Jim Parks, Executive Director
The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD)
Annual Reports are developed to recap activities for
services provided to more than 1.6 million residents
in
the North Texas service area. The essential services
of regional water treatment and delivery, wastewater
treatment, and solid waste disposal services provide
the sustainability of infrastructure required to maintain
and enable residential and commercial growth within
the communities served. Each year, the NTMWD
continues to meet its goal of providing highquality,
cost-effective services to its Member
Cities
and Customers.
The NTMWD works closely with its Member Cities
and
Customers during the planning process to ensure
construction, expansion, and enhancements of new
facilities and resources are placed into service as
the
population continues to expand and
needs increase.
One significant strategy that will help the NTMWD meet future water needs is water conservation. The NTMWD recognizes that the keys to successfully meeting this challenge are to heighten consumer awareness that water is a finite resource, to increase the knowledge and practice of efficient use of water, and to enhance recognition that even with the highest level of conservation and efficient use of current supplies, additional supplies will still need to be developed in order to meet the future demands due to anticipated growth in the service area through 2060.
The NTMWD meets the requirements mandated by
Senate Bill 1 passed into law in 1997, which requires
the organization to plan and participate in a statewide
water planning process. Currently, the water plan is in
its third round of updates that occurs every five years.
Once approved by the Texas Water Development Board
(TWDB) and submitted to legislation, this will become
the 2012 State Water Plan. The planning process, which
includes preparing a plan based on a 50-year planning
horizon through 2060, remains very complex. As part
of this process, the NTMWD will amend identified
water management strategies based on current
census results, add newly identified strategies, and
incorporate water management strategies that have
already been implemented.
During 2009, the NTMWD supplemented raw
water supplies from two new water management
strategies: the East Fork Raw Water Supply Project
(Wetland) and the Upper Sabine Raw Water Supply
Project. The Wetland is the largest constructed wetland in the U.S. using reclaimed water to augment a surface
supply source and will ultimately provide an additional
91 million gallons per day (MGD) of raw water supply.
Raw water supplies from the Upper Sabine Raw Water
Supply Project will provide an additional 44 to 71 MGD.
Raw water supply obtained through the Upper Sabine
Raw Water Supply Project is made available through a
contract with the Sabine River Authority (SRA).
The NTMWD continues to develop partnerships with
other area water providers including Dallas Water
Utilities (DWU) and Tarrant Regional Water District
(TRWD) to actively pursue currently identified water
management strategies, and to evaluate potentially
available raw water resources that could provide
additional water supplies to meet current and long-term
needs of the service area.
Each regional service provided by the NTMWD—water
treatment and delivery, wastewater treatment, and
solid waste disposal—provides varying challenges for
meeting the needs of one of the fastest growing regions
in the nation. Member Cities and Customers rely heavily
on the NTMWD to provide these regional services, and
the NTMWD is committed to meeting those needs.