Until recently, Montgomery County relied exclusively on groundwater for its drinking water supply. With regional growth, it was clear its water demands were exceeding the estimated aquifer yields. Groundwater Conservation Rules were enacted across the county.

San Jacinto River Authority assumed a lead role in identifying a compliance strategy and implementing a plan. Over 100 entities signed up to participate. SJRA’s plan included a new surface water treatment plant and over 50 miles of transmission mains.

Using Lake Conroe as the supply source, we provided planning through final design phase services for the new plant. Lacking historical water quality and treatability data, we conducted extensive sampling and bench scale studies. In a 6-month pilot treatability program, 14 different process configurations were evaluated against 13 weighted criteria.

The selected processes for final design included aluminum chlorohydrate coagulant; vertical shaft rapid mix and flocculation; inclined plate sedimentation; low pressure membrane filtration; granular activated carbon adsorption; airstripping of disinfection byproducts; free chlorine disinfection; residuals processing; pre-oxidation; and chemical corrosion control and stability.

The finished drinking water is blended with groundwater at 18 separate locations at seasonally and geographically changing blending ratios. Compatibility with the existing water supplies and creation of stable, non-corrosive blended water were critical to stakeholder acceptance.

After one year of operation, we evaluated plant performance and identified several areas for improvement. This resulted in an estimated $1.7 million in annual savings. SJRA’s water was recognized as the “Best Tasting Water in Texas” at the annual Texas Water conference in April 2017.