Construction on a multi-million dollar pipeline bringing wastewater service to the south side of Kyle is expected to start by the end of the year.
On Sept. 18, the Kyle City Council unanimously approved a $6 million bid from Skyblue Utilitites, Inc. to construct the Southside Wastewater Improvement project.
The project, once complete, will allow wastewater to be collected from residential areas in south Kyle, ending the need for some to maintain septic tanks. Four contractors submitted bids on the project with Skyblue’s bid being the lowest and “most responsible choice,” according to city leaders.
Officials still must obtain a permit from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for the project, but city officials expect to have all final details complete before December. Contractors are expected to take between 12 and 15 months to complete the sewer line.
City Engineer Leon Barba said the project began in 2012 when the Kyle City Council approved a design engineer to organize the initiative.
“The bottom line is it’s going to open up development to the southern portion of the city,” Barba said. “I just see the area exploding with development.”
Septic systems can leak into soil and only last an average of 25 years, according to Barba. The wastewater system will require less effort on the part of Kyle citizens.
During construction, residents will see some traffic interruptions near Post Road, County Road 158 and a few smaller roads throughout south Kyle.
The wastewater line will stretch from FM 150 East near the Public Works building to Yarrington Road.
“It’s such a large project touching on dozens and dozens of individual properties,” said Kyle City Manager Scott Sellers. “It’s a very large diameter sewer pipe that extends from the public works facility on FM 150 East to Post Road near Yarrington on the south.”
The length of the pipe is approximately 16,500 linear feet of gravity mains, 9,500 linear feet of force main, 2,000 linear feet of reclaim water main. As a result of the new line, Kyle city officials included a 10 percent wastewater service rate increase in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget.
“What we are seeing here, historically in Kyle, (is that there) has not been any large scale or significant development in Kyle because there has not been any wastewater system in place ... This means there will be more development in Kyle,” Sellers said.
