City of Brownwood Approves Funds for Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades

Of those funds, $3,080,000 will be used for upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant as required by TCEQ.  According to the city's briefing sheet, the payments on this debt will be funded by an increase in sewer rates beginning in fiscal year 2013/2014, and the city projects that it will take a 6.7% increase in sewer rates which will cost the average household an additional $1.52 per month.

The TCEQ inspects and permits the city's wastewater treatment plant each year, and without these upgrades, the city risks not being issued a permit in the future.

"We've been needing to do these renovations at the wastewater treatment plant for the last three or four years," said Brownwood Director of Finance Walter Middleton.  "These are improvements that are being required by the TCEQ in order to renew our permit."

Middleton listed numerous required repairs including a new requirement by TCEQ using biological treatment of phosphorus.

"This is all work that needs to be in the next year, and because it is so expensive, we've not been able to do it in our regular budget process," Middleton said.

The city recently renewed their annual permit on the plant though TCEQ for $22,600.

The remaining $360,000 of the bonds will be used to reimburse the city for engineering fees that have already been paid for in the planning and development of the proposed supplemental water treatment plant.  Officials said that if they move forward to construct the plant, the total debt service will be paid from a combination of savings on water costs to the Brown County Water Improvement District and an increase in the water base rate.

The city of Brownwood was approved by the Texas Water Development Board to borrow up to $12 million for the Phase I water treatment plant upgrades and the Phase II supplemental treatment plant construction.  Phase II will call for a separate vote of the council if the city decides to move forward with the project.