San Angelo City Council Set to Spend $62 Million on Hickory Water Supply Expansion Tuesday

SAN ANGELO – San Angelo City Council members Tuesday will consider spending $62 million for improving and expanding the Hickory Water Supply during their regular meeting. 

The Hickory Water Supply wells are located on the Ford ranch south of Melvin, TX.  

The Hickory Water Supply consists of four major components: wellfield; groundwater storage and pumping; transmission piping; and groundwater treatment using ion exchange technology. The current capacity of the Hickory system is approximately 9,400 acre-feet per year (ac-ft/yr). This project will expand the Hickory system to reliably produce and treat the maximum production capacity from the Hickory Aquifer of 12,000 ac-ft/yr.

The $62 million will be used for new production wells, treatment facilities, land clearing and standby generators.  

In addition to the Hickory system improvements, rehabilitating and upgrading the clearwell at the Water Treatment Plant (WTP) is also included in this project. The existing clearwell was constructed in 1947 and since that time the concrete structure has deteriorated and maintenance and repairs are becoming more extensive and expensive. In addition, the way the current clearwell is built, the utility has severe limitations on making necessary repairs or performing maintenance without impacting the operations of the WTP and potentially impacting water deliveries. The proposed improvements include building and replacing the existing clearwell with two 2,000,000 gallon prestressed concrete tanks. This improvement will allow for increased flexibility in maintenance and operation, as well as optimization of disinfection strategies.

On February 15, 2022, City Council approved Hydro Resources - Mid Continent, Inc. for WU-05-22 Hickory New Production Wells, PLW Waterworks, LLC for WU-06-22 Hickory Treatment Plant and Well Field Improvements, and the City Manager was authorized to negotiate scope and contract pricing to be brought back for future City Council consideration.

The construction amount allocated in the original loan closed with the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) was for $48,895,259. With the negotiated proposal pricing for Hydro Resources, PLW Waterworks, and the estimate from ONCOR at $61,861,796, this leaves a balance of $12,966,537 necessary to perform this expansion project.

It is also recommended on the March 15, 2022 City Council meeting to adopt a resolution to seek this additional funding from TWDB. The Water Capital Fund fund balance will be utilized until the funding is secured. A budget amendment is a part of this agenda item to allow for this use. If TWDB funding is pursued, it is anticipated to receive approval and funding in late fall of 2022.