Around $50M needed for water infrastructure, Conroe city staff members say

City Engineer Chris Bogert said around $50 million is needed to fund four water plants during a second discussion about the city’s available water capacity at Conroe City Council’s May 22 workshop meeting.

“We’ve grossly underfed the infrastructure for years, and now we’re at a crossroads here,” Bogert said. “The development’s caught up.”

What happened

City staff held a second discussion with City Council about the city’s available water capacity and the pace of development, during which Bogert and Public Works Director Norman McGuire expressed serious concerns about the city’s water situation.

“We’re going to have to have some aggressive funding going forward to get out of this,” McGuire said. “Chris was right. There is no immediate fix. This is a two-year problem, guaranteed two years.”

Bogert said the problem is more severe in the northern half of the city, which echoes statements he made in an April 18 memo sent to McGuire and provided to Community Impact.

“Water in the northern pressure planes of the city is the most pressing concern, but there are sewer concerns as well,” Bogert said in his April 18 memo. “We are continuing to seek resolutions, but it is likely that quick action will need to be taken in order to avoid repercussions such as a boil-water notice.”

Between May 15-16, a portion of northern Conroe was under a boil-water notice due to a loss of pressure in the city’s water system, according to prior reporting.

Taking a step back

The discussion held at the May 22 workshop meeting comes about a month after the first discussion of the city’s water capacity during its April 24 workshop meeting. At that April 24 meeting, Bogert and McGuire expressed the same concerns about water capacity and the pace of development.

What Conroe City Council members are saying

During the May 22 workshop meeting, Place 2 council member Curt Maddux asked staff if the city could dip into its fund balance—essentially a city’s savings account—to help fund water infrastructure. Collin Boothe, the city’s director of finance and assistant city administrator, said that could be an option, but that account must be drawn down carefully otherwise it could affect the city’s bond ratings.

A minimum of 90 days of fund balance is needed in both the city’s general fund as well as the water and sewer operating fund, Boothe said.

“But we don’t want to draw [those fund balances] down to the 90 days because some of the bond rating agencies are looking at those numbers,” Boothe said. “So we have to be very careful about drawing it down.”

Place 5 council member Marsha Porter spoke about the capital improvement program process and mentioned how council requests staff to rank the requested projects in order of priority.

“How can we improve the budget process because, you know, I think this is coming as a surprise to some of us,” Porter said. “… I’m not placing blame. I’m just saying that as part-time City Council, we can’t read all the stuff that you are [overseeing as] head of your department. So we depend on your recommendations.”

Porter also requested Boothe to “find the money someplace.”

“This is critical,” Porter said.

Place 3 council member Harry Hardman said the focus needs to be on what is critically needed within the next two years.

“We have to understand what is critical, and I say [the] next 24 months is critical,” Hardman said. “We have to address that with what we have. Thirty-six months … we have to look at alternatives, maybe bond elections, whatever. But … the can has been kicked as far as it’s going to be kicked.”

Place 4 council member Howard Wood said he would not be in favor of drawing down the city’s fund balances.

“I encourage we go find some partnerships, some solutions, and let’s work cohesively with these developers, with the large water users, and let’s find the solution,” Wood said. “I don’t want to dip into [reserve] funds.”

Notable quote

“We take a moral and ethical code when we become a [professional engineer]. … Our first objective is public safety. That’s it. That’s how we’re taught in college; that’s how it’s engrained in us through our careers,” Bogert said. “We’re protecting the public. That’s what our interest is. [My engineers] are scared to approve plans because we don’t have the water out there that we need.”

The takeaway

Bogert said McGuire is already getting calls regarding low water pressure.

“When it’s 100 [degrees the week of May 27], the calls are going to go up,” Bogert said. “And next year is going to be the hardest. Next summer is going to be the hardest. The irrigation in the summer is when we’re hit the worst.”

Bogert said a proposed irrigation ordinance will be put forth for City Council to consider at its next meeting.

“I really need you guys to look at that and think about it,” Bogert said. “We don’t have nearly the issue in the winter that we do in the summer.”

Bogert also said after one well and one water plant come online in mid-June, the next water plant will not come online until around the summer of 2025.

“None of those are silver bullets,” Bogert said. “They all help, but we have a hard gap for about 16 months or two years until we get those other wells online.”

Meanwhile, budget discussions for fiscal year 2024-25 should begin this summer.

View Bogert’s April 18 memo below.