Town awards $5.26 million contract to replace wastewater plant effluent filters

Flower Mound town council on Tuesday unanimously approved a $5,260,000 construction agreement with Urban Infrastructure Construction LLC to replace the effluent filtration system at the town's wastewater treatment plant.

The project, listed in the FY25 capital improvement plan and recommended in the plant master plan, calls for full replacement of the filter media and controls, a consolidation of pumps from 42 to six (one per basin across six basins), and safety upgrades staff said will reduce operating and maintenance costs over the coming decades. Dale Crown, Public Works, told the council current filters are reaching the end of their service life and are producing increasingly costly repairs because parts are obsolete.

"Existing filters are prone to tearing," Crown said. "At least at this point in time, when that happens, we really increase the likelihood of a TCEQ violation, which is something that we really want to avoid." Crown said the new filter media are more resilient, that each filter media unit has an expected service life of about five to 10 years, and that the project will also reduce the number of pumps the town must maintain.

Staff said the contract was the low bid among six bidders. Construction is set to start after a notice to proceed; the filtration equipment itself has an 8-to-9-month lead time and staff expect the overall project to be finished by the end of next year, with final completion shortly afterward. Crown said the town orders replacement media regularly and expects to order 144 filter elements per year under the new system, which he estimated at about $44,000 per year in media costs.

The council voted 5-0 to award the contract and authorize the town to execute the agreement and proceed with procurement and construction.