Progress made on water plant for drought-stricken Spicewood Beach
CONNIE SWINNEY • PICAYUNE STAFF
SPICEWOOD — Heavy equipment rolled into Spicewood Beach Village on Dec. 12 to unload water plant components, launching the installation of a new system to serve communities in eastern Burnet County, officials said.
Crews are scheduled to pour the foundation for the facility delivered to the old plant on Linda Street.
The system on Lake Travis is about 20 miles east of Marble Falls and serves about 1,100 people and Spicewood Elementary School.
“It’s a milestone event for the revamped water system out there in Spicewood Beach,” said Burnet County Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery. “I hope it provides some reassurances to our constituents in Spicewood Beach, Lakeside Beach and the Eagle Bluff area and all along County Road 410 that the water-system project is moving forward.”
In February 2012, the wells serving the Spicewood Beach system malfunctioned, prompting Lower Colorado River Authority crews to haul in each day about 40,000 gallons of water, purchased from a private developer, to keep water flowing to residents.
Corix Inc., which operates the water system, and the LCRA pooled resources to fund most of the cost of the project.
Burnet County provided an additional $350,000 through a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to help offset potential rate increases tied to the installation, Dockery said.
Crews are drilling new wells near Lake Travis to supply water and eventually connect to the new water plant.
“We hope that the transition is going to be seamless,” he said.
The project is expected to be complete in late February.
Spicewood Beach was the state’s first community to run out of water because of the drought.
connie@thepicayune.com