Construction is set to begin soon on a new pipeline that will bring tap water treated in Arlington to Burleson and several unincorporated areas of Johnson and Tarrant counties.
The water transmission line is part of an agreement that will allow Bethesda Water Supply Corporation to purchase treated water from Arlington Water Utilities. Bethesda serves about 30,000 people in communities southwest of Arlington.
Arlington Water's two treatment plants have a combined capacity of 172.5 million gallons of water a day. Arlington's average water use is about 53 million gallons a day. The city's demand can reach as high as 115 million gallons a day in the height of a dry summer, said Buzz Pishkur, Arlington Water Utilities director.
'Arlington Water's treatment capacity and reputation for award-winning water quality give us a great opportunity to offer treated water to surrounding communities at a very competitive price,' Pishkur said. 'The construction of 7,500 feet of new water transmission line will support the sale of water to Bethesda and strengthen the infrastructure that serves existing Arlington Water customers.'
Construction on the new transmission line is expected to begin later this year. The water main will begin at Arlington Water's Tierra Verde Elevated Storage Tank, near U.S. 287.
'The decision to team up with Arlington's water department for a wholesale connection was an easy one,' said Steve Sievers, general manager of Bethesda Water Supply. He said the Texas Water Development Board's Region C Planning Group previously recommended that Bethesda 'ensure a long term reliable potable water supply' for its customers.
'Putting together a plan for such an undertaking was streamlined due to the Arlington water department staff's professionalism and ability to resolve any issues that arose,' Sievers said.
Arlington Water Utilities designed the new transmission line with in-house engineers, saving about $80,000 in project costs.
Arlington has agreed to provide up to 5 million gallons of water per day to Bethesda's customers in Tarrant and Johnson counties. Arlington will be a secondary source of water for the area. Bethesda Water Supply currently uses a combination of well water from the Paluxy and Trinity aquifers and treated surface water purchased from the City of Fort Worth.
Bethesda Water Supply is the second entity to sign a water purchase agreement with Arlington Water Utilities. In April 2016, Arlington kicked off an arrangement to provide up to one million gallons of water a day to Dalworthington Gardens as a secondary water source.
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