IN SEARCH OF WATER

Part three -- 1935 to Present

Mar 14, 1935 -- “Sealed proposals, addressed to W. H. Wentland, Mayor, City of Manor, Texas, for the construction and installation of Water Works Supply and Distribution System in accordance with the plans, specifications, and instructions to bidders, prepared by M. C. St. John, Engineer, will be received at the office of the Secretary, Manor, Texas until 2:00 p.m. March 22, 1935, and then be publicly opened and read. 

Separate proposals will be received as follows: 

Section No. 1. General Contract – Complete Water Distribution System, Pumping Station, Building,
Concrete Storage Reservoir, and All Foundations.
Section No. 2. Elevated Water Tank and Tower
Section No. 3. 3500 ft. Water Well, and Equipment

Feb 23, 1936 -- “Water, water, everywhere. That, in short, will be the picture in Manor just as soon as construction of a distribution system is completed. Drillers in charge of the 3001-foot well late Thursday completed setting casing and the artesian well was opened to flow a steady stream into a ditch that will carry the water away and permit the well to clean itself out…The distribution system will include an elevated tank of 50,000 gallons capacity, service pumps to carry the water from the top of the artesian flow into the tank, necessary fire-fighting attachments and approximately 25,000 feet of mains and pipes to carry the water to the homes and businesses within the city limits…” 

Dec 20, 1936 -- “Manor city council Thursday afternoon accepted a newly completed water works system built as a PWA project under contract by Dickson and McCarty of San Antonio. The new water system is supplied from an artesian well recently dug to a depth of 3001 feet, which engineers estimate to be capable of furnishing water to a town of four or five times the size if Manor.”

Oct 7, 1959 -- “The possibility of obtaining state approval of the Manor water supply is being explored here.”

Feb 20, 1968 -- “Progress made toward securing an adequate water supply for the Manor-Pflugerville sector of Travis County will be reported by David Samuelson, chairman of the steering committee in a meeting of the Manville Water Supply Corporation at Richland Hall in the Cele community Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.”

Oct 19, 1972 -- “Manor Thursday became the fourth city in the nation entitled to receive almost total federal funding of a complete revamping of its municipal water and sewer systems, according to U.S. Rep. Jake Pickle. The department of housing and urban development will grant the city $571, 800 to replace old water distribution lines, to tie into the City of Austin’s water supply system….’Now that we have the green light on Manor as well as the Manville Water Supply system (funded this past summer) the entire northeast section of Travis County should blossom and grow’, said the congressman.”

Apr 27, 1974 -- “…the Water Development Board helped the City of Manor obtain the financing from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for a $190,000 water well the city decided to drill rather than buy water from Austin…Manor officials originally went to Austin for water and received an offer which they characterized as very, very restrictive. Austin officials had offered to extend a 12-inch water main to Manor and pick up half the cost.” 

2018 - According to the City of Manor website, Manor currently receives its water from three sources;
1. Manville Water Supply Corporation - "Immediately following an extensive drought in Travis County in April, 1967, a group of interested farm families met to discuss the feasibility of organizing a Farmers Home Administration Water System to serve the rural areas outside Manor, Pflugerville, Richland, Cele, New Sweden and other communities in the northeastern section of Travis County. This forward thinking group along with the help of the Farmers Home Administration secured design expertise and financing and this plan was put into motion. Since that time, our membership has grown to over 8000 members and the service area has been extended to include rural areas as well as urban areas in the cities and towns listed above." (Manville WSC website)

2. Blue Water Systems - "BlueWater delivers water through a 53 mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline from Burleson County to a delivery point in Manor, Texas. The BlueWater 130 Project provides water to the City of Manor, Manville Water Supply Corporation, SouthWest Water Company, and several Municipal Utility Districts along SH 130."  (Blue Water Systems website)  

3. Colorado River Alluvium Aquifer - "An important local aquifer, the Colorado River Alluvial Aquifer is located in eastern Travis County...Travis County is underlain by significant groundwater aquifers...These underground freshwater sources of groundwater include the Colorado River Alluvium Aquifer"      (www.traviscountytx.gov/tnr/environmental-quality/
water-quality/travis-county-aquifers)