KWSC mulls sale of water
By DAVID LOWE Staff Writer

Kempner Water Supply Corp. will offer to sell to the city of Lampasas some of the water treatment and pipeline capacity KWSC owns through the Central Texas Water Supply Corp.

The possible sale, however, will not change KWSC's overall capacity or the city of Lampasas' supply of water.

Kempner Water Supply is designing its own water treatment facility at Stillhouse Hollow Lake, which KWSC General Manager David Sneed said will meet the corporation's needs through at least 2035 -- and possibly as late as 2040.

"We can treat water (at Stillhouse Hollow Lake) cheaper than buying from Central Texas Water Supply Corp.," Sneed said.

KWSC's contract with Lampasas requires the corporation to give the city first option on the capacity the corporation plans to sell. The Lampasas City Council considered the proposal at its last meeting, although City Manager Michael Stoldt has recommended expanding capacity, as needed, with resources inside Lampasas, rather than buying more from outside the city.

A summary of the council's action on the matter will appear in Friday's edition of the Dispatch Record.

"We have a considerable amount of water in Sulphur Creek, and having some treatment capacity here would benefit us," Stoldt told the council at its Nov. 13 meeting.

Lampasas has water treatment capacity projected to last through 2040, and if the city increases its pumping capabilities the water supply will last through 2050, the city manager said.

If the City Council does decide to expand Lampasas' supply before then, however, it could spend funds more effectively by developing treatment capacity within the city rather than by purchasing from a corporation, Stoldt said.

KWSC will replace any capacity the corporation sells by building more capacity in the plant it is planning at Stillhouse Hollow Lake, Sneed said. As a result, the corporation's overall treatment capabilities will not change.

If the Lampasas City Council declines the offer, KWSC may try to sell capacity back to Central Texas Water Supply, said Sneed.

"It's not like we're just openmarket selling capacity," the general manager said.

Even though KWSC will treat its own water from the new plant, the corporation will continue to supply Lampasas with water, Stoldt said.

"Them selling their capacity does not pass that responsibility to somebody else," the city manager said. "They are not selling our capacity or anything promised to us. They are simply selling the capacity that is reserved for Kempner Water Supply Corp."