Copperas Cove city council approves resolution to support creating regional water authority

By LYNETTE SOWELL 

Cove Leader-Press 

A piece of legislation that will likely be introduced in the upcoming 2025 Texas Legislative Session was given a thumbs-up of support by the Copperas Cove city council on Tuesday evening. 

The council was presented with a resolution that supports creating a regional water authority. Bell County Judge David Blackburn requested letters of support for the creation of this authority. The City of Copperas Cove purchases water from the Bell County Water Control Improvement District No. 1, from Belton Lake, and the city was invited to participate in the legislative effort to create the regional water authority. 

“Copperas Cove receives all of its water from Bell County Water Control Improvement District Number One, or BCWCID, and all of that water comes from Belton Lake. We also, in the past, have secured and purchased raw water rights from Stillhouse Hollow, but we currently do not receive any of that water in Copperas Cove because we do not have a method to transport that water to us,” explained City Manager Ryan Haverlah. “To further complicate that, the Brazos River Authority began a project and will soon complete a pipeline from Belton Lake to Stillhouse Hollow due to the ability to provide water from Belton Lake to Stillhouse Water for water supply needs. 

“As we saw over the last couple of years, we’ve been in a severe drought to the extent that Stillhouse Hollow Lake levels dropped severely, greatly inhibiting the ability for water supply corporations to draw water from that reservoir and provide it to their customers.”

This water authority, if created, would acquire water rights from other sources, such as groundwater located in aquifers, preserving options or reservations for future water sources, collectively seeking funding for water infrastructure improvements, and allowing local leaders to control our future water solutions. The water authority would seek eminent domain authority, in order to secure easements. 

Prior to the council taking a vote, councilmember Fred Chavez voiced his support. 

“In order to stay on the crest of this wave that is economic development and growth, we have to have the one important and critical resource, which is water. If we don’t have it, we’re not going to grow. We will start to contract. We need to be looking at real solutions, innovative solutions and cooperation to tackle a very, large, statewide, excuse me, nationwide issue, but we need to focus on our one little region. I think this is a good first step. We will scare out problems and issues that we can deal with, but we have to know what we’re coming up against, and without investigating, without moving forward, we’ll just run out of water and then look for somebody to blame, and that’s not the way you take care of a city.”

An interlocal agreement with the Hill Country Transit District for public transit services was also approved by the council, as were appointing three individuals to serve on the Housing Authority Board.  Kevin Miller and Monica Sinclair were reappointed, and Kenneth Davis is newly appointed. 

Likewise, the council also provided nominations for individuals to serve on the Coryell Central Appraisal District Board of Directors, to include Inez Faison, Brady Diaz, and Jay Manning. All three are currently serving on that board. 

The Coryell CAD board now has four-year, staggering terms as a result of SB2 from the last Texas legislative session, explained Jacob Flores, with the city’s Budget Department. 

“Members of the board of directors are elected to staggered, four-year terms starting on January 1, 20 25. To accomplish staggering four-year terms, the first five board members to be appointed will serve terms of differing lengths. Two of the appointed members will serve one-year terms, and three of the appointed members will serve three-year terms. A subsequent Board of Director election will need to occur next year to fill the two expiring one-year term appointed members to four-year terms for January 1,2026 to December 31, 2029.”