City of Seguin breaks ground on wastewater treatment plant expansion

Dalondo Moultrie The Seguin Gazette

A project to help clean up downtown Seguin officially kicked off Tuesday as a group turned dirt near Geronimo Creek on the eastern outskirts of Seguin.

City of Seguin officials held a groundbreaking ceremony to signal the beginning of construction of a project to decommission the Walnut Branch Wastewater Treatment Plant and expand the Geronimo Creek facility. The city expects to complete the $183 million project in 2027, which will provide the entire city with sufficient wastewater capabilities through 2075 and likely offer the downtown area additional parkland space where the Walnut Branch site now sits, said Tim Howe, the city’s director of water and wastewater utilities.

“The decommissioning process cleans it,” he said of the downtown facility. “We’re going to restore it to a condition where people can play there.”

The decommissioning and expansion plan is the largest single capital project the city has ever undertaken, Howe said. It is necessary to adequately provide wastewater services to an expanding population that is outgrowing current facilities, he said.

Howe came up with the idea in 2016 to treat all solid waste at one location in the city. After some work on a proposal, city council approved plans in 2020. It was an easy sale for staff members to pitch to council, then-District 2 City Councilwoman Jet Crabb said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

“Tim is so gifted at his job. He did such a wonderful explanation of why this needed to be done that we just supported him,” she said.

On the city’s Utility Commission at the time, Crabb said she didn’t know much about the Walnut Branch plant’s history but quickly learned more. Once up to speed and having spent time contending with the wastewater plant’s disruptive odors downtown, she quickly got on board with plans to replace the facility on South Austin Street.

“It certainly needed to be decommissioned,” Crabb said. “It was smelly. It was an eyesore.”

Not only a quality of life move but the expansion helps the city remain in line with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality guidelines, Howe said. Per TCEQ standards, when a treatment plant reaches 75% capacity, an expansion design must be in place, he said. Once a facility reaches 90%, expansion construction is necessary to comply with the commission rules, Howe said.

Seguin’s capacity is about 88%, he said.

All work will be done in line with an eye out for protecting the environment, Howe said.

“Besides the regulatory requirements, the city of Seguin is committed to being a good steward of the environment,” he said. “We’re going to do great things for the city of Seguin.”

Seguin will secure funding for the project through the Texas Water Development Board, Howe said.

View article on SeguinGazette.com