Nov. 29—MINERAL WELLS — A city concerned about its water capacity will meet Thursday with the boards of seven wholesale suppliers to find a balance between a diminished treatment plant and the dual demands of drought and population growth.

The Mineral Wells City Council also plans to standardize its water agreements with all seven water suppliers in Palo Pinto and Parker counties.

"The ones that have agreements, we're going to honor them to the extent possible," City Manager Dean Sullivan said. "But if the plant won't come up, come on."

Sullivan was referring to a new water treatment plant that's planned with the creation of Turkey Peak Reservoir. The $170 million lake project is in the financing and planning stage now in hopes it will begin filling by 2027.

The February 2021 winter storm exposed vulnerabilities in the city's 60-year-old Hilltop Water Treatment Plant south of town. And Sullivan said the latest state evaluation revealed the plant is operating at a 13-percent deficit.

That's against a backdrop of a 38-percent rise in water demand in recent years, Sullivan added.

"Combine these facts with the current state of severe drought in our area, and it should be abundantly clear," he wrote in an email to the Weatherford Democrat. "We must all come to the table and work together to find solutions that not only allow for sustainable potable water availability to the current customer base, but that will also support growth down the road."

They've all been invited to that table on Thursday.

"We've secured the First Baptist Church to have enough room for all of them," he said, describing the seven-member boards plus any attorneys and engineers they bring.

They will be met with a template contract the city wants each of its customer wholesalers to consider. Sullivan has been critical during city council meetings that two of the seven wholesalers lack a current contract — and one of those is nearing its end.

"These contract discussions are about an increased demand for water from an aged water treatment plant lacking the production capacity to keep up," his email said.

The template sets both daily and monthly maximum quantities wholesalers can purchase. Those will be subject to annual adjustments aligned with each wholesaler's average monthly use.

The wholesalers will be required under the contract to monitor their use and give written notice if they exceed their maximum quantity. They face doubled charges at that point.

"I'm going to recommend (my board) go with the contract as proposed," Palo Pinto Water Supply Corp. Manager Ray Patterson said. "It's going to be up to my board. They are asking each water entity to provide a quorum, where they can go ahead and make a decision at that time."

The smallest of the seven wholesalers, at 337 meters, Palo Pinto is one of the companies that lacks a contract with the city.

"I'm a little bit sympathetic with them, but we don't know what the other water companies are thinking," Patterson said. "Mineral Wells makes really good water, and we like the water we get from Mineral Wells. But the problem, seems to me, is the treatment plant is not able to produce a certain amount of water."

The largest, Parker County Special Utility District, has a contract in place through 2029.

With1,806 meters, Parker County SUD is stretching its own customer capacity with a moratorium on new meters in place the past several years.

Manager Dakota Tawater also points out the water company is doubling the capacity of its desalination plant on the Brazos River.

"We're in the process of getting this plant going," he said of the improved desalination plant, which removes salt deposits from the Salt Fork of the Brazos River upstream.

Tawater also said the supplier was notified last Monday it has scored an additional state grant of $12.7 million to build a tower at Brock ISD and lay new pipeline.

"We closed on it ... the 22nd," he said, adding that now he'll hope bids come in within his budget.

Mineral Wells hopes for similar good news on its capacity as the city and the water district that owns Lake Palo Pinto seek funding for Turkey Creek Reservoir.

The Palo Pinto County Municipal Water District No. 1 owns Lake Palo Pinto, the source of the water sold to the seven carriers.

The city is the reservoir's operator for municipal, industrial and recreational use — it also appoints members of the water district's governing board.

Sullivan expressed a little frustration over whether the new treatment plant will be ready by the time Turkey Peak Reservoir fills up.

"That (treatment plant) is one of the things the district was going to do," he said. "But they are going to do it after the reservoir is built. I'm trying to say you can't wait. You don't build a lake and then try to treat the water."

Thursday's meeting is set to start at 4 p.m. The church is at 100 SW Fourth Ave. at W. Hubbard St.