Leander's share of the Brushy Creek regional wastewater plant

In short

• Leander co-owns a regional wastewater system with Round Rock, Austin and Cedar Park.¹
• It agreed to pay 42.3% of a plant expansion, or about $45.4 million of the building contract.¹
• Payments so far add up to about $67.7 million (our math). The audit does not say why that is more.¹²

Related: city regional water share · water and sewer fund health · water and sewer

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

How it works

• Four cities share one system. Round Rock, Austin and Cedar Park bought it in 2009. Leander bought into the collection part in 2010.¹
• Leander became a full owner in 2023. It paid the other cities $2,905,341 that year.¹
• Round Rock runs the system. Each city is billed for how much it uses. Leander’s share of running costs was $1,069,669 in fiscal 2025.¹

The East Plant expansion

Item	Amount
Building contract (Thalle Construction, 2020)	$107,351,713
Leander’s 42.3% share	$45,409,775
Paid in fiscal 2020	$12,373,972
Paid in fiscal 2021	$23,507,885
Paid in fiscal 2022	$12,435,364
Paid in fiscal 2024	$84,034
Paid in fiscal 2025	$19,275,181
Total paid (our math)	$67,676,436

Source: the city’s fiscal 2025 annual financial report, Note 10.¹²

• Leander’s share is 4.23 of the 10 million gallons a day added. It was cut from 5.5 in 2018.¹
• Borrowing paid for part of it. The city sold certificates of obligation of $20,615,000 in 2021 and $19,485,000 in 2022 for the payments.¹
• The fiscal 2025 payment used another funding source. The audit does not name it.¹

The other side

• Payments are about $22.3 million more than the contract share (our math). The audit gives the contract share and the payments, but does not split the payments by purpose. So the gap alone does not show overspending.¹²
• Council agendas show other plant costs Leander shares, beyond the building contract. They include design and construction help for the expansion, new filters (Leander’s part, 12.82%, was $1,065,213.80), and a 2024 deal on sharing repair costs at the same plant.³ These could explain part of the gap. The agendas do not tie them to the audit’s payment list, and the amounts we can see are small next to the gap.
• The council also listed closed-door legal talks about plant construction in late 2025 and 2026. The agendas do not say what they were about.³
• The audit shows no equity value for the system. It treats it as a joint venture with “no equity interest.”¹

Questions to ask

• What did the payments above the contract share pay for?
• Which fund paid the most recent payment, by the city’s records?

What we still don’t know

• The full project cost to Leander, including any design and other costs.
• What the payments above the contract share paid for. The city’s project records, or Round Rock’s bills to Leander as the plant’s operator, would show it. The next audit may also explain it.

Changes to this page

• Nov. 4, 2026: Added other shared plant costs from council agendas, and what is still unknown about the payments.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Rewrote the questions to ask so each is open, neutral and addressed to the public body.
• Nov. 2, 2026: New page.

Footnotes

1. City of Leander, Texas, Annual Financial Report for fiscal 2025, Note 10, “Commitments and Contingencies,” Brushy Creek Regional Wastewater System, pp.64-65: Round Rock, Austin and Cedar Park bought the system from LCRA in Dec. 2009; Leander bought a share of the collection system in June 2010; “joint venture with no equity interest”; reserved capacity $10,800,000 (2010, note payable to fiscal 2032); 2023 amendment made the city “a full ownership partner,” payment $2,905,341; fiscal 2025 operating share $1,069,669; Round Rock operator since Oct. 1, 2018. East Plant: share cut in 2018 from 5.50 mgd to 4.23 mgd of 10 mgd (42.3%); 2020 contract with Thalle Construction $107,351,713; Leander share $45,409,775; paid FY2020 $12,373,972, FY2021 $23,507,885, FY2022 $12,435,364; certificates of obligation Series 2021 $20,615,000 and Series 2022B $19,485,000; “Additional payments of $84,034 and $19,275,181 were paid out in FY 2024 and FY 2025, using alternate finding source.” ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

2. Our math. Total paid: 12,373,972 + 23,507,885 + 12,435,364 + 84,034 + 19,275,181 = 67,676,436. Over share: 67,676,436 − 45,409,775 = 22,266,661. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. City of Leander council agendas and minutes (saved copies): Apr. 18, 2024, item 19, East Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion construction-phase services, “$250,000.00 with Leander’s allocation being $105,750.00”; Aug. 15, 2024, item 15, effluent tertiary filters, “$8,309,000.00 with Leander’s portion of the contract amount being12.82%, or $1,065,213.80”; Nov. 7, 2024, item 30, interlocal agreement on “the allocation of costs for the rehabilitation of the East Wastewater Treatment Plant” (approved, minutes); Nov. 21, 2024, item 13, design services, “$161,098.43 (Leander’s portion)”; Nov. 20, 2025, closed session, “Brushy Creek Regional Wastewater System construction”; Sept. 3, 2026, closed session on agreements and litigation “related to the Brushy Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.” ↩ ↩²