Bastrop,Tx–Worried by threatened water shortages in 2008, the Bastrop City Council gave clear instructions this week–for the second time–to staff and professional consultants to get a new water well in production in time for the upcoming summer season when water demand typically soars.
Earlier tests have identified a likely well site in Bob Bryant Park on the west bank of the Colorado River near the Riverside Grove subdivision. No detailed construction cost has been determined, but engineering costs proposed by K. Fries & Associates were approved at $279,000. When completed, the well will be the city’s first on the west bank of the river.
All the city’s present water wells are near the river on the east bank in shallow alluvial sand and gravel deposits less than 100 feet deep. The new well on the west bank will be in the same shallow formation.
Development of the new well will also require construction of additional treatment and storage facilities, as well as connections to Bastrop’s current water distribution system.
Pressure on the city’s water production capacity was tested in the dry summer of 2008, when the first stage of water conservation measures were announced. Council members insisted Tuesday that additional production capacity is urgent in the approach to another summer season, which may also be dry. Rainfall during 2008 was far below average, and forecasters are predicting a continuation of current drought conditions.
By most measure, Bastrop County is currently the most drought-stricken in Texas, local officials report.