Granite Shoals inks 40-year LCRA water deal with drought stipulations
The Granite Shoals City Council on July 23 approved a new 40-year contract with the Lower Colorado River Authority to provide its municipal water supply. The deal comes with the stipulation that the city adhere to the river authority’s drought contingency plans.
Granite Shoals had been under another 40-year contract with the LCRA since 1983 until this most recent one. City Utilities Superintendent Josh Hisey said the biggest change is following the drought stages and restrictions put forth by the river authority.
“We are trying to align our drought contingency and water conservation plans with (the LCRA),” he told DailyTrib.com. “We’re trying to align our plans with LCRA so that we have a better working relationship.”
He explained that the main difference would be consistent, twice-per-week outdoor watering schedules year-round and once-per-week outdoor watering during drought conditions.
The city is now in alignment with the LCRA’s updated March 2024 drought contingency plan.
The new contract gives Granite Shoals access to an annual maximum of 830 acre-feet of water from Lake LBJ. The city has used an average of 440 acre-feet of water per year for the last five years, according to Hisey. The LCRA created the 830-acre-feet figure based on how much water the city could be using decades down the line if current growth trends continue.
“(The LCRA) does a calculation based upon our annual growth and they estimate how much water we’ll be using close to the end of the contract,” Hisey explained.
He went on to say that Granite Shoals pays for the water it uses and another fee for the water it reserves through its contract. He estimated the city spends an average of $5,500 per month on its water, depending on the time of year. The bill rises in the summer and falls in the winter, he said.
The price for water from the LCRA is flat and the same for all customers. It is $155 per acre-foot, or 48 cents per 1,000 gallons.
The money paid to the LCRA for the city’s supply only covers the rights to the water. The city has to facilitate treating the water to state standards, storing it, and distributing it to its residents. This is funded through utility bills.
Water bill rates are dependent upon the size of the plumbing in a home’s meter, how much water the home uses per month, and the current drought stage the city is under. A monthly bill can be as low as $36.86 for a three-quarter-inch meter that uses less than 2,000 gallons per month when there are no drought conditions.
According to Hisey, 50-60 percent of homes in the city fall under this rate. Rates rise as meter sizes and monthly usage go up. A breakdown of how water rates are determined can be found online in the city’s code of ordinances.