By MICHELLE HILLEN Tribune-Herald staff writer

WEST — With the twist of a wrench Tuesday morning, the mayors of Waco and West opened a valve releasing a burst of clean, treated Waco water from a hydrant in West.

The event marked the ceremonious completion of a $2.5 million pipeline that stretches 11 miles from Waco to West. The pipeline actually began feeding water to West last Friday.

West officials say the new line will end their city's reliance on the frequently unreliable groundwater wells it has used in the past to meet all of its water needs.

"If it had not been for this water over the weekend, we would have been in dire straights," West Mayor Russ Willsey said. "Water usage is going up and we were able to function for the weekend really because of the water we received from Waco."

Over the past couple of years, two of West's five groundwater wells have become unusable. Though the city has been able to save some water through a newly developed program which treats waste water for irrigation, there remained a need for a more reliable water provider, Willsey said.

The deal, arranged in December, represents a first step for Waco on its path to becoming a regional water supplier, Waco Mayor Linda Ethridge said.

"It is a win for West and a win for Waco," she said. "West gets the water. But for Waco, this is the realization of our goal to be a good neighbor in the region and our expectation that we will become a regional supplier."

The new pipeline stretches from Texas State Technical College to a pump station in Ross. From Ross, the pipeline extends 7.5 miles to a water tank in West, where it is then fed to pipes throughout the city.

The city of West paid the majority of construction costs, or the equivalent of a 12-inch line. The city of Waco paid approximately $450,000 for the difference in price between a 12-inch line and a 20-inch line between TSTC and Ross.

The larger size pipe will enable Waco to provide additional water to water supply corporations that serve several smaller communities between Waco and Ross, said Waco Assistant City Manager Wiley Stem.

This is the longest distance Waco has run a water line to date, Stem said. But in the future, the city will likely enter into more agreements even farther away, particularly once Lake Waco is raised by 7 feet.

The raising, scheduled for August 2003, will increase by 17 million gallons a day the amount of water the city can produce — making it much more feasible for Waco to be a regional water supplier, Stem said.

The new pipeline to West will have a capacity of 500,000 gallons of water a day — only a slight percentage of the 25 million gallons per day Waco usually produces.

The term of agreement between the cities lasts for 25 years. For that time, the city of Waco will gain about $100,000 in revenue per year as a result of the contract.

Author: Waco Tribune Herald