News Flash

Since opening for recreation last spring, Bois d’Arc Lake has become a go-to fishing destination in North Texas, attracting anglers and boaters from across the state and beyond.

In its first year, the lake saw an average of 86 anglers each day, totaling 31,390 fishing trips, with the warmer months seeing up to 300 anglers out at a time, according to the latest survey data from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) shared by Dan Bennett,  Inland Fisheries Supervisor for TPWD’s Denison District.

Since then, the number of visitors continues to rise, positively impacting the local economy. Boat storage facilities, bait shops, gas stations, short-term vacation rental properties, and RV resorts for extended stays have opened.  

“Every new angler brings in money for local businesses and encourages more development in the area,” Bennett said. “It’s really turned into a hub for tourism and recreation.”

The success of the lake is also a result of careful fisheries management. The bass population is supported through TPWD’s Toyota ShareLunker Program. 

Anglers who catch a bass weighing over 13 pounds can submit it to the program, where biologists will transport the fish to the hatchery in Athens, Texas, to help maintain a trophy-quality population. This program creates a cycle of trophy potential and helps to keep the lake a top fishing destination.

Currently, angler Jason Conn holds the pending record for the largest largemouth bass caught at the lake, weighing 12.62 pounds. 

Bois d’Arc Lake is also known for excellent crappie fishing, thanks to submerged brush piles set up by the North Texas Municipal Water District during the original construction timeframe. “These artificial habitats have become really popular and show how investing in infrastructure can benefit both fish and anglers,” Bennett shared. 

Bennett has received recognition from TPWD for his efforts in making the lake successful, and he believes its popularity will continue to rise in the coming years. 

“Mainly, I’m excited about the early part of next year (2026) to see how many ShareLunkers get submitted,” he said.  “That will definitely draw in a bunch of new anglers. “Every new ShareLunker submission and every social media post showcasing these bass will bring more visitors to Fannin County.” 

Listen to a recent interview, where Dan Bennett shares how he helps keep the fish population healthy at Bois d'Arc Lake. 

Only two years after its ribbon cutting, North Texas Municipal Water District’s (NTMWD) Leonard Water Treatment Plant (WTP) is celebrating its first year of meeting criteria for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Texas Optimization Program (TOP) recognition.

TOP is a non-regulatory, voluntary program that requires water treatment plants to continuously meet more stringent turbidity levels than required by state regulations. Decreasing turbidity, which is cloudiness caused by suspended particles, also lowers the risk of disease-causing microorganisms in the plant.

Mason T. Miller, TCEQ Source Water Protection Specialist, presented the Leonard WTP team with a certificate, patches and a flag. He noted that out of about 320 conventional surface water treatment plants in the state, only 22 participated in TOP program – representing just 7% of all such facilities statewide. 

Jeffery Striplin, NTMWD Assistant Water System Manager, recognized the hard work and dedication it took from the Leonard WTP team to get the plant commissioned and optimized to meet TOP criteria while treating water from Bois d’Arc Lake, which started providing water in 2023.

“This plant getting the TOP recognition so early in its commissioning was a really proud moment for all of us,” he said. “It’s a brand-new plant and a new water source. We had a lot of first-time operators among our staff. The supervisors here at the plant getting that staff up to where they needed to be with the necessary knowledge and technical skill was just amazing, and so are the accomplishments they were able to achieve so early with this plant just starting up.”

Leonard Water Treatment Plant Supervisor Adam Baugh now strives to meet the next milestone, five years of continuously meeting the monthly TOP criteria. He said working at Leonard WTP has been a unique set of both challenges and rewards.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed starting this facility up because I’ve always been a fan of science,” said Baugh. “It is a great honor to get a chance to do this. Not many people in water treatment get the opportunity to start a new facility with a new water source. It poses a lot of challenges, but at the same time, when things line up the way they should with water quality, it’s a very gratifying experience.”

The Engineering & Public Works Roadshow stopped at the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) Wylie Campus April 16 to recognize the success of the Bois d’Arc Lake Project.

