Thanks to an overwhelming show of support from Ridgewood Village Water System customers by a recently submitted letters of intent, the Water District 10 Board of Directors voted unanimously to proceed toward accepting annexation petitions from individual property owners.

“I am very pleased with the board’s vote,” West Lake Hills Mayor Dave Claunch said. “With this vote, the board has demonstrated their commitment to moving forward with the Ridgewood System. There are lots of details to work out, but I’m confident that we will get there soon.”

Ridgewood customers have been on severe water restrictions since early last summer because of an antiquated water system connected to the suffering Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer. The aquifer’s governing body has directed those customers to find an alternate source of water, and Water District 10 is the most likely candidate.

Claunch has been facilitating discussions between the customers and the Water District 10 for months in hopes of reaching an agreement that would allow customers to pay back the district over time for installing the new system.

“Over the next two weeks, I will be working with Tony Corbett, JD Horne (representing RVWS), and the WD10 legal team to begin hashing through all the legal issues and to refine the process and timeline,” Claunch wrote in an e-mail to customers.

Of the 99 customers, 78 sent in letters of intent announcing their feelings on annexation. Of the 78, 71 (91 percent) requested annexation, 3 (4 percent) said they did not want annexation and 4 (5 percent) declined to express an opinion at this time.

Annexation will involve individual annexation petitions. Ridgewood Customers would receive service from Water District 10, but those who do not request annexation would simply pay higher, out-of-district rates instead of an additional debt service fee.