What Leander pays LCRA for raw water

Numbers marked “our math” are our estimates, not official figures. The notes show the inputs and the steps.

In short

• In 2025 the city paid LCRA $3,724,420 for raw water.¹
• The city budget shows the same amount.²
• The 2027 budget plans $4,060,650. That is $336,230 more than 2025 (our math).²³

What the city pays for

Raw water is lake water before it is cleaned. The city owns the Sandy Creek plant that cleans it. It bought the plant from LCRA in 2012. Since then, the city pays LCRA only for raw water. That covers water it takes out and water still stored under its permit.¹

For how water bills and the water fund work, see water and sewer and water and sewer fund health. For the shared regional plant, see city regional water share.

Year by year

Fiscal year	Water supply charges	Kind
2023	$3,605,134	Actual2
2024	$3,331,140	Actual2
2025	$3,724,420	Actual21
2026	$3,870,900	Adopted budget2
2027	$4,060,650	Adopted budget2

A check against an older estimate

In 2022 the city said it paid LCRA about $2.6 million a year and expected $3.4 million by 2030.⁴ See water and sewer. The 2025 payment was already higher than that 2030 estimate.¹

The other side

• The cost does not rise every year. The city paid less in 2024 than in 2023.²
• Owning the plant limits what the city owes LCRA. Since 2012 the city pays LCRA only for raw water.¹
• What the sources do not show: why the payment rose after 2024.

Questions to ask

• What share of the payment is for water used, and what share is for water held under the permit?
• How does the city plan to pay for the rising cost?
• Does the contract with LCRA limit how fast the price can rise?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: Rewrote the questions to ask so each is open, neutral and addressed to the public body.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Added an other-side section and questions to ask.
• Nov. 2, 2026: New page.

Footnotes

1. City of Leander, Texas, Annual Financial Report for fiscal 2025, Note 10, “Commitments and Contingencies,” Water System Project, p.64: the City bought the Sandy Creek water treatment plant from LCRA in January 2012; “the only charges paid by the City to the LCRA are for raw water, both that which is actually withdrawn and that which is remaining as stored under permit. Total charges paid in fiscal year 2025 to LCRA under this contract totaled $3,724,420.” ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

2. City of Leander, adopted fiscal 2027 budget, Utility Fund, Water Maintenance, page 104, account “5688 - Water Supply Charges”: FY2023 actual $3,605,134; FY2024 actual $3,331,140; FY2025 actual $3,724,420; FY2026 adopted $3,870,900; FY2027 adopted $4,060,650. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

3. Our math: $4,060,650 − $3,724,420 = $336,230. ↩

4. City Manager goals memo, April 21, 2022 City Council packet (saved copy): “annual raw water payment to LCRA is approximately $2.6 million,” forecast to increase to $3.4 million by 2030. ↩