$500K for Granite Shoals water system
Granite Shoals recently secured a $500,000 grant that will fund serious upgrades to the city’s raw water intake facility, which draws in and treats millions of gallons of water from Lake LBJ for residents’ consumption.
The grant is the maximum allotment from the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Community Development Block Grant program, which gives state money to small, underfunded communities.
“This grant represents a significant milestone for Granite Shoals,” City Manager Sarah Novo told DailyTrib.com in an email. “By upgrading our water intake facility, we are investing in vital infrastructure that will improve the resilience and efficiency of our water intake system.”
Specifically, the money will be used to install a fourth pump, an air compressor, variable-frequency drives, and a raw water pump recirculation system. Combined, these additions will drastically increase the efficiency of the raw water intake facility and reduce the likelihood of mechanical damage.
The city’s water system has been a point of public contention for years due to numerous water line breaks, frequent discoloration issues, and even violations of state water quality standards.
In recent years, millions of dollars have been spent on fixes to bring the system up to speed. Major steps also were taken to improve the city’s water quality above and beyond state standards.
“Grants play a crucial role in bringing larger projects to fruition,” Novo wrote. “We are deeply appreciative of the support from the Texas Department of Agriculture. This funding not only helps enhance this facility’s operational efficiency but also underscores the importance of continued investment in our water infrastructure to ensure its sustainability for the future.”
Funding for Granite Shoals’ water system has traditionally been hard to come by due to annual transfers from the utility budget to the general fund to supplement the city’s operations costs, but that will not happen in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
In the FY 2023-24 budget, the city pulled $1.2 million from the utility fund to fuel the general fund, and in FY 2022-23, $857,337 was moved. In developing the FY 2024-25 budget, city administration made a conscious decision to find other ways to balance the general fund.