Utility board credits staff for overnight repair of 5,000-gpm Lake Weatherford leak, approves $237,100 design contract

Weatherford Utility Board members on May 29 thanked city water utility staff for an overnight repair after plant operators detected a substantial drop in intake flow at Lake Weatherford and approved a professional services contract for design work on a Northeast Water Improvements Project.

Rick Schaeffer, who identified himself as a water utilities representative, told the board plant operators “noticed a substantial decrease in our plant flow” and that staff “were losing about 5,000 gallons per minute of water somewhere between the intake and the plant.” Crews traced the problem to an oblong hole in the pipeline, excavated to roughly 18 feet below grade, and completed a welded repair that Schaeffer said finished at about 1:30 a.m. the night of the failure. “Overall, thanks to these guys, we were able to maintain water for our customers,” he said.

The repair team considered a localized patch but elected to weld a 12-inch band around the pipe’s circumference, and Schaeffer credited field operators and on-site support staff — including operations managers Cody Guillot and Danny Servany and the plant manager, Taz Thurman — for preserving service. He also noted that the current single pipeline at that intake location represents a “single point of failure” that the board’s ongoing plant expansion will address by adding a second pipeline to provide redundancy.

The board also voted to authorize the city manager to execute a professional services contract with Tignall and Perkins for design of the Northeast Water Improvements Project in an amount not to exceed $237,100. Bill Smith presented the item, saying the design is expected to take about eight months with an estimated six-month construction period that could wrap around September 2026; staff said a construction contract would be brought back to the board in February. The motion to authorize the contract was recorded on the meeting floor and carried by voice vote.

Schaeffer gave a separate water-supply update noting recent rains have improved lake conditions: Lake Weatherford rose about two feet in the last month to just under elevation 893 — roughly 81% of capacity — and the board’s policy calls for activating the Benbrook pump station if the lake drops to elevation 888. Schaeffer said the presentation’s modeling includes reclaimed water from the reclamation facility and lagoon, and that in the scenarios where the lake does fall to the trigger the analysis also incorporates pumping from Benbrook.

The board asked technical questions about the modeling approach and whether scenarios included reclaimed water; Schaeffer said the charts incorporate reclaimed flows and historic-year variability. No service interruptions to customers were reported other than a Facebook advisory asking residents to conserve water during the incident. Staff and board members praised the rapid response and contingency planning that maintained supply while repairs were completed.

The board accepted the staff report and authorized the design contract; staff will return with a construction contract in February and monitor lake conditions through the summer.