Bastrop OKs $5M water treatment upgrade

BASTROP — Bastrop late last month entered into a $5 million agreement to expand its water treatment capacity as the region’s population boom puts added pressure on local infrastructure.

The deal with water technology company VVater brings a new chemical-free treatment process to Bastrop. The Austin-based company’s system looks to ensure the city can scale with modern demand and is prepared for the continued development officials say is unavoidable.

“As a city, we have a responsibility to make sure our water infrastructure is ready for the growth that’s coming,” Mayor Ishmael Harris said in a statement. “Working with VVater gives us an opportunity to explore new technology and be at the forefront of efforts aimed at improving how we efficiently treat and reuse water for our community.”

VVater uses an electricity- based treatment process rather than traditional chemical, filter and membrane systems, according to officials. The process is designed to remove contaminants like synthetic “forever chemicals” and microplastics, and reduce energy and operational costs.

“Legacy systems … were built for a different era, and they’re showing their age,” VVater CEO Kevin Gast said.

The company claims its technology can reduce costs by 40%, operating expenses by 80% and energy consumption by 40%. Officials said it has treated more than 4.3 billion gallons of water globally in municipal, industrial and commercial sectors. “The U.S. water crisis has stopped being a future problem,” Gast said. “It’s happening now, and cities are waking up to the fact that legacy treatment wasn’t built for what’s coming.”

A recent partnership with Nestle has also helped build confidence among cities exploring the technology, according to Gast, and Bastrop could serve as a model for other municipalities with water management concerns.

“Nestle runs on VVater to meet stringent quality standards at a pace few other operators can match,” Gast said. “In five years, Bastrop is the model. It’s the city that other municipalities point to and say, ‘That’s how you build for growth.’”