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Voiceover

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.

Dan Buhman - General Manager, Tarrant Regional Water District

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.

Terry Lowery – Director, City of Dallas Water Utilities

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?"

Dan Buhman - General Manager, Tarrant Regional Water District

It brings us together in the best interest of all the public we serve.

Voiceover

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.

Brooke Paup – Chairwoman, Texas Water Development Board

1.5 million feet of pipe. It’s incredible.

Voiceover

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.

Brooke Paup – Chairwoman, Texas Water Development Board

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.

Terry Lowery – Director, City of Dallas Water Utilities

There's almost half a billion dollars in capital savings and hundreds of millions more in operation cost over the life of the pipeline.

Brooke Paup – Chairwoman, Texas Water Development Board

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.

Voiceover

And the water is now flowing. As of May, the multiphase project is operational.

Dan Buhman - General Manager, Tarrant Regional Water District

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.

Terry Lowery – Director, City of Dallas Water Utilities

It's an incredible example of regional collaboration, and this is a model that can benefit the whole state when entities work together.

*https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/population-estimates-counties-decrease.html