Water Infrastructure Assessments
Most communities, especially those with growing populations, struggle to meet future water supply and wastewater treatment needs. Water supply solutions often include multiple new sources of surface and groundwater, creating water treatment compatibility issues that don’t arise when using a single water source. Unconventional water sources such as brackish aquifers, and industrial and municipal wastewater are identified in State Water Plans with increasing frequency, adding complexity to future infrastructure planning. Aqua Strategies has worked with multiple entities to evaluate the compatibility of existing infrastructure with future water supply and wastewater treatment needs. In addition, many smaller communities are struggling to meet new drinking water quality standards. We enhance our engineering feasibility analyses with our risk analysis/decision support tools to identify the most practical, lowest cost path forward for our clients. Clients include: US Agency for International Development, the European Bank, US Corps of Engineers; Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations; Texas Water Development Board; Brazos River Authority; and, Trinity River Authority.
Project: Water Demand Projections and Infrastructure Assessment
Client: Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation
Date: 2017 – 2018
Keywords: Water Infrastructure Assessment; Permitting; Water Planning; Stakeholder Involvement; Decision Support Tools; Engineering Feasibility Analysis; Public Policy
Dripping Springs, a once-rural community to the west of Austin, TX, is experiencing meteoric growth that will continue well into the next decade. Aqua Strategies was hired to develop water demand projections based on several growth scenarios envisioned by local officials. Associated with each demand projection, Aqua Strategies also developed infrastructure needs for both water supply and wastewater treatment.
Most of the water demand scenarios either stretched or exceeded the community’s existing water supply sources. As a result, Aqua Strategies looked not only to additional water supply, but to public policy initiatives to conserve and extend the life of the existing supply sources. Multiple scenarios for water infrastructure, including cost and financing options, were prepared for each water demand scenario to meet needs through year 2030.
As a result of Aqua Strategies infrastructure assessment work, the Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation and local elected officials have multiple options to meet future needs based on the actual growth experienced by the City.