Bois D’Arc Lake Program Collects APWA, ASCE Awards

The Bois d’Arc Lake Program, the North Texas Municipal Water District’s new water supply that went into service in 2023, picked up two more excellence awards in September: co-winner of the American Public Works Association 2024 Project of the Year in the category of Structures more than $75 million and the 2024 Texas Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers Texas Section.

APWA CEO Scott Grayson joins Freese and Nichols’ Carleton Sherrer, Jeff Payne, Steve Long, Selina Brandon and Josh Starling, and APWA Past President Gary Losier.

The APWA award was presented Sept. 9 at the organization’s national conference in Atlanta, and the ASCE recognition was presented Sept. 19 during the Texas CECON conference in Frisco.

The $1.6 billion Bois d’Arc Lake Program, two decades in the making, went into service in 2023 as an essential new water source for 2 million North Texans in more than 71 cities. The program’s multiple components include more than 17,000 acres of ecological improvements.

The lake opened to the public for recreational use in April 2024, and NTMWD reports that it is “quickly becoming a destination for bass fishing.”

Collaboration and Coordination

Our firm has partnered with the district since the beginning of their journey to deliver the Bois d’Arc Lake program, with numerous groups playing key roles during the planning, permitting, design and construction, including:

Freese and Nichols’ Josh Starling, Steve Long and Sam Meisner, are flanked by ASCE’s Sean Merrell and Texas Section President Kimberly Cornett.

Extensive collaboration across the program involved district staff, designers, environmental scientists, structural engineers, construction contractors, public agencies and officials and other stakeholders. Construction of 12 different projects (plus associated utility relocations) using construction managers at risk and a full-service provider took place simultaneously in 2018-2023.

Multiple Recognitions

APWA Reporter magazine featured the Bois d’Arc Lake Program in its February 2024 issue: Delivering a $1.6 billion new water source for two million people.

Other awards for the Bois d’Arc Lake Program:

The comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance that Freese and Nichols’ Urban Planning + Design team worked with Fannin County to create for the area within 5,000 feet of the lake’s shoreline received a Silver Award for Best Practice in 2020 from the American Planning Association Texas Chapter.

NTMWD’s community outreach campaign, an important component of the overall Bois d’Arc Lake program, was recognized with a 2023 Award of Honor for communications from the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers.