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Weatherford chooses new intake option, details long lead times for water plant expansion
Summary
Water Utilities Director Rick Schaffer told the board the city will pursue a new intake (Option 2) for the raw water pump station after updated cost estimates showed it is less costly and lower risk; phases 2' of the water purification plant will expand capacity from 14 MGD to 18 MGD, with phase 2 targeted online by summer 2026 and phases 3/4 by spring 2028. Equipment lead times (electrical gear and filters) are about 50 weeks and are on the critical path.
Rick Schaffer gave an extended operations update on the water purification plant GAC project and the expansion phases 2, 3 and 4. He described acceptance testing, punch-list work and long-lead procurement needs.
Schaffer said the current purification plant capacity is 14 million gallons per day (MGD) and that completing phases 2' will expand capacity to 18 MGD, with a potential future phase 5 to reach 22 MGD in the 2030s by adding equipment. He told the board some equipment packages (filters and electrical gear) have roughly 50-week lead times and are on the project's critical path; the city plans early guaranteed maximum price (GMP) packages to order the long-lead gear so procurement does not delay the schedule.
On the raw water pump station, staff presented two alternatives: rehabilitate the existing 1950s structure or build a new intake. After a detailed cost and risk analysis, Schaffer said the board should proceed with option 2, a new intake structure, because it was less costly, less risky and offered a longer lifespan. He said staff will return with a design amendment for phases 3 and 4 and that PLW (the CMAR contractor) indicated condensing the schedule could save about $1.2 million in general conditions.
Targeted schedules given in Q&A: phase 2 online by summer 2026; raw-water intake and high service pump station expected spring 2028. Schaffer confirmed Phase 3 includes a new raw-water pipeline from the pump station to the plant.
