[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6485548,"mediaKeyId","5682333-89a6d40a395aa8306302b37a217a9d24","parentId",5682333,"title","Georgetown staff proposes selling portions of its water service territory to reduce long-term demand by 58%","audioSeconds",2828,"startMs",3752000,"endMs",6580000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5682333-89a6d40a395aa8306302b37a217a9d24&start=3752&end=6580","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5682333-89a6d40a395aa8306302b37a217a9d24/thumbnail_3752000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6485548/Georgetown/Williamson-County/Texas/Georgetown-staff-proposes-selling-portions-of-its-water-service-territory-to-reduce-long-term-demand-by-58","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6485548-7738cbb1cb1556f4093e72d4981a2699/orig.mp4?Expires=1770386626&Signature=QebNCOle9F3BJLqnpseBaZ2eVM-sAjqe~mZHCGMFyX~o2mMSsyiOI3Q-AqOpSYtBG9oC~KAGugiCpDYiWf9y3eG9wq0wb36JJQ8knxjWB9wlMo-BgWWAozMLUp3fiDbnwXjHQhNp68hampyTmQRbnPaq8z~Ka8vAv28lJYz2WRi2sBfyRQ6jrajAHar9WW94xpr-XRXm5Sfi3HSenBBhArrS4WzuxUpwdDENMX0pezxiDFhOSRLmhZqww3W1wJq-Dj6WLuw~iaPQm7MyKiXK3CWVytSAD-msIgmfJPUZNaygCsh4kzqlD-THs0ETa3DYzDL~tM2Ri1pwJlGL9hA13A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Georgetown","date","2025-08-26T00:00:00Z","article","Caroline Stewart, the city's strategic projects manager, told Mayor and Council that staff is proposing a multi-year effort to transfer large portions of Georgetown's water CCN that lie outside the city's ETJ to neighboring cities or other utilities. The stated objectives are to reduce long-term water demand, lower the city's exposure to development outside its land-use control, and stabilize rates by removing uncertain, high-growth territory from Georgetown's planning responsibility.

Stewart said the city's CCN covers about 400 square miles and extends into Burnet and Bell counties following the 2010 acquisition of the former Chisholm Trail Special Utility District. She said more than 40% of current customers are outside the city limits and that rapid development outside the ETJ has left the city carrying a large capital program: staff reported about $415,000,000 in water capital projects now active, most built to serve areas outside the ETJ.

Under the plan outlined in the workshop, staff would retain service territory inside the city limits and ETJ (about 62,500 customers) plus a small adjoining band where critical infrastructure sits. Staff proposed offering the rest for sale; that territory represents roughly 11,500 current customers. Stewart said modeling shows the transfer would reduce the long-term projected water deficit from about 100,000 acre-feet per year (under the current CCN) to about 41,000 acre-feet per year — a roughly 58% reduction in modeled long-term additional supply need.

Staff explained the steps: (1) give neighboring cities first right of review for areas inside their ETJs; (2) if neighbors decline, issue a request for proposals seeking a utility to acquire the territory; (3) evaluate proposals by multiple criteria that prioritize long-term customer continuity and rate stability (rather than simply the highest cash price); (4) if council approves, hold a city election required by state law for transfers that include customers/infrastructure; and (5) proceed through the Public Utility Commission (PUC) review process. Stewart and staff said the earliest an election could be held is May 2026 and that final transfer close could be in late 2027 or, if there are contested hearings or appeals, as late as 2029.

On valuation, Stewart said staff will look both at depreciated book value and outstanding debt (bond paydown schedules) to ensure the city recoups investments; staff also said the RFP will require bidders to demonstrate a plan for long-term supply, a plan to stabilize near-term rates for existing customers, and operational capability. Staff emphasized they will not cut off existing customers during the transition and that short-term support or temporary service agreements will be part of any transfer plan while the purchaser builds needed facilities.

Stewart also reviewed broader water-supply work: staff has paused or terminated some earlier options (she said a proposed Williamson County supply was not economical/ sustainable and the GateHouse agreement was terminated after due diligence), and staff is actively negotiating term sheets for two long-term groundwater opportunities (one staff labeled as a recharge source with ~35,000 acre-feet permitted for production from Lee/Bastrop counties and another with EPCOR with ~40,000 acre-feet permitted in Robertson County). Staff said it will pursue only the option(s) that best balance cost and risk.

Other actions and projects in the water portfolio Stewart summarized: a proposed Taylor-area pipeline to bring eastern groundwater into the system (staff are acquiring land and issuing procurements); expansion of North Lake Treatment Plant and construction of a South Lake facility; participation in an indirect-potable-reuse opportunity with the Brazos River Authority (staff estimated roughly 5,015 acre-feet per year could be available); aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) following HB 616; and a major AMI meter replacement program (about 25,000 meters) intended to reduce unbilled water and detect high-usage/leaks.

