Hewitt opts out of local sewer plant expansion

Waco is expanding their Bull Hide Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, but the City of Hewitt has decided not to participate.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

“That’s going to be much less debt than we would otherwise have, trying to accommodate a $20 million expansion,” said Hewitt's City Manager, Bo Thomas.

Hewitt uses both the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant and Bull Hide Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Now, Hewitt has decided not to opt into the expansion of the Bull Hide Plant.

Thomas says it would cost around $17 to 20 million for half a million gallons of capacity at the Bull Hide Creek Plant — he says it would be around $10 to 11 million at the Central Plant.

Economist Ray Perryman says Waco is growing at around the same pace as Texas, which is the fastest growing state in the country.

25 News brought you a story about the Bull Hide Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the economic impact it would have on Waco.

“Areas always have to have adequate water systems, sewage systems, wastewater systems, highway systems," Perryman said.

"All that infrastructure required to support economic growth — it’s helping the area prepare for a lot of the growth that’s likely to be coming in the next few years.”

The Bull Hide Creek Plant capacity is rising from 1.5 million to 4 million gallons a day.

Waco spokesperson Jessica Emmett Sellers says that knowing where things are developing geographically shows where more wastewater treatment needs to happen.

“If it serves multiple communities, we get with them, make sure that everybody is on board and everybody who benefits from the treatment of wastewater will help with offsetting those costs, so that it doesn’t all fall on the city of Waco,” Emmett Sellers said.

Thomas says that they're still planning to expand wastewater treatment in the community.

“The expansion that we already have and the capacity that we already have at the Central Wastewater Plant, it’s going to be more cost effective for us,” he said.

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