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Weatherford utility board approves design contracts for water-system upgrades
Summary
The Weatherford Municipal Utility Board approved two design contracts: $419,500 for Franklin Street and related pressure-plane improvements and an $8.18 million design contract for phases 3 and 4 of the water purification plant expansion, which staff said will improve conveyance, safety and reclaimed-water reuse.
The City of Weatherford Municipal Utility Board on a unanimous voice vote authorized two design contracts to upgrade the city's water infrastructure, including design work for Franklin Street improvements and a major expansion of the water purification plant.
Bill Smith, making the Franklin Street presentation, told the board the project will replace and extend piping in the Franklin and Central pressure planes and along Fort Worth Highway and include roughly 5,200 linear feet of 8-inch and 6,700 linear feet of 12-inch water line. Staff asked the board to authorize a design contract with Kimberly Horn and Associates Incorporated not to exceed $419,500; construction was estimated at about $3,700,000. The board moved to approve the design contract (motion: Ken Davis; second: Lindsay Hester), and the item passed.
The larger action covered design of phases 3 and 4 of the water purification plant. Rick Schafer summarized the Plumber Associates Incorporated contract request for $8,180,985.01, describing Phase 3 as a new raw-water pump station (with a bridge to the intake), a parallel 36-inch raw-water pipeline, chemical-system conversions (away from chlorine gas and anhydrous ammonia to liquid alternatives), and added backwash handling capacity. Phase 4 would add an additional clear well, high-service pumps and upgrades to permit greater reclaimed-water reuse and additional GAC contactors, Schafer said.
Schafer said the design schedule is approximately 17 to 18 months; early procurement packages for long-lead equipment will be produced during design. He estimated combined construction-only costs for phases 3 and 4 (excluding CMAR fees and general conditions) near $56,000,000 and said construction-phase and inspection services would be negotiated later and are expected to cost roughly $1.5 million to $2 million. Schafer also told the board the contractor advised that building phases 3 and 4 concurrently would reduce general-condition costs and shorten the overall schedule.
Board members asked whether combining phases reduces cost and whether intake elevation changes would affect pump performance; Schafer said combined work reduces monthly general-condition charges and that the new pump design will allow pumps to draw from multiple elevations. When asked about excavation near the lake bank and dam, Schafer said the city has coordinated with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and will use required shoring and backfill materials, and that TCEQ review will occur before excavation.
The motion to approve the Plumber Associates design contract was presented by Mayor Pro Tem Wilder and seconded by Tom Novak; the board voted in favor. Staff said construction contracts for the Franklin Street project will be advertised and targeted for award in September 2025 and that construction for both projects will follow the design schedules described.
The board approved both design contracts and directed staff to return with construction-phase agreements and procurement details for long-lead equipment. The items will proceed to contract advertisement and later construction bids per the schedules discussed.
