So why is AWU pushing an expensive treatment plant, located in an environmentally sensitive area, 20+ miles from Austin's Desired Development Zone?
The Austin Water Utility provides the following reasons at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/water/aboutwtp4.htm.
| Reason | AWU | Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Population Growth |
Need to meet demands for population growth by 2050 |
Austin is growing at 2% per year. This growth can be accommodated by existing capacity and conservation. Ultimately, conservation is the only long-term solution. |
| Energy Savings | $1.7M/year energy savings | Turning on a third treatment plant will consume more electricity than would be saved via pumping. |
| System Reliability | Need to diversify water source; accommodate downtime at existing plants. | Existing plants have high reliability; WTP4's 50 MGD is not enough to cover loss of either plant. Ultimately all water comes from Lake Travis and Lake Austin. |
| Excellent Time to Build | Cheaper to build in a down economy. | There is no good time to spend $500M for unneeded capacity. Far cheaper to invest in conservation. |
In actuality, these are not reasons to build, but excuses for why AWU wants to build now.
In the end, it all comes back to budgeting -- wants versus needs. Austin does not need WTP4 now and likely will not need additional capacity for the next 20-30 years. The following sections address each of these topics (and more).
WTP4 History
Water Treatment Plant #4 (WTP4) was proposed in the late 1970's and early 1980's to address the water needs of Austin as it grew. At the time, Cedar Park and Leander were not incorporated and it was anticipated that WTP4 would serve the needs of not only Austin, but also the suburbs to our north. In 1984, voters approved $190 million to construct WTP4 -- over the past 25 years, however, the need for the additional capacity has not materialized, since Cedar Park and Leander now have their own treatment plants and expansions at our existing Ulrich and Davis plants have negated the need to build it.
WTP4 also had several setbacks, primarily because it was proposed in an environmentally sensitive area in the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve (BCP). After spending $55M developing the Bull Creek site, AWU proposed several other sites until it finally decided on the Bullock Hollow site near 2222 and 620. The total project cost has now increased to over $500M dollars, over twice the cost of other options such as rebuilding the Green Plant (about $250M).
