“We’re delighted. This is great news for Rockdale. But, keep in mind, this is only about half of the funding we are going to need.”
Those were the words of City Manager Chris Whittaker after learning Friday the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has approved what’s essentially a grant of almost $1-million and low-cost loans totaling $26,540,000 to help fix chronic water and sewer problems.
On the water side, the TWDB okayed $15,715,000 in low interest loans a $500,000 in “loan forgiveness” to replace ancient castiron pipes which have led to the city’s embarrassing “red water” problem for more than a half century.
Wastewater (sewer) system funding approved included $400,000 in loan forgiveness and $10,825,000 to rehabilitate and renovate its sewer plant.
SCOPE—That’s a lot of money and it is welcome news for Rockdale water customers, and rate payers, but doesn’t mark the end of the story.
“Rockdale is going to be looking at more water and sewer rate increases in upcoming years,“ Whittaker said, noting the full renovations needed are still forecast to cost upwards of $60-million.
GOOD NEWS—L a st month, water customers got good news as the second expected water rate hike— there was a large one in 2019—failed to materialize.
Council members backed off a decision late last year to purchase water from Blue Water and build a pipeline to a wellhead in Burleson County.
The council also decided to tweak the water rate schedule to treat multi-family residences in a different manner, treating each as a separate connection. That move was estimated to yield another $120,000 per year.
Taken together, those two moves saved a water rate hike in February, although the council could consider rates again as soon as October.
UNCERTAIN—Quite a bit in the huge plan is still uncertain, including whether the city will accept the TWDB funding at all.
In recent council meetings members directed Whittaker to investigate the possibility of applying for funding through the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture to ascertain if USDA assistance could be a better choice for Rockdale.
But the TWDB numbers look pretty good, so far.
“Not only is there almost one million dollars in loan forgiveness, the low-interest loans look to be very advantageous,” Whittaker said.
“Right now I’d estimate the interest rates at one or two percent,” he said. “That’s a lot better than the going rate of four percent.”
The huge project, which would essentially replace the entire city water system, including a new treatment plant, has many moving parts.
Not the least of which was that Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) appeared ready to fine the city unless Rockdale could demonstrate it was making progress to fix sewer violations it had identified.
The TWDB funding approval announced Friday appears to be a major step in that direction. ww
PERSPECTIVE—The TWDB press release received extensive play on some television stations and daily newspaper over the weekend, focusing on the red water angle.
Whittaker agrees the work will finally put an end to that problem but added:
“The red water is a symptom of the problem, which is deteriorating, sometimes century-old, water pipes,” he said. “I think everybody has seen the problem we’re having with leaks. It’s been estimated 30 to 40 percent of our water is lost due to leaks.”
Two weeks ago, a 12-inch main burst outside Waymar Plaza, triggering a boil-water notice and forcing Rockdale to cancel classes one day.
Bottom line: “This (loans and loan forgiveness) is great for Rockdale,” Whittaker said. “But there’s lots more to come, including more water rate hikes, and it’s going to be another five or six years, at least. On the funding, we’re halfway there.”
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