BCWCID No. 1 celebrates new backup generators for region
By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
Winter Storm Uri occurred four years ago this month, and it is still fresh in many people’s minds.
Last Thursday, Bell County Water Control & Improvement District No. 1, the local water supplier for area cities and Fort Cavazos, celebrated the installation of 16 backup generators to ensure that if power to the local area is affected by a disaster of any type, such as Uri, area cities will still be able to have water pumped to them.
This project equips the Belton Lake Treatment Plant with generators that will ensure continuous operations in the event of a power failure similar to what was experienced during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021.
Local officials, along with community and regional leaders, gathered at BCWCID’s facility near Lake Belton to cut the ribbon for the generators.
“This project has been a longtime coming, and it was brought to us by Winter Storm Uri,” said Ricky Garrett, General Manager of BCWCID No. 1, prior to the ribbon cutting.
“If you’re in the water service business, this is actually a historical event. It really is. There’s not too many entities like us that can now boast that we can fully back up everything in this plant. We have a 90-million-gallon-per-day plant. It’s soon to go to 110 million gallons a day, and we have the power generation capability to keep it in service.”
The project involved collaboration with entities like Atmos and Oncor, and included the purchase of transformers, 11,000 feet of natural gas lines and sixteen 625 kW generators capable of producing up to 10 megawatts of power, Garrett said.
He acknowledged Keith Sledd with the Heart of Texas Defense Alliance (HOTDA) and Killeen officials present on Thursday.
“HOTDA and the City of Killeen were absolutely critical to get DEAAG funding for military preparedness,” he added.
Likewise, Garrett acknowledged Keith Graf, with the office of Governor Greg Abbott and the Executive Director of the Texas Military Preparedness Commission, as well as Cory Honl with Generac, the manufacturer.
The generators can generate as much as 10 megawatts of power to help keep the pumps running in the event of a power outage, such as the area experienced during Winter Storm Uri.
The backup system will automatically activate with power loss to the water treatment plant until main power is restored.
The project was supported by the cities of Belton, Copperas Cove, Gatesville, Harker Heights, Killeen, Lampasas, & Temple; Bell County, Coryell, County, and Lampasas County; Fort Hood, WCID#1, and HOTDA.
The cost of the total project was $15,997,700, of which the DEAAG grant covered $5 million, with BCWCID issuing bonds in 2022 to cover the remainder.
The Cities of Belton, Copperas Cove, Killeen, and Harker Heights, as well as 439 Water Supply Corporation and WCID No. 3 are covering portions of the bond issued by BCWCID.
In addition to these cities, Fort Cavazos likewise obtains its water from BCWCID and will be covering part of the funds. The agreements between the cities and BCWCID were signed back in 2022.
Altogether, the City of Copperas Cove contributed $2,252,160.97 toward the project, or approximately 18 percent of the debt being taken out by BCWCID. Killeen’s percentage is 43 percent, Harker Heights 18 percent, Belton 13 percent, BCWCID No. 3 2.7 percent, and 439 Water Supply Corporation 4.05 percent.
In December 2024 it was announced that the City of Copperas Cove will likewise be receiving a DEAAG grant in the amount of $5 million for their Fort Cavazos – Energy Resilience Storage System project. This project was the top ranked project out of 6 to receive funding, and of 11 that were submitted.
This project will install a Battery Energy Storage System for West Fort Cavazos providing energy resiliency as well as cost savings.
Sledd said on Thursday that after this system is installed on West Fort Cavazos, there will be a similar ceremony to the one held last week.