dailytrib.com

AUSTIN — The Lower Colorado River Authority and the West Travis County Public Utility Agency signed a sales agreement Jan. 17 that allows the agency to take ownership of the West Travis County Regional Water and Wastewater systems.

The signing ceremony ends more than a year of work to find the best buyer for the systems that provide drinking water and wastewater service to more than 20,000 people in and near the cities of Bee Cave, Lakeway and Dripping Springs, according to an LCRA news release.

LCRA Board Chair Timothy Timmerman attributed the agreement to the hard work and persistence of state Sen. Kirk Watson of Austin, Sunrise Beach Village Mayor Pat Frain, Coalition of Central Texas Utilities Development Corporation President Pix Howell and other members of the coalition. LCRA and the coalition originally negotiated the sale before handing it off to the newly formed PUA.

Under the agreement, LCRA will transfer system operations and the ability to set rates to the PUA as early as March 19, according to the release. The PUA was formed by and includes representatives of the city of Bee Cave, West Travis County Municipal Utility District No. 5 and Hays County. Also Jan. 17, LCRA, the city of Bee Cave and West Travis County MUD Nos. 3 and 5 signed a settlement agreement for dismissal of the appeal of LCRA’s rates for the West Travis County Water and Wastewater systems.

The Jan. 17 agreement is a major step toward the divestiture of LCRA’s water and wastewater utilities, according to the release. LCRA’s board voted to seek buyers for the utilities in November 2010 and set criteria for choosing a buyer or buyers that included:

• Ability and commitment to provide reliable, quality utility services

• Ability to invest capital for needed infrastructure

• Commitment to meeting state regulatory requirements

• Willingness to compensate LCRA for its investment.