The North
Texas metro area experienced the most population growth
in the country from 2020 to 2021,
and that growth requires access to a reliable water supply.
Now, the 150-mile integrated pipeline project
will provide an additional 350 million gallons of water per day to the metroplex.
Growth in this region has been incredible,
and the projections are all that that growth is going to continue.
And so, the only way to meet those demands is to deliver water
to the people who need it.
This is a joint project between Tarrant
Regional Water District and the City of Dallas Water Utilities.
Actually, largely, we had plans, independent plans,
to build pipelines in the same general vicinity
but with the state regional water planning, it gave us an opportunity
to kind of lay our plans down side by side and say, "Oh,
we're going to the same place at approximately the same time.
Why don't we see if this works together?" It brings us together
in the best interest of all the public we serve.
The project integrates the Tarrant Regional Water District's
and the City of Dallas Water Utilities' water supplies from Lake Palestine,
Cedar Creek Reservoir, and Richland Chambers Reservoir.
1.5 million feet of pipe.
It's incredible.
Construction on the integrated pipeline began in 2014
and was financed in part by $440 million through the Texas Water Development
Board's State Water Implementation Fund for Texas, or SWIFT, program.
It's a long time coming.
This IPL was one of the first commitments out of this SWIFT fund.
It's a massive regional project costing over
$2.3 billion once completed.
There's almost half a billion dollars in capital savings and
hundreds of billions
more in operations cost over the life of the pipeline.
Any project that will end up serving 9 million Texans
by 2070 is the exact type project we're willing to help finance.
It provides economic opportunity, it helps with businesses
coming into the state, it provides a better tax base.
The schools get better.
Water is everything.
And the water is now flowing.
As of May, the multiphase project is operational.
Because of this, they can go about their daily lives, go to jobs, go to church,
go to build the community without worrying about their water supply.
It's an incredible example of regional collaboration,
and this is a model that can benefit
the whole state when entities work together.