Arlington Water Utilities Awarded Low-Interest Loan for Wastewater Needs

By Traci Peterson, Arlington Water Utilities

Posted on October 24, 2024, October 24, 2024

A loan of $16,585,000 that was recently approved by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) will save Arlington water and sewer ratepayers almost $5 million on the financing of two upcoming projects.

The low-interest loan will come from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), which is managed by the board. Arlington Water Utilities applied for the loan to finance the construction of two wastewater collection system realignment projects that are necessary to protect the City’s waterways. In both instances, significant erosion around existing sanitary sewer mains has caused them to be in danger of collapsing.

The funded projects are:

• The Shadow Drive Sanitary Sewer Main Replacement – Plans call for the abandonment approximately 2,800 linear feet of the existing 21-inch sanitary sewer main along east bluff of the West Fork Trinity River. Sanitary sewer flow will be redirected away from the river by constructing a new sanitary sewer lift station with two to three pumps and approximately 6,000 linear feet of 12-inch sanitary sewer force main and 450 linear feet of 21-inch gravity sanitary sewer main. This alignment will be installed mainly in city right-of-way with minimal impact to trees.
• The Kee Branch Sanitary Sewer Main Relocation (Mayfield and Indian Trail) – The project focuses on existing sanitary sewer infrastructure along the stretch of Kee Branch northeast of the intersection of West Mayfield Road and Woodside Drive. To prevent failure of the sanitary sewer system, the project will redirect the sanitary sewer flow away from Kee Branch utilizing a sanitary sewer lift station and includes approximately 2,300 linear feet of 20-inch sanitary sewer force main from Woodside Drive to Indian Trail.

 Arlington Water Utilities estimates that the lower interest rate offered by the TWDB will result in savings of $4,945,647 over the lifetime of the loan , in comparison to interest rates offered on revenue bond issuances.

 Trenchless technology will be used where applicable for both projects to minimize disturbance to the pavement and traffic.

 The TWDB is the state agency charged with collecting and disseminating water-related data, assisting with regional water and flood planning, and preparing the state water and flood plans. The TWDB administers cost-effective financial assistance programs for the construction of water supply, wastewater treatment, flood mitigation, and agricultural water conservation projects.