Beaumont weighs new water, street and drainage projects in 2027 plan

Beaumont’s proposed fiscal 2027 Community Investment Plan adds a new slate of water, wastewater, drainage and street projects as the city continues shaping its next budget.

The plan now includes more than $260 million in infrastructure work across those departments, according to the reporting. City officials have framed the additions as part of a broader effort to strengthen aging systems and address long-running needs in utilities and transportation.

Water and wastewater

The water department added one new project to the proposal: the Pine Street Water Production Plant Clearwell Rehabilitation, budgeted at $1.85 million. The reporting said the project did not have an identified funding source in the proposal.

Water staff said the goal of the plan is to strengthen the system from source to customer and improve reliability and resilience.

The wastewater division added seven projects drawn from the city’s updated wastewater treatment plant master plan. Those projects include grit removal system upgrades, headworks improvements, sludge digester and clarifier wall repairs, high-flow transfer and outfall pump work, wetland cell improvements, a moving-bed biofilm reactor, and treatment plant canal and pond improvements.

The largest of those wastewater items is the moving-bed biofilm reactor, listed at $28 million. City officials said it is intended to help remove ammonia, increase treatment capacity and improve effluent quality as discharge limits tighten.

The wastewater planning builds on earlier reporting from May, when Beaumont was already considering a $20 million to $25 million upgrade to meet tighter ammonia discharge rules. The new capital plan shows that discussion has expanded into a larger package of plant improvements.

Drainage and streets

The drainage department proposed one new project: Stone Town Road drainage improvements, budgeted at $181,500. The work would involve acquiring easements and rights of way along Hillcrest Drive to rehabilitate and maintain roadside ditches that connect to Pine Island Bayou.

The street department added six projects: three road projects and three quiet zones. The road work includes Marina Drive rehabilitation at $2.45 million, Dishman Road improvements at $1.36 million and Keith Road rehabilitation at $1.6 million.

The quiet zones listed in the proposal are Helbig Road at $5.2 million, Old Town at $2.4 million and South End at $4.4 million, with fiscal 2029 timing noted in the reporting.

Budget context

The proposed capital plan follows a May budget workshop and comes after the City Council approved $76.56 million in debt on June 9 for roads, drainage and utilities. That financing package also fit into a broader city borrowing plan that included infrastructure work across water, sewer and drainage.

The reporting says some of the proposed projects would be funded through general obligation and revenue bonds, while others remain for future consideration pending funding. That means the capital plan is still subject to revision before final adoption.

Council can still move projects up, defer them or remove them as the budget process continues. The city’s next steps will determine which items stay on the current timetable and which wait for later funding.

The proposal is part of Beaumont’s annual capital planning process, and the new slate underscores how infrastructure spending remains tied to compliance, reliability and debt capacity as the city moves through fiscal 2027 budgeting.