Commissioner’s Court heard from The Brazos River Authority (BRA).  Kathy Dominguez addressed the group on the future of the Allen’s Creek Reservoir project.

Allen’s Creek Reservoir is a planned water storage lake permitted for construction on Allen’s Creek, a tributary of the Brazos River, in Austin County. The permit to build the lake was originally issued to Houston Lighting and Power (Reliant Energy) in 1974 by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, now known as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

The reservoir was originally to have served as a cooling lake for a nuclear power plant. When Reliant Energy abandoned plans to construct the nuclear power plant at the Allen’s Creek site in the 1980’s, the property was purchased by the City of Houston and the Brazos River Authority with the purpose of building a water storage reservoir.

The new reservoir would provide water to meet the future needs of the City of Houston and surrounding communities. When complete, the reservoir will supply 92,000 acre-feet of water supply and access to water recreation for the area. Swimming, boating, fishing and camping facilities will be available to the general public.

The city of Houston currently owns 70% of the permit and the BRA owns the other 30%.  The construction date for the lake area was scheduled for 2018, but the plans have changed.  Due to money issues with the City of Houston the new date has been pushed back to 2025.

Offers from the BRA to purchase the 70% from the City of Houston have been made but currently Houston is holding on to its portion of the permit.  “So you are saying the BRA offered to purchase the 70% from the City of Houston and they refused?” asked County Judge Carolyn Bilski.  That is correct.

At this time ground water is in high demands in this area.  Surrounding counties are looking for ways to provide water to their citizens.  Austin County is one of those.  The future plans seem to be out of reach at the moment but there are studies and conservation permits that can help.  Bilski ask that Dominguez keep the county posted on the matter.

BRA will be working closely with the Army Corp of Engineers to ensure that the plans can be met.  “I do not know if I will have the opportunity to work on this,” stated Domingus, “but we will keep trying.”  Dominguez has plans to retire in the next few years.