North Texas Municipal Water District outlines long‑range supply plans and projects for Rockwall County

David Kelly, government affairs and special projects manager for the North Texas Municipal Water District, told the consortium that the district is moving multiple projects intended to serve Rockwall County and the region as it plans for rapid population growth.

NTMWD’s presentation to the consortium outlined recent capital work and long‑range planning: completion of a new reservoir (referred to in the presentation as Bodark Lake) and delivery from the Leonard Water Treatment Plant; expansion of the Leonard plant and Wylie treatment complex capacities; reuse wetlands that can supply up to 100 million gallons per day; and wastewater projects in Rockwall County including an expansion of the Sabine Creek wastewater treatment plant from roughly 3.0 million gallons per day toward 7.0 and a future design capacity target of 11.0 million gallons per day, plus Buffalo Creek interceptor and lift‑station work to increase conveyance for Rockwall and Heath.

Why it matters: the district said it serves roughly 2.3 million people on a wholesale basis and is planning for continued rapid growth in North Texas. Kelly told the room that NTMWD’s long‑range water supply plan (Region C) currently projects a supply shortfall around 2060 and that the district is pursuing a mix of strategies — new reservoirs, aquifer storage and recovery, reuse, conservation and demand‑management — to close that gap.

NTMWD emphasized several near‑term and local items. Kelly described a new transmission pipeline proposal along John King Boulevard to increase distribution capacity in Rockwall, and ongoing studies for a potential additional treatment plant to serve the southeast area (which could be located in neighboring Hunt County). The district is also in a land‑acquisition phase for a larger regional wastewater plant planned in Kaufman County. Kelly said the Sabine Creek plant is in design work for the next expansion and the Buffalo Creek interceptor will add parallel capacity to relieve bottlenecks.

On funding, Kelly highlighted HJR 7, the constitutional amendment that voters approved to dedicate sales tax revenue to a Texas Water Fund. “That will provide $1,000,000,000 a year for the next 20 years,” he said, and explained the fund is an umbrella that can increase support for existing Texas Water Development Board programs including SWIFT and state revolving funds. Kelly said NTMWD uses low‑interest financing from those programs to limit ratepayer impacts and cited prior SWIFT financing that materially reduced project costs.

Kelly also stressed conservation as a form of supply, saying the district’s conservation work has reduced required infrastructure and saved significant capital costs over time. He said NTMWD plans to complete an updated long‑range water supply plan in 2026 and that it builds a 10% dry‑year buffer into demand forecasts.

The presentation closed with a question‑and‑answer exchange on whether small cities and counties can access the new Water Fund. Kelly said the fund augments existing TWDB programs and that NTMWD staff will help member cities and counties evaluate eligibility and apply. He also invited attendees to request the presentation deck, which the judge agreed staff could distribute.

The consortium did not take any formal votes on water projects at the meeting; staff said technical and engineering questions would be handled by project engineers and NTMWD planners and that more detailed project material can be provided upon request.