History of the Benbrook Water Authority
Creation of BWSA
The City of Benbrook was incorporated in 1947 when the community of
approximately 500 people was served by individual water wells and septic
tanks.
In 1949, the City granted a franchise to the Worth Water Company to
install and operate a water system in Benbrook. In 1955, Benbrook Water
Authority (BWA) was established by the Texas Legislature as a water
conservation and reclamation district and assumed the assets of the Worth
Water Company (HB 512 of the 54th Legislature). At the time, the City did
not have the funds to take over and operate the system. BWA's takeover of
the City's water system began a success story that continues today.
The BWA was initially chartered to serve the geographic limits of the City
of Benbrook as they existed on December 8, 1947. This jurisdiction was
later expanded to include all the city limits of Benbrook as it existed on
February 1, 1969 (HB 1315, 61st Legislature). Today, BWA provides water
supply, treatment and distribution as well as wastewater collection
services to 20,000 plus residents of the city. The Authority currently has
a total facility investment of $26.7 million and an annual operating
budget of just over $4 million. The water operation is financed entirely
from water revenues and water impact fees. The wastewater operation is
financed entirely by user charges. BWA does not have the authority to levy
ad valorem taxes but may issue bonds.
Water Sources & Supply
Water is obtained from Benbrook Lake and from 14 groundwater wells.
Benbrook Lake is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
for the purposes of water supply and flood control. The lake was
constructed beginning in 1949 and has an average volume of 72,500
acre-feet impounding a watershed of 429 square miles. In 1991, BWA's water
rights in the lake were consolidated with the rights of Fort Worth and
Weatherford under the management of the Tarrant County Water Control and
Improvement District #1. Under this arrangement Benbrook can divert
sufficient water from the lake for all its existing and future needs, as
the Water Control district will be able to balance water demands among all
of the north and eastern Texas reservoirs. In 1991-1992, BWA completed
construction and put into service a new raw water intake structure and
pipeline to withdraw greater quantities of better quality water directly
from Benbrook Lake to be treated and used in its water supplies. The
result is reduced water turbidity, which has produced more consistent
treatment and finished waters with turbidity values below the .05 NTU
requirement of the Surface Water Treatment Rule.
Water Wells
The 14 private groundwater wells currently in service in Benbrook tap the
Paluxy and Trinity sands, two of the major aquifers in the subsurface of
North Central Texas, and have a maximum production capacity of 1.5 MGD.
Emergency Water Supply
Additionally, BWA has an agreement to purchase in excess of 1.0 MGD of
treated water from the City of Fort Worth when necessary for emergencies
or during periods of peak demand.
Water Production
The BWA water treatment plant has a maximum rated capacity of 11.3 MGD
with a maximum use to date of 9.2 MGD. Additional peaking capacity is
available from the well system and can produce an additional 1.5 MGD for a
combined production capacity of 12.8 MGD.
Storage Capacity
Storage capacity for water in Benbrook is 3.7 million gallons (MG) in
overhead storage tanks and 7.2 MG in ground storage tanks, for a total of
10.9 MG.
Wastewater
BWA collects wastewater from residential and commercial customers. The
collection systems of BWA and the City of Fort Worth are interconnected in
over 40 locations. BWA provides collection in south Benbrook, Westpark and
portions of Trinity Ranch prior to discharge into the Fort Worth system.
North Benbrook, Ridglea Country Club and Mont Del Estates are served by a
combination of BWA
and Fort Worth Collection lines. Some areas of Benbrook are not
connected to the BWA wastewater collection system. Many of these areas had
septic systems prior to the availability of sanitary sewer service and
have chosen to remain on their private system. Many of these private
systems will eventually connect to the BWA sewer system when their septic
system fails. The areas without residential sanitary sewer service are
diminishing rapidly with the passage of time.
Wastewater Treatment
Wastewater is treated under contract with the City of Fort Worth at
their regional treatment center at Village Creek, using conventional
treatment with sand filtration. Wastewater capacity from Benbrook is not
limited. A recent expansion has increased the capacity of the Village
Creek facility to 144 MGD, and the existing capacity is adequate to meet
any demands placed on it for many years to come. |
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