Kyle approves reclaimed water evaluation

KYLE — At its April 2 meeting, Kyle City Council approved $116,414 for the evaluation of an expansion of the reclaimed water distribution system to Plum Creek Golf Course.

To provide background, the presentation cited rapid population growth as the reason for an increase in potable water demands, which the city has found reusing water could reduce. A Reclaimed Water Master Plan in 2023 by CobbFendley proposed an expansion of the reclaimed water line in all four quadrants of the city, with Plum Creek Golf Course being the most in demand for water. City Engineer Leon Barba estimated that the course uses 900,000 gallons of water per day.

If approved, the proposed line would also connect to the line at Heroes Memorial Park, Cromwell Drive and potentially serve the Brick and Mortar District in the future.

For the evaluation, Barba explained that they are looking for three answers. The first is whether the pond, where all the current reclaimed water is pumped into, is big enough to hold water and pump to all of the previously mentioned locations. If not, an expansion would be required. The second is the possibility of creating a pump house, as well as taking out the one that currently exists and moving it to a location that is easier to manage. Finally, they need to determine what size pipe is needed to achieve their goals.

Beginning the discussion, council member Miguel Zuniga noted that there are other parks that are in dire need of irrigation, such as Steeplechase and Waterleaf parks.

“My only concern is that we’re earmarking $3 million and I would have liked to see an earmark for some of the older parks that need irrigation, as well, so that we can start designing how we can get sprinklers there. It just seems to me that that area is already resource rich and we’re going to add more infrastructure [instead of helping the older parks],” said Zuniga.

City Manager Bryan Langely responded by stating that this is one portion of a very large plan, which will ultimately cost approximately $160 million.

“The other thing that we’re going to be doing is looking at our water master plan to see, ‘Do we need to be pursuing the implementation of all that reclaimed water infrastructure, that 160 million,’ or is there a different path to how we can reuse that water,” Langely said. “I think, frankly, all of the parks should be irrigated at some point. It’s just putting all that infrastructure in place does take time.”

Council member Bear Heiser confirmed that as long as the city is meeting its contractual requirements with the golf course, it can direct any extra reclaimed water to wherever they please.

“I would just add that this project isn’t coming out of nowhere,” said Mayor Travis Mitchell. “It goes back to before the pandemic, which is when we originally envisioned a Sportsplex going in on the north end of the Brick and Mortar District, which we asked the voters for and they approved. But the reality is, if you’re going to build a Sportsplex, you need to come up with a solution that’s environmentally sensitive. This has been a part of developing that project all of these years … This is the path towards delivering a high-quality Sportsplex, with drought resistant, good, real turf.”

The item passed unanimously. Council will meet again on April 16.