IDENTIFYING AND DELIVERING A SUSTAINABLE WATER SUPPLY FOR THE FUTURE

Many options continue to be pursued by City of Heath staff and its engineering consultants to identify and secure future water resources to lessen the conservation burden on existing citizens.

The City of Heath continues to receive a water supply of 5.5 million gallons per day from the City of Rockwall. However, water demand is anticipated to increase to 14.3 million gallons per day within the next 15 years. The long-term plan to meet the future demand has always been that the City of Heath would obtain its future water the from North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) through the Rockwall connection. The City of Heath planned, funded and constructed the infrastructure to deliver 12 million gallons of water per day from the Rockwall connection point.

In July 2023, NTMWD informed the City of Rockwall that it would not be able to provide any additional water supply to the Rockwall connection point. As a result, the City of Heath needs to find alternative source(s) for future water despite having the infrastructure capacity in place to meet future needs via the Rockwall connection.

WATER STUDY

To address this scenario, a Water Study was initiated in November 2023; steps forward include:

• The City of Rockwall expressed support for the establishment of additional water sources for Heath, including the City of Heath applying to be a direct customer of the NTMWD. (The City of Rockwall also indicated its intent to reduce its role as a major water provider to other jurisdictions, which are now facing the same scenario as Heath.)
• The City of Heath submitted an application to the NTMWD to become a direct water customer on January 12, 2024.
• The application is currently being reviewed by NTMWD’s Water Board.
• If the City of Heath’s application is approved, the new and additional water supply would be taken from a point along U.S. Highway 80.
• City staff and the NTWMD are currently analyzing costs of the necessary water line extensions, pumping facilities and other infrastructure to deliver the water from this location south of Heath.
• The timeline for construction of such infrastructure improvements is estimated to be between five and six years for completion.
• City staff and engineers are also investigating another delivery route option along McDonald Road as a precautionary alternative should the first delivery option from U.S. 80 prove to be cost prohibitive.

While water supply and demand is not only a challenge in Heath, but a challenge throughout Texas and the U.S., Heath citizens can be confident that its staff and industry experts are working diligently to align resources and funding priorities to support the efficient maintenance of the community’s infrastructure assets to ensure the long-range sustainability of its water supply.