Updated 11/6/2024: Bellaire voters approved both bond issues.
Updated 10/24/2024: Two speakers, both engineers, spoke at the October 21st Council meeting regarding the bond proposals. Dan Sebesta suggested that the Cypress Ditch project was wasteful and not well planned. Then Joe Tedore explained that he toured the Wastewater Treatment Plant in the past year and felt the plant was in reasonably good condition but in need of some repairs.
Find the 10/21/24 meeting here. Public comments begin at 1:16 into the meeting. Let the Mayor and City Council know what you think about these proposals.
Cost for the new Conroe WWTP mentioned below is $72 million.
The City of Conroe recently built a new WWTP for $70 million in 2023. Why would a much smaller WWTP in Bellaire cost $100 million? Or $71 million to rehab the current plant? Can someone provide the actual cost, please? A request for public information for details of the Conroe construction costs has been submitted, You can also find a link to West University’s plans to renovate their WWTP here.
You won’t find one word in the ballot language for the Bellaire $70 million in bonds that mentions demolition of our Wastewater Treatment Plant and moving our reliance on wastewater treatment to the City of Houston. Bellaire will be responsible for maintenance of the the lift stations.
Back in 2020 there were discussions about Houston closing the Beechnut WWTP. If that does occur who will bear the cost to route the wastewater to the Almeda Sims plant? Check out pages 4 and 5 of the sample ballot for Bellaire. Find my letter to the Mayor and members of City Council here.
All mechanical plants have equipment that require maintenance or repair, and if well maintained they can operate indefinitely. TCEQ found the plant in compliance in 2023.
8/25/2024: During their August 19, 2024 City Council unanimously approved a $70 million dollar bond election, to be used for Stormwater and Wastewater projects. You can view the entire meeting here.
Stormwater projects (Prop A – $40 million) are estimated to cost $110 million in total, and additional funds such as supplemental funding, partnerships, federal appropriation, state appropriation, grants, and property exchange with Houston are needed to cover a large portion of that cost. Of note, Cypress Ditch is located in Houston and runs along the north side of Beechnut.
Prop A would apply to these projects:
- Increases stormwater conveyance capacity
- Facilitates future upstream improvements
- Includes land swap with City of Houston to obtain land for detention
- Cypress Ditch widening $90M
- Property acquisition $8M
- Detention construction $12M
No word on who will maintain Cypress Ditch in the future. Find some overhead photos of overgrown Cypress Ditch here.
Prop B for $30 million (FOR THE PURPOSE OF DESIGNING, CONSTRUCTING, INSTALLING, REPAIRING, IMPROVING, RENOVATING, EXPANDING, DEVELOPING, AND ACQUIRING WATER AND WASTEWATER FACILITIES, WORKS, AND IMPROVEMENTS, AND ALL MATTERS INCIDENT OR NECESSARY THERETO) would essentially cover the demolition of the existing Wastewater Treatment Plant and connection to the Houston WWTP. The estimated cost is $29.5 million.
- Decommissions and demolishes Bellaire wastewater treatment plant
- Redirects Bellaire’s wastewater to City of Houston wastewater treatment plant
- Relocates and replaces Bellaire lift station
- Supports Cypress Ditch drainage improvements by repurposing City land for stormwater detention and added greenspace
- Rebuild WWTP – $100M estimate
- Rehab WWTP – $71.5M estimate
- Connect to Houston’s WWTP – $29.5M
The date of the bond election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.
Once the City’s functioning WWTP is gone there’s no going back. Bellaire will rely on the City of Houston for wastewater treatment and residents will have no say on the monthly cost for this service or problems with the service. What does the loss of the WWTP say about Bellaire’s ability to maintain its autonomy and its infrastructure?
Just a few years ago Bellaire paid over $8 million of bond funds for upgrades to the WWTP, part of the $12.8 million Siemens contract. Now residents are being asked to approve more debt to demolish the plant. It’s up to the voters now.
This current bond proposal was developed with the guidance Ardurra Group Inc., under a 2024 City Work Order not to exceed $843,902. Ardurra is also overseeing the preparations for the proposed projects. A previous Work Order in 2023 was issued to Ardurra for $390,000. No figures were provided by the City on how much of the proposed bond issue will be spent on additional consultant and management fees. Find Ardurra’s latest report here.
Final Thought: Just as we have water line leaks, we also have sewer line leaks. Our home or business sewer lines run to a City line, the start of our sanitary sewer line. City lines run to lift stations where pumps push the effluent along, and eventually the sewage ends up at the WWTP.
Leaks, breaks, or stoppages can occur at any point in that line. It is my understanding that if Bellaire’s waste is pumped through to a Houston plant Bellaire will still be responsible for maintenance and any problems within the City’s sanitary sewer system, including City lines and lift stations.
What might happen if there’s a problem with the flow of Bellaire’s sewage to the Houston WWTP? Find a recent article on Houston wastewater treatment plants: https://www.houstonpublicworks.org/waste-water-spills
Per the state Comptroller’s Transparency site, the City’s bonded debt in 2023 was $98,695,000, now $92,205,000 in 2024. Debt service in 2025 will be approximately $9.5 million, more than a third of estimated property tax revenue for 2024. Our bonded debt is guaranteed by property taxes. Besides the cost to package and sell the bonds, there will be increased cost for debt service as new bonds are sold.
Find Bond Election Information Session Presentation Slides here. For more information on the 2024 Bond Election, please visit https://www.bellairetx.gov/2024bond.
The information and reports below were posted by the City at the very bottom of the online bond information. Much of the language in these documents is difficult to understand for folks with no engineering background.
Cypress Ditch Improvements Report.
Technical Memo Wastewater Facility Improvements Cost Estimate
Bellaire Wastewater Treatment Plant and Lift Stations
- FY 2024 COB Utility Rates ($6.00 monthly charge for Stormwater Drainage Fees is not included)
- Ardurra Regional Drainage Improvement Program Management Scope
- Find an earlier BBC.com article here on a grant application in 2020 that included demolition of the Bellaire WWTP. That application was not funded.
- Find more background on the 2020 WWTP grant application here.
- Find a 2021 article on the $335 million Master Drainage Concept Plan here
- Find more information on the Siemens Contact here.
Construction on the new Bellaire High school is complete. The original building was demolished during the week of July 13-17, 2021. 
FEMA imposes requirements for new structures and limits on existing structures in flood zones. Check with Development Services for more information,