By Anton Riecher
The East Medina County Special Utility District has been awarded a $2.1 million grant from the Texas Water Development Board to replace 72,000 feet of aging infrastructure serving the Dunlay area, district superintendent Bruce Alexanders reports.
Alexander made the announcement during the district board of directors’ meeting on Feb. 18.
“I’ve been a water operator for 43 years and I’ve never had the pleasure to accept something like this,” Alexander said. “It’s very humbling.”
A 100 percent gift funded through the TWDB’s Rural Water Assistance Fund for Water Loss Mitigation, the money is part of nearly $1 billion Texas Water Fund set aside various project by the 88th session of the Texas Legislature in 2023, Alexander said.
The district made application nearly three years ago and has been actively pursuing the grant ever since, he said. To his knowledge, East Medina is the only water district in Medina County to pursing this kind of funding.
“A lot of folks asked me how we got it,” Alexander said. “This first thing you have to do is apply.”
Replacing the 72,000 feet of water main in the Dunlay area will allow the district to directly connect with the former Creekwood water system acquired by East Medina nearly two years ago.
The district has been working closely with Texas Sen. Charles Perry, chairman of the Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Alexander said. Perry is also the author of the much-anticipated Senate Bill 7 and the unnamed Senate Joint Resolution that will propose a constitutional amendment for $1 billion in dedicated funding each year for the Texas Water Fund.
Alexander also recognized retired State Rep. Tracey King, D-Uvalde, and current TWDB chair L’Oreal Stepney for their support in pursing the grant.
“The funding is set aside to find new water resources,” Alexander said. “One of the easiest ways to find new water is to fix your aging infrastructure. Everybody has a certain degree of leaking pipes from aging infrastructure. Some of it dates back nearly 50 years.”
Alexander is a past president of the Texas Rural Water Association, a statewide educational and trade association that represents the state’s rural water community.
In the past, small water districts have found it extremely difficult to compete for these types of grants, Alexander said. In this case, the state specifically set aside a certain amount of these funds for smaller systems.
The Dunlay project is only the first of seven projects totaling $20 million that East Medina has outlined for future funding applications, Alexander said.
“We’re hopeful that more of them will move forward,” he said. “This is only the first one.”
In addition to the $2.1 million state grant, East Medina has also been awarded a $500,000 community development block