What happened: The Midland County Utility District (MCUD) board met Monday, Aug. 17, to continue preparations for its Nov. 3 $299 million bond election while beginning to open its first retail water accounts. Directors proposed keeping the property tax rate the same as last year, resulting in about a $4 annual increase to the average homeowner’s MCUD tax bill due to higher property appraisals. The board will adopt the final tax rate on Sept. 12.

Editor’s note: MCUD is not part of the Midland County government. It is a voter-created, taxpayer-supported public utility district.

Key points:

  • Property tax rate: Directors proposed keeping MCUD’s property tax rate unchanged from last year. District staff said the average home in the district saw its appraised value increase by about $12,000, meaning the same rate would increase the average annual MCUD tax bill by about $4. MCUD previously estimated that if the bond passes, the average homeowner’s combined bond tax and monthly water bill will total about $131.
  • First retail customers: MCUD opened applications for residents along County Road 110 not served by Park Water, with the first meters expected to be installed soon. New customers owe a $2,000 connection fee, which the board agreed residents can finance at $125 per month for 16 months on their water bills.
  • Public water fill station: MCUD staff said its new roughly $160,000 water fill station is nearly ready to open. Under the district’s water rates, 4,000 gallons would cost about $54.63. General Manager Norman Ashton said private water delivery can cost roughly $600 to $700 for the same amount. The district will limit customers to 4,000 gallons every three days to prevent large commercial buyers from depleting the supply.
  • Federal financing for future expansion: Ashton said MCUD met with representatives of the federal Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program about financing future construction. He said WIFIA can finance up to 49% of eligible project costs at federal borrowing rates.

The potential financing is part of MCUD’s plan to eventually build a water system, estimated to cost about $1.2 billion in total. The district is asking voters for $299 million now and has said that later construction could instead rely on federal financing, water-rate-backed revenue bonds, and other sources of income.

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  • Park Water cases closed: MCUD’s attorney said its court litigation and appeal involving the private Park Water utilities have been withdrawn as part of the settlement previously reported by The Permian Press. MCUD is still evaluating whether to purchase the Park Water systems under a letter of intent. Directors discussed that evaluation in closed session but took no action afterward.
  • Bond-election campaign: MCUD’s election consultant said voter outreach is underway, including four mailers, social media, emails, texts, and short video ads that direct residents to information about the Nov. 3 bond. The consultant said MCUD has about 12,500 registered voters, including roughly 2,200 age 65 or older.
  • Engineering plan amended: The board amended the engineering report for its water-system buildout to give MCUD flexibility in the future location of a water treatment plant, rather than committing it to a single site. MCUD staff said the change did not alter the project’s estimated costs.
  • Water quality and capacity: Staff said daily testing shows the water delivered to Greenwood ISD meets standards. Some samples appear temporarily cloudy because of air in the lines, which staff described as harmless and said typically clears within about 30 seconds.

Staff said the district delivered about 260,000 gallons during the most recent month, primarily to Greenwood ISD and the county’s new jail. The treatment plant can currently produce up to 500,000 gallons per day.

  • Additional water supply: Ashton said MCUD is exploring purchasing water from a private operator with idle freshwater wells north of Midland that can produce about 4.2 million gallons per day.
  • Problems found in new water system: MCUD staff said the district is correcting several problems discovered in recently built infrastructure. Staff said contractors installed metal pipe instead of heavy-duty PVC in some wells, and the mineral-heavy water corroded the metal until holes roughly the size of golf balls developed.

Staff also found oversized electrical equipment at the wells and the treatment plant, and vendors have agreed to replace or modify it. Ashton said the district does not expect the work to interrupt water service and, so far, the corrections have not cost MCUD, although its review is not complete.