10 | SUNRAYS
OCTOBER 2013
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
CA NEWS
and (2) specific areas around some
of our amenities and in some of our
neighborhoods where the elimina-
tion of potable water used for irri-
gation is highly impractical. Along
with past efforts, Sun City Texas
now has roughly 35 million gallons a
year of potable water irrigation that
can be converted to non-potable wa-
ter, and the Sun City Texas Commu-
nity Association Board of Directors
has recently approved a three-year
program that will address the use
of these gallons.
2. Add Non-potable Water Storage
Capacity
The key component in the three-year
program that the Board recently
approved is for providing some ad-
ditional non-potable water storage
(pond) capacity. Non-potable water
obtained from the city cannot be
utilized unless we have the ability
to store the water. We are fortunate
in that the master plan for Sun City
Texas, created by Del Webb/Pulte,
included a non-potable water system
(supply piping, pumps and ponds)
for irrigation, and that the City of
Georgetown treats its waste water
to a quality level (specifically TCEQ
type 1) that allows it to be used for
irrigation of our common areas
and golf courses. Unfortunately,
we require additional water stor-
age facilities to supply non-potable
water to the areas currently using
the aforementioned 35 million gal-
lons of potable water. Sun City Texas
currently has five storage ponds that
are used for non-potable water irri-
gation and we will soon add a sixth
pond by converting an existing wa-
ter feature.
3. Attain a Reliable Non-potable
Water Supply
A reliable supply of non-potable
water is needed. The Board of Di-
rectors approved the installation of
six (soon to be a total of nine) wa-
ter wells that draw water from the
Trinity Aquifer. These water wells
produce enough volume to augment
some of our water supply needs, but
they are crucial when we must re-
vert to emergency mode, generally
late in the summer each year. We
are highly dependent on the City of
Georgetown for the 400-plus million
gallons a year of non-potable water
we use to irrigate our common areas
and golf courses. In the foreseeable
future (estimated to be five or more
years) when development creates the
need, the city will build another
wastewater treatment plant. This
plant (Northlands) will be built off
Ronald Reagan Boulevard near
the Sun City Boulevard entrance.
When the Northlands WWTF is
in operation and is combined with
our current supply of non-potable
water from the city’s Pecan Branch
WWTF, we will have a stable and
reliable supply of non-potable water
for Sun City Texas’ irrigation needs.
FUTURE CONCERNS
Unfortunately, roughly 50 percent of our
non-potable water currently comes from
the Pecan Branch WWTF and 50 per-
cent comes from Edwards Aquifer wells
operated and maintained by the City of
Georgetown. In the summer when our
demand is the highest and reliable deliv-
ery is imperative, the Edwards Aquifer
source generally dries up and we are
left with half of our needed non-potable
water supply. This shortage creates a
very difficult time for our golf courses
and common areas, and it is a loss of
revenue for the city. This supply problem
will be further aggravated when repairs
to the Fishing Pond are complete and we
begin using this source pond to irrigate
the common areas along Cool Spring
Way and Pedernales Falls Drive―areas
that are currently being irrigated using
potable water (Note: This potable water
irrigation is not part of the 35 million
annual gallons discussed above).
One possible interim solution to the
Edwards Aquifer problem would be for
the city to connect, via pipelines, output
from two existing WWTFs (San Gabriel
and Dove Springs) to the Pecan Branch
WWTF output. The combination of the
output from these three WWTFs would
eliminate the dependence on the Ed-
wards Aquifer as a source of non-potable
water and conserve the use of water from
this aquifer.
From the city’s perspective, Sun City
Texas does not use any non-potable wa-
ter for roughly four months each year,
while the golf course and common area
grasses are dormant; so, turning off the
Edwards Aquifer water wells during this
same time is a practical and prudent
situation for them. How the city views
the return on investment for the solu-
tion described above, available funding,
timing, engineering and/or non-potable
water rates, are matters that must be
worked out between City of Georgetown
staff and the City Council before any ac-
tion is considered. The bottom line: if no
action is taken, we have, roughly, a five-
year or more stretch of unstable summer
non-potable water supply ahead of us.
LEARN MORE
Hopefully, this article has communicated
a better understanding of the key water
issues in Sun City Texas and how we
are addressing water use. If you have
an appetite for more information, log
on to the Sun City Texas website, select
Community Association, then select CA
Advisory Committees. Click on Property
& Grounds Committee, then select Re-
ports to the Board and, finally, select the
document entitled “Proposed Strategic
Plan for Water Conservation dated April,
2012.” This document is a comprehensive
report on all water-related matters in
Sun City Texas and, as the title of the
document suggests, offers a suggested
plan of action to address the issues as
summarized in this article.
Sun City Texas Water Issues
Continued from page 7
