Dickinson’s Water District performs continual rehabilitation and/or replacement of its infrastructure to ensure safe, reliable and compliant services. The district utilizes a Capital Improvements Program (CIP) to forecast the required capital projects based on short-term (years 1-5), mid-term (years 5-10) and long-term (years 15-20) planning and funding requirements.

Current capital projects are being funded from 2022 and 2023 bonds and are described below. In the past 18 months, construction costs have increased by 50 percent nationwide, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of projects that the district will be able to accomplish.

In May 2021, the Texas General Land Office notified the district that they were selected for a $8.189 million Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) grant. This grant project includes total rehabilitation of the district’s Hollywood Water Plant, including repainting the elevated and ground storage tanks; replacing existing booster pumps, yard piping, and electrical control building; and installing a new permanent natural gas emergency generator. The district’s selected contractor is scheduled to start construction in fall 2024.

The district operates and maintains one wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) which has gone through several upgrades and expansions, with the last major project occurring more than 20 years ago. The WWTP is currently permitted for a daily average flow of 4.8 million gallons per day (MGD) and a 2-hour peak effluent flow of 21.6 MGD. In 2023, the district engineer performed an evaluation of the existing WWTP hydraulic profile and a preliminary schematic design of proposed improvements to the main lift station, solids screening, replacement of the final stage filters, and replacement of the disinfection system. The project will be constructed in phases due to anticipated construction costs. Work is tentatively scheduled to begin in spring 026.

The district operates and maintains the Lobit Water Plant located on Lobit Drive. The plant’s primary operation is to use surface water from the distribution system to fill and cycle the elevated and ground storage tanks on the site. The district is in the design phase to add a disinfection residual control system at the plant. These improvements will help to improve water quality and water age. In addition, the district plans to drill a new standby groundwater well at this site. This well is needed to meet the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality minimum water system capacity requirements.

Two of the district’s largest and most critical wastewater collection lift stations are the County Barn and Hughes Lane lift stations. The County Barn lift station services the entire portion of the district east of Interstate Highway 45 (IH-45) and south of Dickinson Bayou. The Hughes Lane lift station services the entire western portion of the district west of IH-45. The district is currently in construction to rehabilitate both lift stations, including replacement and/or upgrades of submersible pumps, guide rails, hatches, valves, wet well top concrete slab replacement, wet well wall rehabilitation with epoxy liner, electrical equipment replacement, installation of emergency natural gas generators, and SCADA system upgrades to meet district needs and current Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requirements.

The district currently has one 10-inch water line built in the 1970s that services the western side of the district from Medical Park Drive to Cemetery Road along FM 517. In 2021, an update to the district’s water model performed by the district engineer found that this water line along FM 517 needs to be replaced with a 16-inch water line to meet the water supply and fire flow demands on the west side of the district. Beginning in January 2025, construction will include installation of a 16-inch PVC water line with gate valves, fire hydrants and water services from Medical Park Drive to FM 646.

In 2022, the district performed a television inspection of the existing 36-inch-diameter sanitary sewer main along FM 517 from Hughes Lane to FM 646. Built in the 1970s, this is the sole sewer line for collecting all flows on the west side of the district. The results of the visual inspection showed numerous pipe deformations, penetrations and groundwater infiltrations which, if not repaired, can lead to significant maintenance costs. This project is currently at 30 percent design and will include repairing the pipe deformation areas and then installing a new 30-inch-diameter pipe inside the existing 36-inch diameter pipe. This project is estimated to start construction in summer 2025.

The Barber lift station is a regional lift station that collects sewer flow from the east and southeast sides of the district. In 2023, the district engineer performed a hydraulic evaluation which showed that the eastside large sewer trunk mains have insufficient capacity to handle the high flows that occur during significant rainfall events. After evaluation of alternatives, the most cost-effective solution is to extend the Barber lift station force main further downstream to discharge to a larger gravity sewer collection pipe. This project is currently at 30 percent design and is estimated to start construction in summer 2025.

The Deats lift station is currently located within the Deats Road right-of-way at Geisler Gully. In 2024, the district engineer performed a capacity evaluation which showed that the existing lift station and force main have insufficient capacity to handle the high flows that occur during significant rainfall events. This project will be performed in two phases with phase one being the replacement of the 8-inch force main with a new 12-inch force main. Phase two will be relocating the lift station to 3002 Shadowlane Drive, property which the district purchased in 2023. Construction of phase one is tentatively scheduled to start in fall 2025, with phase two starting in January 2026.