Bois d’Arc Lake is the first reservoir built in Texas in the last three decades. Designed to provide raw water to one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States, the lake also provides recreation opportunities like boating and trophy bass fishing.

The $1.6 billion project was financed through the Texas Water Development Board’s State Water Implementation Fund for Texas program, saving NTMWD and its cities over $230 million. 

Kristina Ramirez, PE, American Public Works Association Region VII Director, remarked that the value of the reservoir extends beyond the surface. Describing the project as being “in league of its own,” Ramirez talked about the importance of the behind-the-scenes efforts that make projects like the lake possible.

“Like public works, you don’t see it, but this lake water supply system could not be what it is today without the technology, infrastructure, and people you don’t see,” Ramirez said. “While visitors and fishermen see the new dam and 16,600-acre reservoir, it’s the construction, operation and maintenance of the treatment plant and transmission systems, two pump stations, 60 miles of pipelines, and 17,000 acres of forest, grassland, and stream mitigation that catch my eye and reaffirm the importance of public works within our communities.”

During her remarks, NTMWD Executive Director Jenna Covington, PE, explained the impact of the project on both the District and the communities around the lake.

“Bois d’Arc Lake isn’t just a vital source of water for our service area—it means so much more to our local communities,” Covington said. “It’s quickly become a recreational destination for anglers from around Texas and beyond. It will continue to serve as an economic catalyst for Fannin County. The lake is proof that strong local and state partnerships can ensure that large water projects have benefits that extend beyond increased water supplies.”

She went on to talk about the monumental effort behind bringing the lake from a plan to a vital water source.

“In the case of Bois d’Arc Lake, it took more than 1,500 talented people to make the infrastructure come to life,” Covington said. “From engineering to support services to construction, the team working to deliver Bois d’Arc Lake was directly responsible for ensuring a continued, reliable water supply for residents in more than 70 communities across Texas.”

The Engineering & Public Works Roadshow is a collaboration between the American Council of Engineering Companies, the American Public Works Association, and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

North  Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) employee Jerry Allen has worn many hats during his 30 years at the District. He began his career with the District as a research assistant, moving on to Pretreatment Coordinator, Research and Development Manager and Environmental Manager. Eventually, he made his way to his current position, Permitting Manager. 

Although these jobs could seem unrelated, there is a common thread that appeals to Allen.

“I like doing different kinds of things, and I like the problem solving and investigating,” he said. “I like coming to work and not knowing exactly what the day will be like.”

His work has taken him across all three service areas of the District at different times. Allen has been involved with investigating the source of toxins entering the wastewater system, securing permits for Bois d’Arc Lake, working with consultants on ozonation at water treatment plants, and researching gas and water migration at the landfill. 

However, the work itself is only part of why Allen stays at the District.

“I like the people; the interaction with all the people and the different organizations,” he said. “Because with the job that we do, not only do I get to interact with many of the teams here at the District, but I get to interact with folks at the cities and the different agencies, people at the county, consultants, engineering firms and I get to meet a lot of people.”

Allen says he likes working in a stable career that focuses on public service and recommends anyone searching for a career to look into NTMWD.

“You're doing the job for the betterment of society and the public,” he said. “There is a vast array of opportunities here, depending on what your education or what your desire is. There’s the business unit, then you have all service areas: the water system, the wastewater system, solid waste maintenance, fleet. It's got almost anything you can think of if you're looking for a job.”

Reflecting over the past three decades, he summed up his time at the District so far.

“It’s been a blessing,” he said. “It’s allowed me to raise a family and get my kids to adulthood.”

