Nolanville, Texas is moving to address years of stormwater pollution flowing into a bacteria-contaminated creek, seeking a contractor to build a system of bioswales, rain gardens, and a rehabilitated detention pond along Avenue H.
The project targets a problem that has grown alongside Nolanville itself. The small Bell County city, wedged between Killeen, Harker Heights, and Belton in the shadow of Fort Cavazos, has roughly doubled in population since 2000 as new subdivisions spread across land that once absorbed rainfall. More rooftops, driveways, and roads mean more water rushing off the surface during storms, carrying oil, sediment, fertilizer, and bacteria into Nolan Creek. The creek, a tributary of the Leon River, has sat on Texas's list of impaired waterways for years, primarily because of E. coli contamination. The Nolan Creek Watershed Protection Plan, developed with the Brazos River Authority and regional stakeholders, specifically calls for the kind of retrofit the city is now building.
Bioswales and rain gardens are engineered shallow depressions planted with native vegetation. Instead of channeling stormwater straight into the creek through pipes, they slow it down, filter out pollutants, and let it soak into the ground. The Avenue H project is deliberately framed as a demonstration, meaning it is designed to be replicable: federal Clean Water Act grants that fund projects like this typically require an educational component, so smaller cities across Central Texas dealing with the same growth pressures could use Nolanville's design as a template.
Funding comes through the EPA's Section 319(h) Nonpoint Source program, administered in Texas by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Congress created the program in 1987 after recognizing that diffuse runoff from streets and lawns, not just factory pipes, had become the country's largest remaining water quality threat. For a city Nolanville's size, with a small municipal budget and limited staff, that federal pass-through money is essential for capital projects that would otherwise be out of reach.
The project is labeled Phase One, suggesting the city envisions additional work to follow. The public notice is posted on Nolanville's website, where the city is seeking construction bids due by 2:00 p.m. on June 30, 2026. The City Council will award the contract at a subsequent meeting.
