Walnut Creek water district to review drought plan update, board agrees to four-day staff week
Mar. 23—SPRINGTOWN — A public hearing on updating a Springtown area water supplier revealed challenges facing the Walnut Creek Special Utility District amid perennial drought.
Board members also agreed to hold a second open forum to give customers time to look over the proposed update.
The 30-page proposal is online at walnutcreeksud.org/. Click on 'Notices' at the top then, 'Water Conservation & Drought Contingency Plan.'
Walnut Creek gets its water from Lake Bridgeport, the topmost reservoir in a lake ladder that flows to Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Worth, and then Lake Benbrook via the river's Clear Fork.
Lake Bridgeport has been well below its full level, and on Monday was 15.3 feet down. (Eagle Mountain was down 4.95 feet, Worth was 2.51 feet low while Benbrook was 2.67 feet above its full level).
"I moved in last May and had no idea there was any issue with water," customer Randy Taylor said, asking whether the water district can require developers to disclose the availability of water at their projects.
The answer, from District Office Manager Denise Taylor, was, "no."
District Manager James Blackwood said the district pulls 4 inches a year off of Lake Bridgeport. He added the district has no say-so in how many housing developments go up in rapidly growing north-central Parker County.
Trustee Beth Correll added the hands of county commissioners also are tied as long as developers follow state guidelines.
She added the commissioners also are looking into how to handle more than 210 RV parks that dot the county.
"They're working on it," she said, of the overall challenge of controlling rampant development. "But it doesn't happen overnight."
Customer Jane Galvin, who with her husband lives within the district which is smaller than Walnut Creek's service area, urged the board to develop a secondary water source at Eagle Mountain Lake.
She also urged the board to correct its elections method. District residents like her and other district residents can vote for trustees, but not customers who are in the wider service area but not the district.
District residents will elect two trustees later this spring.
"There are a lot of customers who will not get a vote on May 4," she said. "That's a problem."
Blackwood didn't say no to the Eagle Mountain tie-in idea. But he did cite a price estimate, which would include a pipeline to the lower lake and a separate water treatment plant.
"We're looking at $85 million to make it happen," he said.
The district last summer secured a $40 million state loan and since last fall has elevated a storage tank, lain larger delivery pipelines and still is upgrading other infrastructure.
Trustee Jim Cox said the board could decide to seek more funding once those projects wrap up.
"Your water rates did not go up with that $40 million bond issue," he added. "We're doing the best we can do to not raise your rates."
Correll later added, "It's going to take all of us to get by this."
Board Chairman Mike Gilley later said the board would take up the drought plan in its April meeting. He added he will consider calling a special session before then.
The board on Monday also agreed hire a firm to map the district's underground delivery network using the modern Geographic Information System method.
"It's not going to help us right here, immediately, but 20 years down the line it's going to be invaluable," Blackwood said, after describing the method crews often use now to find a pipeline. "You pull out a probing stick and you start putting that in the ground until you find that line."
Finally, the board agreed consider moving employees to a four-day work week this summer at its April meeting.
Taylor, the office manager, said the work week proposal does not include any change to office or drive-through hours.
Blackwood added affected staff will understand they still must be on call Fridays if the district goes to a Monday-to-Thursday work week.
He also said employees favor the move.
