Development Can Resume In North Conroe As Customers’ Water Supply Is Reduced
Conroe City Council ended the temporary building moratorium it enacted for the city’s north side a year ago after determining its water infrastructure was insufficient to support further growth.
The moratorium will end Friday, while the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality lowered the required number of gallons per minute for customers from 0.6 to 0.46, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The end of the moratorium garnered approval from commercial real estate groups like the Greater Houston Builders Association, which had previously said the restriction had detrimental effects on “every facet of our industry” including concrete, roofing, development and construction providers.
“We welcome (the opportunity) to continue to work with the city of Conroe to do smart, attainable development and building because Conroe is a place that people want to move to,” Cody Miller, director of government affairs for GHBA, said to the Chronicle.
The lowering of the gallons per minute figure helps Conroe meet the TCEQ requirement that 85% of its water capacity can meet typical, current demand, leaving the rest for peak demand and emergencies.
Conroe’s moratorium followed Magnolia, another city in Montgomery County that enacted a temporary development moratorium for similar reasons in late 2022. That moratorium on any new water connections remains in effect, though the city anticipates lifting it by October as more infrastructure projects near completion.
Conroe City Council first approved a 120-day building moratorium for the north side of the city in late August 2024 after city staff said its water infrastructure was insufficient to support new development while providing water to its existing users. Conroe added about 40,000 residents over the past decade and grew nearly 25% over the past five years.
“Overdevelopment and previous decision making has put Conroe in a tough situation,” Councilman Howard Wood said in a statement to Community Impact on Aug. 29.
“Discussions with developers [and] builders have been well received, we'll work appropriately with them while we move to correct this challenge,” he added.
Council extended the moratorium once in December and again in April. Council voted against a citywide moratorium in May, citing $15M the city secured from the state legislature for water infrastructure.
Conroe city staff requested about $195M worth of water-related projects from 2011 to 2023, but only $71M of them made it into approved budgets, the Houston Chronicle reported. Since April 2024, the city has begun construction on another water plant and a bypass waterline, according to the article. Another two wells are in the design phase, and an additional two are planned.
