Dripping Springs Water Strategic Plan
Despite the economic slowdown, northern Hays County continues to grow, and Dripping Springs Water is preparing to grow, too.
A May 2009 report from the water supply corporation’s engineering firm identified future infrastructure needs, including new elevated storage and distribution system enhancements.
Currently, Dripping Springs Water relies on three ground storage tanks and two standpipes for water storage of more than 900,000 gallons. Under state guidelines, water utilities are required to have 100 gallons of elevated storage per connection. Dripping Springs Water has capacity to serve an additional 535 residential connections before it needs to begin building more elevated storage.
That may sound like a lot, but as more subdivisions come on line, Dripping Springs Water is committed to provide service. Dripping Springs Water already has commitments to serve another 231 residential lots.
The engineering report identified another 1,642 residential lots in some stage of development for Dripping Springs Water’s service area.
To provide water storage for growth in the central and southern portions of DSWSC’s service area, the engineering report recommends the construction of two more tanks with storage of 750,000 to 800,000 gallons. With the addition of the tanks, water pressure will increase 12 psi at Dripping Springs Water’s Highway 290 pumping station. The improvements will cost almost $1.5 million.
On the high-growth western side of the service area, the report identified the need to add a half-million gallons foR storage at a cost of $942,000.
The report also calls for improvements to the Highway 290 pumping station and to the distribution lines.
The report notes that some original distribution lines, constructed in 1964, continue to be in service.
As a result, some of these original pipelines are now undersized and do not provid looped flow in the distribution system. The report identifies where pipelines could be constructed to interconnect with the original lines.
The report identified 2.7 miles of pipeline improvement projects at a cost of just more than $1 million. It also recommended oversizing another 2.9 miles of pipeline to provide increased flow capacity. That would run an estimated $230,000.
The WSC’s board of directors will use the report as a blueprint for its future capital projects.
