FULSHEAR, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Fulshear has secured at least 1.4 million gallons of surface water a day for the next two decades, while a new rate study indicates North Fort Bend Water Authority fees are not expected to increase through 2030.
The agreement gives the rapidly growing city a guaranteed source of surface water as early as late 2027 and helped Fulshear eliminate about $40 million in previously planned improvements to the McKinnon Water Plant.
It also moves Fulshear and the water authority closer to resolving a yearslong dispute over rates.
“This agreement gives Fulshear something every growing community needs, but that we have not previously had: certainty,” City Manager Zach Goodlander said.
Goodlander said the guaranteed supply will help with infrastructure planning and reduce the city's reliance on groundwater.
Water expected beginning in 2027
The North Fort Bend Water Authority must make at least 1.4 million gallons of surface water per day available to Fulshear, calculated on a 30-day average, and cannot reduce that commitment.
The 20-year agreement automatically renews for three-year periods and is structured on a take-or-pay basis, meaning Fulshear generally will pay for the committed amount even if it uses less.
Water delivery to the Fulshear Bend Water Plant is anticipated by Dec. 31, 2027, followed by the FM 1093 Water Plant by Dec. 31, 2028. Those dates are not guaranteed, but the authority has committed to using its best efforts to meet them.
North Fort Bend Water Authority Director Bob Patton said planning to deliver surface water to the area began in 2005, when Fulshear's population was just 875.
“The Authority began the process to deliver water in 2005 when Fulshear’s population was only 875 people,” Patton said. “Next year, this vision will become reality just in time to slow subsidence and support Fulshear’s rapidly growing population.”
Reducing reliance on groundwater is important because excessive pumping can contribute to subsidence, the gradual sinking of land.
Agreement changes Fulshear's infrastructure plans
As Covering Katy News first reported Sept. 22, securing the additional surface-water supply allowed Fulshear to eliminate approximately $40 million in planned improvements to the McKinnon Water Plant.
Council Member Camron Miller, who led the city's Strategic Water Committee, said during the Sept. 15 City Council meeting that a broader review of the city's water and wastewater plans eliminated approximately $90 million in previously planned capital projects.
That represents projects the city no longer expects to build as originally planned, not $90 million in existing debt that was eliminated.
Rate study projects stability through 2030
The agreement comes after years of disagreement between Fulshear and the water authority over rates.
Fulshear challenged a 2021 rate increase before the Public Utility Commission of Texas in 2022, beginning a dispute that eventually moved into the courts. The new agreement does not end that case, but both sides have committed to working toward a full resolution.
The authority currently charges $4.55 per 1,000 gallons of groundwater pumped and $4.90 per 1,000 gallons of surface water delivered.
An independent rate study found that, based on current projections, no adjustment to those fees is expected through 2030, according to the city. That is a projection, not a guarantee that rates cannot change.
The authority has also hired a rate analyst to study whether the current 35-cent difference between its groundwater and surface-water fees could be eliminated.
The agreement does not lock in the price Fulshear will pay for water over the next 20 years. But it gives the city a guaranteed minimum supply, anticipated delivery dates and a clearer near-term picture of what authority fees may look like as Fulshear continues its transition from groundwater to surface water.