Lakehills is a small farming town twelve miles west of San Antonio, Texas. The community of Lakehills has relied on Medina Highlands Water System since 1976. In 2009, Avalon Point Water Services, LLC. was created to own and manage the Medina Highlands Water System when the previous owners needed help.
Since the system had been neglected in previous years, there was difficulty in finding a new owner, so they gave it to John Moore. John is an attorney that works in solid waste/landfill permitting and has an elevated Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) knowledge level.
Once John came on board, he got serious about the water use expenses that the system was facing. He discovered they had one well in decline and could not meet peak usage.
“There was much water going out,” John stated.
The well has been declining for some time, and the winter weather event in 2021 put the well through much distress. Customers were operating under conservation measures, but the well continued to decline. John spent time trying to find a solution. He soon discovered that one of the customers was using the water illegally, causing significant stress to the well.
In January 2023, the TCEQ entered an Order of Enforcement requiring Avalon Point to provide sufficient well capacity within 180 days.
The system needed emergency funding for a replacement well to provide adequate long-term supply for the small public water system. John started looking for funding options.
“CU was always on my team through the whole process and wanted the best for the water system.” John shared.
They already had a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) application completed and a Very Small System (VSS) Grants funds from the DWSRF, so John reached out to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). The TWDB suggested contacting Communities Unlimited (CU) for a loan to assist with leveraging the DWSRF grant funds. John did just that.
“Helping our smallest community water systems move from an inconsistent and inadequate water supply and water outages to regular and safe drinking water is at the core of why CU’s Environmental assistance, CU Lending, and the DWSRF program exist. I was proud to work with John as he applied for financing.”
— Mark Pearson, Community Facilitator
Avalon Point Water System LLC. closed on its loan in June of 2023. The CU Loan is a pre-development loan to cover the initial costs to get the project underway. This loan will include planning, design, and testing and will be paid off by the DWSRF.
The Avalon WSC is moving in the right direction with the assistance of Communities Unlimited. CU continues to work with Avalon Point Water Services to get the system the financial and managerial sustainability it needs to take care of its customers well into the future.
Avalon Point and CU continue making advancements to ensure that the community can depend on Avalon for its water needs.