 A 30-year tenure at an organization is a testament to any person’s commitment to their work. But Allen’s dedication to the mission of the District: providing essential water, wastewater and solid waste services and being a good steward of environmental and financial resources, is truly commendable. 

by Mark SimonDirector of Engineering

New Pipeline Connection within Wylie Water Treatment Plant Expands Water Distribution to the Eastern Parts of NTMWD Service Area

Innovative solution saves money and defers major capital project a decade into the future

Our Wylie Water Treatment Plant complex, with four interdependent water treatment facilities, is considered the “workhorse” of our large regional water system. The first water treatment plant was initially built in the 1950s and became operational in 1956 with a treatment capacity of 20 million gallons of water per day (MGD). Today, the Wylie plants are permitted to treat a whopping combined 840 MGD, and this 500+ acre complex is one of the largest water treatment facilities in the country. Water collected from Lavon Lake undergoes an advanced, multistep treatment process before being distributed to homes and businesses. 

NTMWD continues to serve one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. While demands throughout our entire transmission system are increasing, numerous communities in our eastern service area make up a significant portion of that growth. Communities in east Collin and north Rockwall County, such as Fate, Josephine, Nevada, and those served by Caddo Basin Special Utility District, continue to attract new residents and businesses. Current projections show long-term demands beyond 2032 require an additional 100+ million gallons per day to flow into our east system. 

With the rapid growth in those communities, we needed a way to increase our ability to send water to the eastern service area in a cost-efficient manner while continuing to meet the needs of the entire service area without interruption. Estimates to upgrade the pump station that feeds the east system were close to $6 million. 

We also needed a solution that could be implemented quickly to meet the near-term needs of the east system. With that in mind, NTMWD Engineers developed a plan that delays building major infrastructure for about ten years and saves approximately $3 million for our water system Member Cities and Customers. 

Under this plan, we're building a new 36-inch pipeline connecting the existing south and east system pipelines at the Wylie Water Treatment Plant. The project, which begins construction in 2025, will increase the flow of treated water to the eastern part of the District’s conveyance system and allow us to meet the growing needs of that area for more than a decade. This solution allowed us to defer improvements that would cost more and take longer to implement. 

The anticipated construction should take between 12 and 18 months, with the new pipeline connection operational by the summer of 2026. The capabilities of this pipeline, with a specialized control valve to adjust the flows coming from an existing high-service pump station, accomplish the goal of increased treated water to the east system, especially during peak demands. It's also much more efficient than upgrading or building a pump station, which would have taken much longer to complete.

As our service area continues to grow, projections show we will need additional infrastructure, including a new water treatment plant. However, to meet the needs in the interim, this innovative solution makes the most efficient use of current funding and, at the same time, ensures treated water is available when these communities need it the most. 

Ensuring uninterrupted access to treated drinking water for our current resident population of over 2.3 million requires planning and agility. NTMWD operations and engineering teams work closely together to achieve our mission of providing high quality and dependable services in a cost efficient manner. Being good stewards of our environmental and financial resources remains at the forefront of our organization's core values.

Innovative Technology, Team Expertise Contribute to Savings for Solid Waste Member Cities

by Mike FriesenAssistant Deputy, Solid Waste

When our 121 Regional Disposal Facility opened in 2004, the landfill was estimated to have a 40-year lifespan. It’s been 20 years since the landfill went into operation, and we still have 40 years of life left. 

The facility serves our five Solid Waste Member Cities—Allen, Frisco, McKinney, Plano and Richardson—and is open to the public from surrounding areas for refuse disposal. The landfill processes and disposes of over one million tons of solid waste safely and reliably each year while protecting the environment and water quality, providing an essential service for nearly one million North Texans. 

Our team at the landfill has extended the facility’s lifespan by increasing our compaction rates—the measure of how well we compact trash, calculated in pounds per cubic yard. Compaction has always been a priority since day one, with the philosophy of continual improvement.

Starting in 2021, we implemented systemwide operational changes and new technologies at the landfill to further improve our compaction rates. The results began to show in 2022 when compaction increased by 13 percent year-over-year. In 2023, compaction increased again by 29 percent, and in 2024, it increased an additional 15 percent. 

The positive change from 2021 to 2024 effectively extended the landfill's lifespan by 12 years, assuming the tonnage received at the facility continues to increase at 3.5 percent each year, and the compaction rate is maintained.

