enough infrastructure in place and a great water distribution system in place. We’re moving dirt, and we’re seeing checks, and people are moving into the area. All we need now are the companies to come out here and invest!”
Wilco Commissioner Valerie Covey added, “We’ve been talking about water for a long time and now we don’t have to put the brakes on our business development thanks to this new infrastructure.”
