Public Works Director Stephen Sewell provided an overview of the city’s water system during a Thursday town hall at the old Lampasas Middle School cafeteria.
Despite water being a major concern among Lampasans, only a handful of residents were present at the forum to hear Sewell discuss the system’s design, service disruptions and the future water outlook.
To start his presentation, Sewell reminded attendees the city contractually purchases water from Central Texas Water Supply. Water from CTWS then is blended with water produced by the Kempner Water Supply Corp. at the Highway 195 storage tank.
From there, the water makes its way through the KWSC distribution system before it enters the Lampasas system at the U.S. Highway 190 and Farm-to Market Road 580 chlorine injection sites.
“Due to the sheer system size, we may not actually have the required amount of disinfectant, or it might be approaching the minimum amount of disinfectant by the time it reaches Lampasas,” Sewell said. “We boost it up a little bit, and that is for compliance purposes.”
After being disinfected, water goes to the County Road 2034/Old Georgetown Road storage tank before flowing to the pump station on Spring Street. Then the water travels to the Nix storage tank.
“If you live pretty much west of Porter Street, your water is coming from Nix,” Sewell said. “If you live east of Porter Street, your water is coming from the Old Georgetown Road storage tank.”
The city of Lampasas also has a contract with the Brazos River Authority for 5,500 acre-feet of water per year. Currently, the city uses only around half that amount, however local suppliers are limited to producing 4,000 acre-feet per year.
If Lampasas were to grow substantially, a full buildout service area with a population of 32,000 and 10,700 water connections would require 6,500 acre-feet per year – 1,000 acre-feet more than the city’s current contract with the BRA. To reach the amount of water supply that would be needed under these conditions, Sewell told the audience that Sulphur Creek could be a potential supplemental source.
“The engineering firm Jones-Heroy and Associates, they determined that we do have sufficient supplies in the creek currently to utilize Sulphur Creek as a supplemental resource,” the public works director said. “Key word: supplemental.”
Groundwater is another possibility for a supplemental water source.
“We’re still looking at [groundwater], but at this point in time it is something we are considering as an emergency use,” Sewell said. “Nothing to actually supply Lampasas from day to day.”
He noted Stillhouse Hollow Lake, the water source for Lampasas, right now is at 624 feet – two feet above the pool level. Sewell believes Stillhouse is primed to be the city’s water source long into the future.
“Stillhouse was the future in the ’80s. It’s the future now. There is no getting rid of Stillhouse, not for Lampasas,” he said. “There is not enough local water supply to get rid of Stillhouse. We are going to have to continue to use it.”
At its lowest point during the 2023 drought, Stillhouse’s lake level reached 602 feet. Sewell added that if lake levels ever drop dramatically, the KWSC would be able to draw water that the CTWS couldn’t.
KWSC’s lowest intake on Stillhouse is 579 feet, versus 589 feet for Central Texas Water Supply.
Additionally, Sewell highlighted that the CTWS water plant on the lake which services Lampasas is in a poor location. Due to flooding in October 2023, the plant was unable to produce sufficient water for Lampasas after its intake pumps were damaged.
“The mouth of the Lampasas [River] really drops into Stillhouse at the exact point where Central Texas [Water Supply] is positioned,” he said. “It is not the greatest place to park a water treatment plant. Anytime it floods, they are going to be susceptible to severe damage.”
Sewell said he is aware of issues residents have had with water discoloration.
Over the past week, some Lampasas water customers have experienced a yellowish tinge to their water, which the public works director believes could be manganese -- a naturally occurring mineral found in rocks, soil and groundwater.
Sewell said the city is always looking into discoloration issues and other water-quality troubles. A joint effort with KWSC, however, could be beneficial for the two entities, he added.
“I think there is a lot of work that can be done and a lot of preventive stuff that can take place if Lampasas and Kempner were to actually sit down at the table and discuss things like two entities should,” Sewell said.
Over the last few years, Lampasas water customers have experienced several service disruptions due to main line breaks. Repairs to leaks on Lampasas’ 18inch main lines have taken anywhere from 12 to 24 hours. Repairs to KWSC’s larger main lines may take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours, he said.
If Lampasas is unable to receive its supply through the KWSC distribution system due to a line leak, the city has 48 hours’ worth of water supply. To minimize service disruptions, capital improvement plans funded by Lampasas and the KWSC may be needed.
“There is the potential to make significant changes with Lampasas, Kempner, the wholesale contract, in a manner that benefits long-term Lampasas water sustainability and possibly Kempner in other aspects,” Sewell said.
The public works director wrapped up his presentation with information on the city’s ongoing testing to ensure compliance with the state. The city averages 240 water samples each month to maintain compliance, and an additional 340 samples are taken to observe water quality, Sewell said.
Residents curious about the city’s test results may visit the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s “Drinking Water Viewer” webpage and enter the city’s identification number, 1410001, to learn more.
