LEANDER, Texas — The Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority's (BCRUA) pipeline is set to be replaced at the end of February, with a four to six week timeline attached to the project.
According to City of Leander Chief of Staff Mike Neu, the plan to replace the pipeline has been in the works for some time after the pipeline has dealt with several failures in the last few years.
While the repairs are being done – repairs that Neu said will "add stability that will improve water service" – water capacity will be reduced in Leander, Round Rock and Cedar Park, the three cities that get treated water from BCRUA.
Founder and CEO of Leanderthal Distilling Scott Calame said in order to make his business work, he needs plenty of water. When he heard the City of Leander was preparing to enter its strictest water restrictions come February, he said he was ready for it.
"We acquired additional stainless tanks to be able to put our own water into and prepare for that about roughly one month period when we will need to be not as dependent on running city water all the time," Calame said.
Calame said the distillery is able to produce about 600 gallons of purified water daily. Although that is not an amount they always reach, there are times in their production when a great deal of water is needed.
"Water is our lifeblood, obviously. Everything from the brewing that we do, the distilling and proofing all of our products," Calame said.
He said Leander is no stranger to water restrictions and noted that the community has banded together in the past to ensure demand is where it needed to be.
"I'd be lying if I didn't have some concerns, but unlike instances in the past where we've had unexpected breakdowns in the pipeline, we've got a plan for this," Calame said.
Neu said in order for system to avoid failure, demand for water must be at least at 9 million gallons per day.
"We want to meet that goal. And that just means no other watering and reducing all non-essential uses," Neu said.
Leander city council members met on Jan. 18 to discuss the timeline of the repairs and to begin the process of informing the public about the City's transition to Phase 4 water conservation on Feb. 12.
Repairs will officially start on Feb. 28, according to Neu.
"We need that two week timeframe to get our system down to a much lower demand so that we can go through the repair period without any issues in our system," Neu said.
Neu said when it comes to the future of improving water supply in Leander, the City's "biggest investment" is the deep-water intake project, which has been well underway since 2023.
The system will be designed to take water from the deepest locations of Lake Travis, which will allow cities to pull more water for use.
Neu also added that the City has been in talks with officials from Round Rock and Cedar Park in an effort to improve partnerships and refine everyone's water supply and capacity.
The City of Leander is expected to put up signs and get the word out to its residents as the water restriction start date inches closer.