CMWSC Featured as Key Partner In Bringing Clean Drinking Water

CMWSC was recently featured in two articles (Links to the full story provided below) in the Austin-American Statesman as a key partner with Travis County in helping to bring water to some families in Las Lomitas.

Creedmoor Operations Manager Matt Pickle said “The county is working with us very well… It’s funny that we kind of started this process on our own and like, within a day or two, the county contacted us to see if we could meet with them and talk about it. It was kind of serendipitous.”

There are currently 40 families in Las Lomitas who did not have access to clean drinking water in over 20 years because the developer who sold them their properties promised the needed infrastructure but skipped town.

In the past CMWSC management said nothing could be done to get the community water when Las Lomitas residents made the request to the utility. Now, under new management General Manager John Steib, said CMWSC has turned a corner and is committed to helping the neighborhood get water.

“It’s a new set of eyes,” he said. “More to the point, it was a bigger set of ears. We listened more.”

CMWSC agreed to foot the cost to install a 5-foot-deep, steel-encased pipe under RM 1625, to bring water to the neighborhood. Additionally, CMWSC reduced the cost to install infrastructure in Las Lomitas from $20,000 to around $5,000 per residence.

Residents would only have to pay the installation fee and figure out a way to get the water from the meters, which would be placed at the edge of the property line, to their homes. Families will be allowed to go on a payment plan to make it more affordable.

Getting water to their homes was a simple task for those who live closest to the meters, including the four families who got service on February 4. But for most, it is a daunting undertaking as their homes sit on lots far from the main road and are difficult to reach. The cost to get a water line to those houses could cost as much as $300,000, an expense CMWSC says it simply cannot afford. Travis County is committed to bringing clean drinking water to all residents of Las Lomitas and will work with CMWSC to help bring this dream to reality.  

Articles:

‘Al fin, agua’: After a 20-year wait, some Las Lomitas families finally get water

Forgotten lands: Could the colonia of Las Lomitas finally get water after 20 years?