The combination of team expertise and innovative technology has helped us make these improvements. It all starts with our landfill operators—they’ve trained to focus on key metrics to improve our operational practices. They implemented new techniques to reduce soil usage in the landfill, including reducing the working face size and improving waste processing methods.

To monitor the efficiency of our daily compaction activities, we’re leveraging GPS technology that can measure the elevation of the landfill's working face to a tenth of an inch. Every day, our operators use bulldozers and compactors to process and compact solid waste that’s been delivered to the landfill. They have access to a GPS monitor in their machine's cab that provides them with real-time, color-coded data showing the current compaction level. 

When the surface they’re working on turns green, they know the compaction has reached the optimal level. Previously, they would have just been making a visual estimate. We can now measure the compaction rate in real time with high accuracy. Our operators are highly skilled in using this technology. They love to compete daily to see who has achieved the best compaction rate. 

Better compaction rates mean real savings for our Solid Waste Member Cities. The longer we can conserve space in the landfill, the longer we can delay the cost of building a new landfill.

In addition to our focus on compaction rates, we pursue stewardship across our solid waste system.  Another key effort has focused on managing our fleet, including transport tractor trailers and heavy machinery. Through the application of our fleet management software, we can track and control our maintenance costs. This technology has lowered our costs year-over-year and increased our equipment reliability.

Our team is dedicated to making the landfill a “best in class” facility for our Member Cities and the nearly one million people we serve. We’ll continue to pursue stewardship across our operations in service of this goal. 

Collin County Soil & Water Conservation District #535 nominates David Cowan for recognition as our Friend of Conservation in the 2024 Conservation Awards Program.

North Texas Municipal Water District recognizes David Cowan, NTMWD Watershed Manager for this outstanding achievement. Since filling the role of Watershed Manager in July 2019, David has upheld a standard of excellence in this position which was instrumental in the development of the Lavon Lake Watershed Protection Plan. David’s position allows him to work closely with a variety of partners and work adaptively to consider the varied needs of producers in the watershed, customers throughout North Central Texas, stakeholders and the health of the resource itself. In his commitment to locally-led conservation and the work of Collin County SWCD, David supported the District in their planning efforts for their 2023 Local Work Group Meeting and helped facilitate one of the small group breakout sessions discussing water quality. David has been a reliable sounding board and facilitator for Collin County SWCD in its conservation efforts, including programs to:

• Manage and maintain 99 floodwater retarding structures in the watershed dam program.
• Educate and incentivize agricultural producers through the 319 Water Quality Management Plan program.

These programs are both funded and administered through the Texas State Soil & Water Conservation Board. David has been a presence at the local level to help us articulate our needs and celebrate our achievements, ultimately ensuring these investments go as far as possible. Through David’s introduction to a non-profit partner, the SWCD was given consideration for private funding opportunities which will help complement our existing programs and make them even more effective.

With the rapid urban growth and development occurring in Collin County, the Lavon Lake Watershed Protection Plan identified the need to provide communities with resources to help facilitate low impact development (LID).  David is currently working with local municipalities to install rain gardens, engineered bioretention areas and rainwater harvesting systems through an additional 319 grant received from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.  LID best management practices will be installed at the NTMWD headquarters in Wylie and at two locations in McKinney in partnership with the City of McKinney.  These BMPs will also include the use of native and adapted plants. 

Congratulations, David! 

NTMWD’s Water Wizards Earn Third Place at Texas Water 2024 Conference

North Texas Municipal Water District is celebrating the Water Wizards, securing third place in the Top Ops Challenge at this year’s Texas Water 2024 conference. In just their second year of competition, The Water Wizards earned third place overall in the Top Ops Challenge. This exciting trivia tests the knowledge of the best operators in Texas across various water topics. Here are some snapshots of the team and the trophy that will be proudly displayed at the Wylie Complex! 

Congratulations to the competition team members, Chris Dulman, John Hernandez, Kevin Briones, Jeff Gunter, Mark Shirly, and Skylar Holly.