Stewart said staff will bring a draft RFP back to Council for review and that staff will coordinate with neighboring cities before finalizing the transfer area. She emphasized the city will prioritize customer protections in the procurement, and that any purchase would still require council approval, a city election and PUC review before a final transfer could occur.

No formal council vote occurred in the workshop; Councilmembers asked clarifying questions and directed staff to develop an RFP and return with materials for Council review prior to issuing the procurement.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Georgetown - Workshop","oneSentenceSummary","Caroline Stewart, the city's strategic projects manager, told Mayor and Council that staff is proposing a multi-year effort to transfer large portions of Georgetown's water CCN that lie outside the city's ETJ to neighboring cities or other utilities.","taxTitle","Georgetown, Williamson County, Texas","taxId",2823,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6485553,"Georgetown staff, water board and council favor membrane bioreactor for Northlands plant to meet tighter phosphorus limits",2605,1126000,3731000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5682333-89a6d40a395aa8306302b37a217a9d24&start=1126&end=3731","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5682333-89a6d40a395aa8306302b37a217a9d24/thumbnail_1126000.jpg","/articles/6485553/Georgetown/Williamson-County/Texas/Georgetown-staff-water-board-and-council-favor-membrane-bioreactor-for-Northlands-plant-to-meet-tighter-phosphorus-limits","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6485553-eba34e0c59f9460801418419ce6e82fe/orig.mp4?Expires=1770386626&Signature=bAu4BwThWkIGT-Z1deTgmmM80iLck9x-9BmEEMLAC9BaCnqy70IRvRnbkcYB5zOnGO7MGjoQlFydteNQgczu9tHeoGll1vCrZnB~IAZ8r1IACgP7drm1MRruGO3BYPtkFomgjA~R1Jc6J~K1WBxk3Q0oKg2DxAnvxWoXHNdwJHf27~P~oqfNsWmHrn0g6iycdHd1KpWbnKaFPPcib5KXZG-Nfsu6-l5NktSMv1lqWDTJZ0EBWOW-wEnAn95AKqw86K7N7hVbPW~krs8sRSDn~xib~zpqM8w5jxNmPveKH6HoXZv5WRGyod7NzVw0MJKN7jRjqs0Y0Hhkuza1AvhbsA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City staff and the project consultant presented two treatment alternatives for the proposed Northlands wastewater treatment plant and reported a staff and Water Board recommendation to construct a membrane bioreactor (MBR) facility.

Coby Gee, project manager for Northlands with consultant Freese and Nichols, described the project as a 1.5–3.0 million gallons-per-day (MGD) wastewater treatment facility located adjacent to Sun City. He said the city is currently permitted to discharge up to 3.0 MGD to Jennings Branch (downstream into Cowan Creek and the San Gabriel River) and that the critical design constraint for the plant is the total-phosphorus permit limit, currently 0.5 milligrams per liter.

Staff explained the two shortlisted options: a conventional activated-sludge (CAS) plant with biological nutrient removal and a membrane bioreactor (MBR) with biological nutrient removal. Both options described by staff would meet current permit limits, but staff and the consultant said the MBR provides more consistent effluent quality and is more likely to meet tighter phosphorus limits expected for future expansions or renewals (staff cited a likely future permit target near 0.15 mg/L based on recent TCEQ practice and other local plant permits).

Coby Gee summarized comparative findings: CAS is a proven, lower‑capital initial option with lower consumables (electricity/chemicals) and fewer instrumentation dependencies, but it requires larger site footprint, is more reliant on settling biology, and is less certain to meet more stringent future phosphorus limits day to day. MBR has a smaller footprint, provides more consistent treatment (finer filtration), and “future-proofs” the plant for lower phosphorus limits at the cost of higher capital and higher O&M (energy, chemicals, instrumentation and maintenance) and more single points of failure tied to pumping and electrical equipment.

Staff presented life-cycle and 20-year capital comparisons showing MBR as more expensive up front — about $13,000,000 or roughly an 11% increase in initial capital estimates — but the analysis also indicated that converting CAS to MBR later (if needed) would incur a costly retrofit (staff estimated $30–35 million of retrofit cost that would likely not be eligible for impact-fee reimbursement). On a life-cycle basis, MBR became more favorable after a future expansion and conversion scenario.

The project team described a pairwise, weighted criteria evaluation that emphasized reliability, maintenance and staffing, capital and O&M costs, public perception and future-proofing. The Water Board reviewed the analysis on Aug. 14 and issued a unanimous recommendation in favor of the MBR option. Multiple council members voiced concurrence during the workshop (Councilmember Ben, Councilmember Kevin and others said they agreed with moving forward on MBR), and staff said they would track the decision as direction from Council.

Staff outlined the schedule: preliminary design is expected to conclude in September; final design is roughly a one-year effort; staff said they hope to start construction after final design and to have the plant operating in the early 2030s. Staff also noted permitting constraints: if the city expands beyond 3 MGD in the future, TCEQ is likely to require stricter phosphorus limits (staff referenced recent permit decisions at nearby plants as the reason for that assumption).

