West Travis PUA officials outline multi‑year water projects to double Hays County capacity

West Travis County Public Utility Agency leaders told the Hays County Commissioners Court that a set of large projects now underway should substantially increase the system's practical capacity over the next two to three years.

Jennifer Rikers, the agency's general manager, said the PUA has "a total of 23, almost 24,000 LUE commitments today" and that some commitments are for projects that may not be built for 10–15 years. A PUA board speaker described a treatment-plant expansion and several transmission-main projects intended to bring more capacity into the Hays County portion of the system.

"At full capacity, with the expansion, that is currently underway, we should have about 32,500,000 gallons worth of capacity," a PUA board member said, describing the Upland Water Treatment Plant expansion and parallel transmission mains scheduled for completion in late 2027 through 2028. The presentation named specific projects: an Upland expansion (target December 2027), a Hamilton Pool transmission main and a parallel transmission main into Dripping Springs, and an elevated storage facility in Dripping Springs.

Rikers and the PUA board explained that summer irrigation demand, not year‑round consumption, is driving recent shortfalls and boil‑water notices. "Last week when we were having lots of issues, we increased restrictions to stage 3... I think that following the restrictions does matter," Rikers said. She also told the court the agency will provide quarterly reports of outstanding LUE commitments on request.

Commissioners pressed the agency on why projects were not completed before developments were approved. The PUA explained that by statute many capital projects are funded by connection fees tied to future development and cannot be charged to current ratepayers, and that procurement, permitting and redesign (including variance denials) have delayed some elements.

The PUA described ongoing discussions with neighboring systems — including talks about processing brackish groundwater with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and cooperating with the City of Lakeway — as additional pathways to increase deliverable potable water to the system.

The court requested follow-up documentation from the PUA, including project timelines and contract-award documentation; the agency agreed to provide regular updates by email.