Project Updates
LCRA Picks Off-Channel Storage Facility
 Lower Colorado River Authority announced this fall that a portion of Pierce Ranch in Wharton County has been identified as the preferred site for an off-channel storage facility to capture and store excess and unused water for the proposed LCRA-SAWS Water Project.
The owners of the ranch have signed a preliminary agreement, approved by the LCRA Board of Directors, which offers LCRA an option to purchase about 4,200 acres of the ranch for the holding basin. The purchase price will be determined when LCRA decides to purchase the land.
Environmental study teams, which recommended the Pierce Ranch property in Wharton County for the LCRA-SAWS Water Project, pointed to two factors in choosing the facility site:
- Amount of potential jurisdictional wetlands, as mapped by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- Practicability of the site, including the landowner’s willingness to sell.
A total of about 20 factors were considered by PBS&J and KBR, the study team, as outlined in their Alternative Analysis Technical Memorandum. The memo reviews the process which began with 15 possible site configurations for the off-channel storage facility, and culminated with LCRA’s decision to utilize Pierce Ranch as the preferred alternative.
LCRA and SAWS are in the fourth year of an in-depth study of the project’s technical, environmental and financial feasibility. After the study period – scheduled to end no later than 2015 – the LCRA Board will determine if the project protects and benefits the river basin as required by House Bill 1629, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2001. SAWS Board of Trustees then would decide if the project’s cost and water supply are acceptable.
During the study period, LCRA and SAWS also must determine if the project can obtain the necessary federal, state and local permits. In 2009, LCRA and SAWS plan to file an application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a federal Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for the entire project, including the holding basin and related facilities. The application must describe all the potential sites cited in the study, and the evaluation process and criteria used to assess them.
The Corps will review the application, the analysis of the potential sites, and the proposed project and facilities. They also will seek public input during the review. The final location of the holding basin will not be determined until the Corps completes the federal review process and determines whether to issue a permit. The process will be extensive and take some time. |