No formal ordinance or motion was recorded in the workshop transcript; staff treated Council comments as guidance and said they will incorporate the MBR recommendation in next-phase design work.","Staff presented two treatment alternatives for the new Northlands wastewater facility (CAS with later conversion vs. membrane bioreactor). After a pairwise evaluation and a unanimous Water Board recommendation, council members signaled concurrence with selecting an MBR to future-proof performance despite higher upfront costs.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6485558,"Georgetown utility staff propose modest base-rate increase to help fund $260 million grid expansion",1062,38000,1100000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5682333-89a6d40a395aa8306302b37a217a9d24&start=38&end=1100","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5682333-89a6d40a395aa8306302b37a217a9d24/thumbnail_38000.jpg","/articles/6485558/Georgetown/Williamson-County/Texas/Georgetown-utility-staff-propose-modest-base-rate-increase-to-help-fund-260-million-grid-expansion","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6485558-cbedb23431691c29f7f26e7a816a2247/orig.mp4?Expires=1770386626&Signature=Szcaxu1C6wLp9tVcHMZiEqWlWeQA7NUuBV2OTFoyuRyDg1zTbA8NntGVZ~MAwEJ-XDcSaAW93aMdrip0g-q~sf3QALId3sX5liY1-SynZ22Sg1fOuAFX-IYjjCw~oYZuw3XjnRU5aksGtSVIu1g9TVKub-kKwlcUJw9IFP~fqcAjPJuyw16M9okj2~zi890YRLM2NbC17v6JMDnJFXheJ~w9R6XCQcXl6YqJWWQMzPuKywRkGVX6L5e63EhBExJ0C8DE51EvPn~9gRc0qODmFyJmUcEx8NEFnqL2YnsnU8p-qqP3iQP24SSTSADb9lcLJoB~4OAU9~oQSUs9kqaOmA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Georgetown electric utility staff on a council workshop presented a proposed change to retail electric rates that would raise base-rate revenue roughly 1.8% systemwide (staff and consultant described this as a 2% retail sales revenue recommendation and a 2.1% increase to each base-rate element).

Michael Simpson, portfolio analyst with the electric utility, told Mayor and Council the utility expects load to grow nearly 100% by fiscal 2030 and that the capital plan to serve that growth will require “a little over $260,000,000 in the electric system over the next 5 years.” He said maintaining strong financial metrics on a standalone basis for the electric utility is critical to preserving favorable interest rates and that without a rate change the utility would not meet targeted coverage ratios in fiscal 2026–27.

Scott Burnham, partner at NewGen Strategies and Solutions, described the cost-of-service and rate-design work used to translate the revenue need into class-level rates. He said the analysis used a two-year test period (FY26–27), netted nonretail revenues (contribution in aid of construction, plant-investment fee, interest and other nonrate revenue) and allocated costs to customer classes before proposing rate changes.

The recommendation is not to change the power-cost-adjustment (PCA) or the recently adopted very-large commercial and industrial energy rate rider. Instead, NewGen proposed increasing base-rate elements by 2.1%, which NewGen said equates to about a 1.8% system revenue increase (rounded to roughly 1.9% by class in presentation slides). NewGen showed residential bill impacts at common usage levels (500–1,500 kWh) of roughly $1.50 to $3.50 per month (about a 1.9% percent change).

Key assumptions and figures presented by staff and consultant included: 3.5% organic load growth; discounted large-account forecasts provided by customers; 33 MW per year of incremental load assumed for contributions in aid of construction and plant-investment-fee revenue; purchase-power costs assumed at about $87 per MWh for native load and roughly $72 per MWh for very-large load; operations-and-maintenance budgets through June 2025; CIP funded 23% cash with 4.5% interest on debt-funded portion; and separate allocation of the control center between electric and water in FY26.

Simpson and Burnham emphasized the distinction between ‘‘revenue percent’’ and ‘‘rate percent’’ (small rounding effects) and that the proposal focuses on base rates rather than riders or PCA. Burnham also presented regional comparisons the utility prepared showing Georgetown’s average residential bill against nearby providers at 1,000 kWh and 2,000 kWh.

No formal council vote was recorded during the presentation; staff accepted questions and said they will return if Council requests further modeling (for example, shifting more of an increase to other classes instead of residential). Staff noted an effective date for the change would be Oct. 1 if adopted later in the budget/rate process.

The workshop presentation and consultant study will be part of materials councilors use during upcoming budget/rate decisions; staff indicated they would model alternate rate-design scenarios on request.","City electric utility staff and consultant NewGen presented a proposed 2% increase in retail sales revenue (about 1.8% system revenue) to help meet financial metrics and fund roughly $260 million in capital work to serve rapid load growth.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Georgetown staff proposes selling portions of its water service territory to reduce long-term demand by 58%

Georgetown staff, water board and council favor membrane bioreactor for Northlands plant to meet tighter phosphorus limits

Georgetown utility staff propose modest base-rate increase to help fund $260 million grid expansion