Waco planning expansion of Bull Hide Creek sewer plant

The plant near Lorena currently processes 1.5 million gallons of wastewater per day and has a total capacity of 2 million gallons per day, said Kendall Borg, Waco utilities plant operations manager. Borg said the upgrades and expansion expected to be complete in the next five to eight years would allow the plant to process up to 4 million gallons of wastewater per day.

Borg said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state mandates require wastewater plants to begin planning expansion once they hit 75% of their permitted effluent, with construction required once the daily output hits 90%. In Bull Hide’s case, the 90% trigger would be 1.8 million gallons per day, a number it is not expected to hit for two years. While Bull Hide has only just hit the 75% mark, the planning process is well underway to expand the plant to get ahead of any further increases, Borg said.

Bull Hide is one of two wastewater treatment plants in the Waco Metropolitan Area Regional Sewerage System, which was established in 1970 and serves Bellmead, Hewitt, Lacy Lakeview, Lorena, Robinson, Waco and Woodway. The cities bought the system from the Brazos River Authority in 2004 before consolidating ownership in 2019 under the city of Waco, which already operated the facilities. The other cities serve in an advisory role and pay usage fees, with their needed capacity guaranteed.

In addition to doubling the output, the planned expansion of Bull Hide will increase the plant’s footprint from 5 acres to 7.5 acres, which was planned for in the Bull Hide property’s initial proposal, Borg said. There are also outlines for further expansion in the future, should it be needed.

The Bull Hide expansion will use technology similar to what is already used at the plant, though better technologies may be implemented as they are developed, Borg said.

The Bull Hide plant opened in 2012 after a multi-year battle with residents who were opposed to the plant and worried about pollution of the creek and the smell caused by the plant. Similar opposition has brewed recently among Chalk Bluff residents over a newly proposed wastewater treatment plant in that area.

In terms of smell, Borg said Bull Hide implements state-of-the-art odor removal technology that pulls air from areas with waste and redirects it. Since the Chalk Bluff plant is about 10 to 12 years away, better technology may be available by then, he said. In terms of the cleanliness of the output, Borg said the plant’s effluent is constantly monitored by the city, and while it is not encouraged, it would be safe to drink the water before it flows out into a local wetland and on to the Brazos River.

“I’d much rather swim in this than I would a river,” Borg said.

During a recent Waco City Council meeting, Chalk Bluff residents expressed their concerns over the treatment plant planned along the Brazos in that area. The rural residents said they are concerned about pollution to the river, smell, lights and noises from the plant, exacerbated by the fact that most of the residents rely on septic tanks and would not benefit from the proposed plant.

City officials have said the new plant is needed to keep up with growth in the China Spring area and that they would address the concerns of the people who live near the site.

A meeting with members of the Chalk Bluff community regarding the plant is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 27 in the Waco Convention Center’s McLennan Room.