Specs in for CWS treatment plant

By Phil Reynolds
The Highlander •

Cottonwood Shores is looking at two purchases to reduce costs in some areas and to help deal with an expanding population.

The city is buying a machine to help clean out clogged city storm sewers, which will help cut costs of keeping culverts cleared. And city officials believe they’ve gotten specifications for a new water treatment plant within the city’s budget of $1.25 million, and hope for state approval soon.

The sewer cleaner is trailer-mounted combination vacuum pump and water jet device that will cost the city $87,207.70, but will eliminate the problem of needing to clean clogged culverts by hand. Financing for the machine was done locally, said City Administrator Sheila Moore.

The machine is in stock at dealers now, and the city expects to have its new cleaner on hand “ASAP,” Moore said.

Bids for a water treatment plant came in at close to $2 million – well above the $1.25 million budget, Mayor Donald Orr told council members at the Thursday, June 21 meeting. But Orr said specs for the plant had been tweaked to bring the cost in line with the budget, using a design that had been approved many times before by the Texas Water Development Board.

Because the lower-cost design has been standardized and the state has approved it for many other cities, Orr said he thinks Cottonwood Shores’ application should get quick approval.

Orr said he hopes to have everything in line for the plant by August.

Both purchases should help the city deal with population increases, city officials said.

U.S. Census Bureau figures show Cottonwood Shores grew from 888 to 1,123 residents between 2000 and 2010, an increase of 26.4 percent.

This year alone, water hookups – a figure widely used to judge growth – were 17, Moore said. That’s more than the previous five years combined, she said.

The city has plenty of room to absorb more residents. Moore said there are 500 homes in Cottonwood Shores now, but 2,000 lots are platted – though she agreed it would be difficult to build on some of the lots because of terrain.

Why are people moving to the city?

“It’s a lot less expensive to live here,” Moore suggested. “And it’s a great city.”