April 5, 2022, Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District No. 118 accepted the Water Conservation and Reuse Award for Small Utility Direct Municipalities at the Texas Water Conference in San Antonio, Texas. The award was presented by the Texas Section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA). AWWA is a professional organization comprised of water professionals which is committed to advancing the technology, science, and governmental polices as stewards in water resources for public water systems. Pictured below is Board of Director, Reid Garrett, and District Engineer, Michael Gurka, PE. It’s an honor to receive this award for the District’s valuable efforts and progress towards water conservation.
Decription of the Project
Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District No. 118 (the District) provides water, sewer, drainage, and park facilities to the Waterside Estates Subdivision in Richmond, Texas. The District recently completed new facility improvements at their wastewater treatment plant to accommodate a reclaimed water system. The project reduces the dependency of purchased surface water from North Fort Bend Water Authority (NFBWA) while minimizing groundwater withdrawals from irrigation demands. By utilizing Type 1 reclaimed water, the District was able to irrigate a portion of the community while promoting water conservation.
The total construction cost of the project was $2,356,374 and was completed in late Summer 2019. The system has been operational since 2019 and supplied a total of 11,150,000 gallons of reclaimed water for irrigation purposes resulting in $13,000+ dollars in direct savings based on water rates for the District as of March 2022.