LCRA presents water conservation grant check to Marble Falls
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LCRA representatives present a $58,000 grant to the City of Marble Falls to extend its reuse lines to provide irrigation to a golf course. The grant is part of LCRA’s Firm Water Conservation Cost-share Program.
The City of Marble Falls soon will extend its treated wastewater lines in a move that will save millions of gallons of water annually, thanks to a $58,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority.
The grant, part of LCRA’s Firm Water Conservation Cost-share Program, will allow Marble Falls to extend its existing treated effluent lines to the City of Meadowlakes to irrigate a planned 39-acre expansion of the Hidden Falls Golf Course. This will allow the golf course to be completely maintained with treated effluent instead of potable water.
“This project is a solid stepping stone for us,” said Marble Falls City Engineer Eric Belaj. “It will help set the stage to expand our reuse system in the future. I’m proud that as a smaller city we’re proactively thinking about and working toward conserving more water.”
Marble Falls anticipates the project will save about 50 acre-feet of water from the Highland Lakes — roughly 16.3 million gallons — annually.
“The Highland Lakes are a vital water supply for Central Texas,” said John Hofmann, LCRA executive vice president of water. “While the lakes are nearly full now, we know the levels will go down as summer heats up. We also know the nature of these lakes is to rise during rainy times and fall during droughts, and the next drought could be just around the corner. Putting water conservation practices and technology in place is important to help protect our water supply in the future, and we are proud to work with Marble Falls in such a worthy project.”
Marble Falls spent millions of dollars within the past decade to retrofit its wastewater treatment plant with an enhanced filtration system to produce effluent acceptable for irrigation. The city has 5,000 feet of reuse pipes that serve two parks and a soccer field. There also are future plans for reuse lines to serve the middle school’s 16 acres, which includes the football field.
The cost-share grant is awarded through LCRA’s Firm Water Conservation Cost-share Program, which provides funding for water efficiency projects and programs established by LCRA's firm water customers. Customers include cities, utilities, industries, irrigation and recreational water users. Projects funded through the program include converting irrigated areas using raw or potable water to recycled water, and decreasing utility system water loss, such as flushing reductions or leak detection and repair.
Applications for the next round of grants are due Sept. 1, 2017. More information is available at WaterSmart.org.
