Title
Receive a presentation from the Public Works Department for the 2026 City of Farmers Branch Water and Wastewater System Capital Improvement Plan.
Body
REQUESTER:
Mayor Pro Tem Tina Bennett-Burton
BACKGROUND:
The City Council is actively evaluating long-term investments in the City’s aging infrastructure to ensure continued service reliability, financial sustainability, and protection of public health. As part of this effort, in October 2025, the City implemented water and wastewater rate adjustments to begin addressing long-deferred reinvestment needs within the utility system. Water and wastewater rates in Farmers Branch had not been comprehensively adjusted for approximately ten years, despite steadily increasing wholesale water and wastewater costs imposed by regional providers, including the Trinity River Authority (TRA) and Dallas Water Utilities. During this period, external supply and treatment costs continued to rise while local rates remained relatively flat, creating a growing structural gap between revenues and the true cost of service.
A primary driver of the recent rate adjustment is the City’s need to reinvest in water and wastewater pipelines that are more than 60 years old. Targeted replacement of these assets is critical to reducing the risk of system failures, minimizing service disruptions, protecting environmental resources, and maintaining regulatory compliance, such as the Lead Copper Rule Revision (LCRR). Given the system's age, size, and complexity, the pipeline replacement effort is expected to occur over approximately 20 years, consistent with industry best practices for utility asset lifecycle management.
To support Council’s infrastructure investment discussions and long-term capital planning, the City engaged Birkhoff, Hendricks & Carter (BHC) to assist Public Works with developing a data-driven prioritization framework for replacing aging water and wastewater pipelines. This work evaluates cast-iron (CI) and asbestos-cement (AC) waterlines and establishes an objective basis for sequencing future capital projects.
DISCUSSION:
The study evaluated key criteria, including pipe age, pipe material, and historical maintenance and performance data. BHC provided Public Works with a comprehensive Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) technical report that includes a prioritized list of recommended water and wastewater pipeline replacement projects, along with an opinion of probable construction cost (OPCC) for each project. This framework is intended to support the City Council’s ongoing evaluation of infrastructure investment needs by providing a transparent, consistent, and defensible methodology for project prioritization. Rather than relying on reactive repairs, the CIP enables a proactive approach that aligns infrastructure investment decisions with risk, system condition, and long-term financial planning considerations.
Following completion of the study phase, Public Works will initiate the design process with BHC for the first set of annual water and wastewater line replacement projects, subject to Council direction and future budget appropriations. Construction of the initial projects is anticipated to begin in late 2026. The resulting Capital Improvement Plan will serve as a long-range planning tool to inform project sequencing and funding discussions over the next 20 years as Council continues to evaluate investment strategies for the City’s aging infrastructure.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item was funded from the Utility Repair and Replacement Capital Improvement fund in the amount of $36,500.
DISTRICT:
Citywide
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. Executive Summary Memorandum
2. Technical Water and Wastewater CIP Memorandum
3. Presentation