GEORGETOWN, Texas — Growth in Georgetown means the city needs more water for its growing population.
At a special meeting on Monday, Dec. 30, Georgetown City Council approved a 30-year agreement with GateHouse Water LLC to buy 18,500 acre-feet of water per year, which is nearly 6 billion gallons.
According to city documents, that water will come from the Simsboro Aquifer in Lee County.
Georgetown provides water to about 74,000 water customers, with 40% of them living outside of the city limits.
According to a recent city-commissioned report, Georgetown is on pace to face water supply shortages by 2030 if it doesn’t find a new water source. City leaders say the new agreement will help address water concerns and expand its raw water resources.
The project will require the development of new groundwater wells, as well as the construction of a new 36-mile transmission pipeline from the wellfield to Circleville. Three out of six of the needed wells already exist, Assistant City Manager Laurie Brewer told the city council.
The development will be a public-private partnership, with GateHouse responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the project. GateHouse will also design, finance and build the wellfield, collection lines and its side of the interconnection point.
The city will be responsible for building the pipeline from the interconnection point to Georgetown, as well as purchasing the land for the interconnection point and building a portion of the infrastructure. The city will take and pay for the 18,500 acre-feet of water per year, or pay for water made available but not taken by a certain date.
In 2023, the city signed a two-year agreement with water utility company EPCOR to reserve up to 55 million gallons of water from Robertson County, as well as rehabilitating the existing North Lake Water Treatment Plant which is scheduled to be completed soon.
Boomtown is KVUE’s series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.