The Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority marked the completion of the first phase of a new regional water system with a ceremony Friday, July 13, at its new water treatment plant.

The ceremony included a commemorative “valve turning” by the Mayors of the three partner cities – Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock – to mark the flow of water through the treatment plant, which is one element of the $131 million first phase of the BCRUA project. Future phases will provide enough water for all three cities ultimate projected water needs.

“As Winston Churchill said so eloquently at the successful conclusion of the fight for air supremacy over Great Britain in the early 1940s, ‘Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning,’” said BCRUA Board President George White, a Round Rock City Councilmember. “Today is just the end of the beginning for the BCRUA. But what a great beginning!”

Round Rock Mayor Alan McGraw, Leander Mayor Chris Fielder and Cedar Park Mayor Matt Powell, from left, commemorate the completion of the first phase Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority water project.

Phase 1 of the project includes:

• Construction of a temporary, floating intake structure near Cedar Park’s existing plant on the Sandy Creek arm of Lake Travis
• A 78-inch raw water pipeline within right-of-way along Trails End Road
• A new treatment plant in Cedar Park that will serve all three cities with an initial capacity of 17 million gallons per day (mgd) and a final Phase 1 capacity of 42 mgd
• Treated water transmission pipeline across the north side of Cedar Park

Future phases will include the construction of a permanent deep water intake and raw water pipeline connected to Phase 1 infrastructure, as well as incremental expansions of the water treatment plant as demand necessitates. Ultimate capacity of the system will be 106 mgd.

About the partnership

The Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority is a partnership of the cities of Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock. The partnership was created in 2006 to plan, design and construct a regional water system that will supply treated water to the three rapidly growing communities. The project is financed through a loan from the Texas Water Development Board.

All three cities have contracts with LCRA for water from Lake Travis. When completed, the project will meet the needs of the three cities to their ultimate population growth – no small feat when you consider the combined service area population is currently 192,000 and is projected to grow to 609,000 by the year 2040.

The regional concept ensures the responsible use of resources and the least impact on both the environment and neighboring communities. Rather than three communities building three separate water supply projects—with three pipelines, three intakes, and three treatment plants, the BCRUA project streamlines the effort for minimum impact and maximum efficiency.

The regional option affords the three cities the opportunity to realize “economy of scale” savings of 30 percent, or more than $90 million.

The BCRUA Board of Directors is composed of six members, two from each of the city councils of the partnering cities.