League City will expand its Southwest Water Reclamation Facility, which was built in 2012, to treat an additional two million gallons per day. The City Council voted unanimously at its Oct. 27 meeting to award combined contracts totaling $86 million to Fort Worth-based Freese and Nichols and Houston-based CSA Construction for the project.
The plant now treats four million gallons per day. City planners said it must reach six million to meet projected demand from new development, especially west of I-45, according to city documents. League City's population nears 118,000, according to recent U.S. Census data. Community Impact has previously reported that the city is 40% built out.
Planned upgrades include a new aeration basin, a new lift station, a new UV channel, and electrical and control system upgrades. City staff said the work will also let the plant take in some flow from the Dallas Salmon Wastewater Treatment plant on the east side. City Manager John Baumgartner said the upgrades could eventually raise capacity to 12 million gallons per day. He said the project is "probably the most expensive [capital improvement project] we've ever done in League City," and that most of it would be paid for with capital recovery fees.