Weatherford Reuse Project Featured in WE&T Magazine
The City of Weatherford’s indirect potable reuse water system is featured in WE&T magazine as part of their February focus on diversifying water supplies, giving national attention to a project that already has been a state award winner.
The article, “The Long Road to IPR,” was authored by Freese and Nichols’ Ryan Opgenorth and Allison Hage, along with Bill Smith, Weatherford’s Assistant Director of Public Works-Engineering.
WE&T is the flagship publication of the Water Environment Federation and covers cutting-edge technical knowledge for the water quality field.
As the team writes:
“During the state’s historic 2011 drought and the years that followed, Weatherford realized the city needed to supplement its usual drinking water sources. While the practice of drawing from Lake Weatherford and buying additional supply from Tarrant Regional Water District out of nearby Benbrook Lake is a reliable long-term solution, reclaimed water could provide an additional, cost-effective supply.”
“However, adding a new, sustainable water source wasn’t a quick fix. Rather, it took a decade of persistence, including managing the delays and disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, a contested water rights permit, and contested discharge permit. Now, Weatherford has a has a 17,000-m³ (4.5-mgd) indirect potable reuse (IPR) system that promises security, resiliency and cost savings. Weatherford also can show other small but booming cities how to leverage a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency federal-state loan program that supports green projects.”
Freese and Nichols’ Water Resources Planning team was instrumental in helping the city amend their water rights permit, and our Water/Wastewater Treatment and Transmission and Utilities teams worked on design of a new 5-mgd pump station and improvements to the existing water reclamation facility.
Weatherford’s Indirect Potable Reclaimed Water System received the 2023 Bob Derrington Reuse Award from the American Water Works Association Texas Section.
Read more in WE&T: “The Long Road to IPR”
