City unveils study to expand water and sewer service to western Orange, including Chemical Row
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Summary
City staff presented a multi-year engineering study to extend potable water and sewer service to the western portion of Orange, including connections near Chemical Row, with the goal of adding capacity, redundancy and supporting future development; the council received the report and had no formal action.
City staff presented a multi-year plan to expand water and sewer service to the western part of Orange on May 27, 2025, including routes near Chemical Row and proposed new water production capacity.
The presentation explained why the city is pursuing a master plan to evaluate current and future water and wastewater demand on the western side of the city and to design transmission "loops" for redundancy and improved fire flow. Staff said the effort will include geospatial modeling and engineering design, and could result in a new water production plant and large-diameter mains encircling the city.
The project is intended to allow industrial customers along Chemical Row to be served by city systems instead of handling domestic water and sewage on-site, to free capacity in northern sewer mains now constrained by flows to the Roselawn and wastewater treatment plant, and to support private and commercial development west of McArthur Drive to as far north as MLK. "We have some representatives from [Schaumburg & Polk] here," said staff member Adam Jag, introducing the competitive professional procurement that funded the study. He said the city has applied for "30 plus million dollars worth of grants to help support this effort."
Jag said the proposal would route a large water main from The Cove across Adams Bayou and along MacArthur or Edgar Brown to the western side of the city, add a new production plant and create a loop to improve water pressure and quality. For sewer, he described extending a new line south along Chemical Row to relieve northern sections and free capacity for development.
Council members thanked staff for outreach to industrial leaders on Chemical Row and for the multi‑faceted approach; no formal motion or vote was taken on the study during the meeting. Staff said the next steps are the planned engineering study, follow-up design work, review and permitting with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and staged construction if funding and permits are obtained.
The presentation was informational; council discussion noted the project is long-term and contingent on engineering, regulatory approvals and grant funding.
