What’s the Issue?  In 2024, a group of incumbent Directors (a majority clique) voted to completely replace WWTF #1 at an expected cost of $320 million without having sampled and tested the plant’s underlying infrastructure. Spurred on by Woodlands Residents First Directors, recent engineering sampling and testing suggest that the main plant components have over 20 years of remaining useful life with some repairs. Cost estimates for repairs are in progress but are expected to be much less expensive.

What Do Your Woodlands Residents First Candidates Support?  We support completing the ongoing technical analyses and using business-driven economic analyses to reach a Repair or Replace decision. We oppose the majority clique of Directors previous rubber-stamping of a planned expensive and possibly overbuilt facility without completing a full technical and economic review.

Dig Deeper?  Built in the early 1970’s, WWTF #1 is the oldest and largest of the three Woodlands water treatment plants. Located in the southern Grogan Mills area on Sawdust Road, the plant processes about 3 million gallons of waste each day (MGD) and is permitted for 7.8 MGD.  Storm events can increase flow to the plant, with a permitted 18.0 MGD during a 2-hour peak flow.

Recognizing the condition of the aging plant, a large stakeholder group, including the majority clique, initiated engineering studies that recommended a complete replacement of the current plant. This new facility would cost about $320 million and require land purchases, some probably needing eminent domain. If combined with SJRA’s recommended 2023 10-year plan, average monthly water bills would have increased from $104 to $250 per month. In 2024, the majority the ruling clique even approved spending $40 million of your money to start the engineering for this completely new and expensive plant.

HOWEVER, the majority clique’s decisions were based on a flawed approach that did NOT physically sample and test critical portions of the plant’s infrastructure. Following the 2024 MUD elections, the Woodlands Residents First Directors drove a new sampling and testing program that revealed that most of the plant’s critical infrastructure had 20+ years of remaining useful life. Next steps will be to more accurately ascertain the future anticipated flows to the plant and either Repair portions of the plant or Replace the plant entirely.