$25,000 LCRA grant goes toward water storage tank in Double Horn area
Lower Colorado River Authority and Pedernales Electric Cooperative representatives presented a $25,000 grant to the Double Horn Creek Water Supply Corp. for a new water storage tank to support firefighting efforts. Pictured are (from left) Spicewood Fire Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Lark Camacho, Double Horn Creek WSC board member Roger Trejo, WSC board Secretary and Treasurer Pilar Chiodo, Double Horn Mayor Cathy Sereno, Double Horn Alderman R.G. Carver, WSC board President Curtis Raetz, Spicewood Fire Rescue Fire Chief Sam Stacks, PEC Public Affairs representative Jared Fields, LCRA board member Carol Freeman, LCRA Regional Affairs representative Susan Patten, Burnet County Judge James Oakley, WSC board member Harry Brunner, Burnet County Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery, Double Horn City Secretary Karen Maxwell, and volunteers Susan Carver and Sig Sereno. In the cab of the firetruck are Travis Rounds and Joshua Nugent. Photo courtesy of LCRA
A $25,000 grant will help the Double Horn Creek Water Supply Corp. install a 40,000-gallon water storage tank to support area firefighting efforts. The grant came from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Pedernales Electric Cooperative through the LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program.
The tank will benefit the communities of Spicewood, Double Horn, and Round Mountain as well as a large part of the Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Department’s eastern response area, said Curtis Raetz, president of the Double Horn Creek WSC Board of Directors.
“The location of the firefighter water storage tank is critical,” Raetz said. “The nearest fire hydrant is 5 miles away, and this is an area with growing neighborhoods and where there’s risk of wildland brush fires.”
The storage tank will be in the western part of the Burnet County Emergency Services District No. 9 service area and accessible to local fire departments at no cost.
Raetz said the community has enthusiastically supported the project.
“We’re a nonprofit, and when we started going to get approval from our membership for this project, they said, ‘Rather than a rebate on our water bills, we would much rather have this money go to fire protection,’” Raetz said.
The community grant is one of 32 awarded recently through the LCRA program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders, and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water, and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. PEC is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and a partner in the grant program.
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in January. Visit the Community Development Partnership Program webpage for more information