Granbury victorious in latest legal fight over Wastewater Treatment Plant

The City of Granbury secured another legal win in its effort to build the East Wastewater Treatment Plant. On Friday (Aug. 23), Judge Maria Cantu Hexsel ruled in favor of the City and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in a lawsuit filed by "Granbury Fresh," Victoria Calder, Stacy and James Rist, and Bennett’s Camping Center and RV Ranch.

Judge Hexsel upheld the TCEQ’s decision to grant the permit for the East Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), which will be located at 3121 Old Granbury Road.

"This is excellent news for the residents of Granbury and Hood County!" said Chris Coffman, Granbury’s City Manager. "The ongoing delays in the construction of the new wastewater treatment plant have negatively impacted residents and increased costs by millions of dollars.  The cost of the project soared from $9.5 million to $34.4 million due to the years of delay and construction inflation."

Planning for the new facility started in 2016 after the existing treatment plants exceeded 75 percent of their capacity for three consecutive months. The City applied for a permit for the new WWTP in 2020, and it was approved ultimately by the TCEQ. However, opposition from nearby property owners led to a contested case hearing, which the City ultimately won.

As legal challenges persisted pertaining to the TCEQ permit, the City was forced to impose a development moratorium on December 14, 2020, within its limits and parts of its extraterritorial jurisdiction. While not stopping the progress of existing development, the moratorium aims to prevent additional strain on the overburdened wastewater system until the new WWTP is operational.

"Construction on the plant has been underway for months, and it will feature advanced technology that won’t harm the environment," Coffman added. “Once the new WWTP is completed, the system capacity issues will be resolved, and the moratorium will be lifted.”

Attention Abe's Landing and Gemstone Estates (northern section) residents

Beginning Aug. 26, a City contractor will be "smoke" testing in your neighborhoods.  

“Smoke” testing is a method used to determine where rainwater is getting into the sanitary sewer system or to identify leaks or other bad connections. The “smoke” is non-toxic, non-staining, has a slight odor, is white to grey in color, does not create a fire hazard, and is NOT harmful to people or pets. 

The company hired by the City will be “smoke” testing in numerous locations by blowing “smoke” into the pipe network. Crews will look for “smoke” coming out through holes, manhole covers, plumbing vent pipes and other locations where rainwater can get into the sewer system. 

Crews may enter the yards of residents to document issues. They will not enter homes. 

"Smoke" from the test could enter your home through floor drains and unused toilets, sinks or showers. While all drains have water traps to prevent fumes from entering homes, floor drains in garages can dry up. Make sure the drains in your house have water in them so they can prevent "smoke" from entering. Pour a bucket of water down floor, sink or shower drains or down any toilets that haven’t been used in a month.

Call 911 if you are not certain that the smoke is the result of the City’s testing.

Testing should be completed within two weeks.