The Fulshear City Council on Oct. 21 approved a reclaimed-water supply agreement with Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District (MUD) 275 that city staff and the MUD’s counsel said carries a 25-year term but does not require the city to supply a fixed volume.

City staff described the agreement as part of a broader plan to expand the Cross Creek Ranch wastewater treatment facility and to make the additional treated effluent available to developments that the MUDs will serve.

City staff and the MUD’s attorney said the contract will meter deliveries and set a per-unit price for reclaimed water. “There’s a 25 year term, but we take whatever’s available. There’s no obligation that you provide a certain amount,” Sheema Jalalipour, legal counsel for MUD 275, told council members.

Why it matters: As Fulshear and neighboring developments add new subdivisions and lakes, reclaimed effluent can provide nonpotable water for pond levels, irrigation or recharge projects. The agreement allocates credits and metering arrangements so that any credits from reuse would accrue to the city and sets up a commercial exchange rather than a guaranteed entitlement for the MUD.

Details the council discussed and approved:
- Term and delivery: The MUD’s legal counsel said the contract term is 25 years; the city is not contractually obligated to deliver a fixed quantity of reclaimed water and may repurpose effluent if needed for other city uses or projects.
- Metering and credits: Deliveries beyond the meter point will be constructed by the MUD; water will be metered and billed. Any credits that accrue from reuse will be assigned to the city, not the MUD, city staff said.
- Permitting and use: City staff said the water will be used in permitted locations such as ponds; small permit changes may be required to support reuse.

Council members asked about alternatives and long-term commitments. City and MUD representatives said large-scale reuse options at this volume are limited and expensive (for example, recharge wells), and that ponding and permitted reuse were the more practical options.

Action: Motion to approve the reclaimed-water supply agreement passed; council made no commitments to deliver a guaranteed volume. The vote was recorded as an approval of the agreement; the contract will advance toward implementation and the city and the MUD expect further operational steps such as metering installation.

Implementation notes: City staff said all infrastructure beyond the connection point will be constructed by the MUD and that the agreement contemplates metering and billing. Council did not specify a start date for deliveries in the meeting transcript.