As part of the maintenance and preservation of Lake Limestone's Sterling C. Robertson Dam, the Brazos River Authority Board of Directors approved a more than $1 million contract for inspections required by state and federal agencies.

Lake Limestone and the Sterling C. Robertson Dam, located on the upper Navasota River in Limestone, Robertson, and Leon counties, are part of a water supply reservoir built by the BRA in 1978. 

While the BRA regularly inspects the dam internally on a daily, monthly and quarterly basis, there is a benefit to having external inspections done on the structure, said Blake Kettler, BRA's technical services manager.

The Board approved hiring Schnabel Engineering, LLC for $1 million to complete four annual inspections and one five-year inspection of the dam. The BRA has recently contracted for similar inspections at its other two dams, Possum Kingdom Lake's Morris Sheppard Dam and Lake Granbury's DeCordova Bend Dam.

The Board also approved an almost $935,000 contract with Excel Construction Services, LLC, to purchase equipment for improvements to the Temple-Belton Wastewater Treatment Plant. 

The BRA operates the wastewater treatment plant for the cities of Temple and Belton, located in Bell County. 

Wastewater plants are basically biological process where they need air for the microorganisms to work, said Brad Brunett, BRA's central and lower basin regional manager.

The plant's racetrack aeration basin design currently uses fixed rotating disc aerators that have worked well over the years, but are not the most efficient equipment to provide air into the treatment process, he said. The disc aerators are surface mixers that require excessive energy and maintenance/repair, with parts that are becoming harder to acquire/procure in a timely manner due to the equipment being outdated. The improvements will provide a more efficient fine bubble diffusion system throughout the engineered design application area, thus improving the facility's aeration capabilities and treatment operations.

The BRA maintenance staff will install the equipment, and the cities will reimburse for the costs related to this project, Brunett said.

Also at the meeting, the Board:

• Accepted revisions to the BRA's operations policies manual. 
• Adopted a rate for the Board of Directors set by the Texas Ethics Commission.
• Executed a long-term lease agreement with the Possum Kingdom West Side Volunteer Fire Department. 
• Authorized the issuance and sale of water supply system revenue bonds.

For a complete list of Board actions from the meeting, go here.

Join us for the next Brown Bag on the Brazos virtual public meeting at noon Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. In the meantime, for updates on BRA current projects, go here. For information on the current drought situation, see our drought update videos here.  

Or watch the full board meeting here. Don't want to miss the next meeting? Sign up to receive email Board meeting notices here.

And of course, if you still have questions, feel free to reach out at information@brazos.org.