As many of you know, in late February, early March, we conducted a survey to see how many homeowners in the first 17 sections of Lakeway were interested in the installation of a sewer system, allowing them the option to hook up to a public sewer line rather than continue with their existing septic tank.
To spread the word of this proposal, we sent out an e-mail to each of the affected homeowners on file, followed by a letter mailed to each address in the affected area, totaling roughly 1,000 homes. Coverage of the proposal and event dates were published on the City’s website and e-distribution list as well as covered by Community Impact and the Austin American Statesman.
We had a total of about 165 people at the first informational meeting held in the evening of Feb. 26 and about 62 people at the morning meeting on March 1 at the Lakeway Activity Center. The surveys were due on Friday, March 9. We received 603 responses with 73% choosing Option 1 (connect now), 7% choosing Option 2 (pay reservation fee now, connect later), and 20% choosing Option 3 (not interested to connect). For more information on each choice, please read this article.
As a reminder, this survey does not obligate the homeowner to abide by their selection; it was instated to help us better understand how much of a desire exists for our proposed sewer system.
For this proposal to pass, we needed to present these findings to the Lakeway MUD (LMUD) Board of Directors who had final say on whether or not the project would move forward. The proposal was presented to the Board at the regularly scheduled May Board Meeting, which was held on May 9. Like all of our board meetings, this one was open to the public and held at our office, 1097 Lohmans Crossing Rd. A few affected home owners were in attendance with no opposing comments presented. The Board passed moving forward with Phase 1 of the project, which means that funding has been secured for developing the infrastructure required to support Phase 1 and Phase 2, as well as hookup all houses that fall in the Phase 1 area. Phase 1 consists of about 324 houses around Live Oak Golf Course.
Phase I Details
Phase 1 involves the installation of the main wastewater collection lines at the rear of the residential properties along the golf course, where few existing utilities and developed improvements exist. This initial phase also involves relocation and upsizing lift station (L-3) which is currently located in an area with access issues for utility staff. Relocation is to a more accessible location off Flamingo Boulevard, on the west side of the airport runway. The new lift station will supply a 10-inch force main directed south and parallel the airport runway, beneath Lakeway Boulevard, and towards the West plant (S-5 Water Recycling Plant). An 8-inch gravity line will be installed to reroute flows from the old lift station (L-3) to the new lift station.
The Phase 1 project also includes plans to expand the reclaimed water system by installation of reclaimed water piping parallel to the proposed sewer piping throughout the Live Oak Golf Course, allowing conversion of the 324 homes from potable irrigation to beneficial reuse irrigation (there will be an additional cost to homeowners who choose to hookup to this reuse water system). Based on a savings of approximately 93,000 gallons per day of potable water, per year, a grant from LCRA in the amount of $100,000 to help pay for the reclaimed water system extension is currently in review for consideration.
The project cost for Phase 1 is projected to be $7.2 million (M). Phase 2 will be projected at a later date.
As of right now, we are continuing to develop a time line as to when we can begin to break ground. We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of this project, however you are also welcome to call or e-mail us with any questions or concerns you may have.
Information meetings will be scheduled in the near future once we have more details.
The program is entirely voluntary for residents of this area, and is described in this Survey Article.
More details will be provided as LMUD works to complete plans. Information will be shared on our website, via public meetings, and in local publications.
