Tyler Gentry – Fall 09
Today the City of Houston has plenty of water and has won awards for
its water quality accomplished through water treatment plants, according to
Jeff Taylor, Houston’s Public Works director(2006), says the emphasis is
on water quality rather than water supply in Houston because the city
receives about 50 inches of rainfall a year and has a 30 to 50 year supply.
However, Jim Adams, general manager of the San Jacinto Water
Authority and chair of Region H Water Planning Group (Region H includes
Houston), says by 2060, Houston will require three billion gallons of water a
year. “We are going to have to reuse water and we are going to have to
conserve,” says Adams. “Water is not as plentiful as it use to be.”
Houston as a Model City: Meeting the challenges of an environmental crisis
The Future of Water
by Vicki Wolf, April 2006
Rives Taylor, research scientist with Houston Advanced Research
Center’s Energy and Buildings Solutions Group and sustainability leader for
Gensler Architecture, says these forecasts are optimistic as the population
of Texas grows and droughts are more common.
He believes in three years we will have concerns. The water that
Houston uses includes the Trinity River and the San Jacinto River, both
downstream from areas with rapidly growing populations. Also, Texas is
experiencing the longest dry spell since the drought of record in the
1950s with low precipitation levels forecast through this summer. Global
warming may bring more droughts in the future.
Also, use of ground water, pumping water from aquifers below the
ground, is causing the land to sink. To prevent further subsidence,
Houston is moving from ground water as the predominant source of water
to surface water – lakes and reservoirs storing water that comes from
Capturing rainwater and storing it in cisterns is an effective way to
reduce runoff and conserve the public supply. Rainwater without
chemical treatment can be safely used for flushing toilets and washing
clothes. It can be used for drinking when properly treated.
Considering that up to 60 percent of city water is used for
landscaping, moving toward sustainability requires collecting and using
rainwater for landscape and garden irrigation. Selecting native and
adapted plants, and designing landscape and gardens to capture water
and prevent runoff also help save water. Garden beds, shrubs and
mulching are better conservation choices than growing grasses.
Planting vegetation similar to the diverse prairies and forests that
covered Houston before it was paved over for development can be
planted across the city, even on rooftops, to help cool the city and prevent
runoff during heavy rains.
Understanding Chlorination Process
Groundwater Reduction Plan (GRP)
• Dated May 28, 2003
• The NHCRWA will build its primary water transmission lines from the COH
delivery points to its boundary in two construction phases.
• One transmission line will be constructed initially to satisfy the 2010
through 2019 conversion requirements.
• A second transmission line will be constructed to meet the requirements
for 2020 through 2030. Other entities may pay a pro-rata share for
capacity in the NHCRWA’s transmission pipe.
• The Central Harris County Water Users Consortium and the West Harris
County Regional Water Authority have been identified as possible
participants at this time.
• The NHCRWA requested its primary water distribution system be sized and
designed to provide all wholesale customers water at system pressure (55
to 65 pounds per square inch). Rates of water consumption vary widely
throughout the year. Since the NEWPP will supply water at a
comparatively constant rate, peaking requirements of wholesale
customers will be provided from water sources within the NHCRWA
• The 2020 and 2030 conversion areas will spread outward
from the initial area. The estimates of probable costs for
2020 and 2030 are $402.1 million and $29.1 million,
respectively, and $612.7 million total for all three decades,
excluding interest, financing costs and water capacity
purchase. The above estimates of probable costs were
developed using Region H Water Planning Group 1999 unit
• The NHCRWA anticipates that water reuse and early/over
conversion may generate credits against the total amount
of surface water that must be used to achieve compliance.
The NHCRWA reserves the right to submit for consideration
an amended GRP in the future discussing these concepts
along with a methodology of applying credits.
Houston Area Water Corp.
North Harris County Regional Water Authority (NHCRWA)
Turner, Collie, and Braden
Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District
City of Houston (COH)
Northeast Water Purification Plant (NEWPP)
American Water Works Association (AWWA).
Central Harris County Water Users Consortium
West Harris County Regional Water Authority
San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA).
– The NHCRWA has 160 political subdivisions that
Municipal Utility District’s (MUD),
Public Utility District’s (PUD),
Water Control and Improvement District (WCID),
Utility District’s (UD),
And more (collectively referred to as MUDs) as well as
independent well owners that combined have a total of
1,612 groundwater wells within the NHCRWA. The total year
2000 well pumpage within the NHCRWA as reported to
HGCSD was over 25 billion gallons.
Project map Example
Along with the products ALTIVIA manufactures and
distributes, they offer a variety of site-specific service
solutions to meet your water treatment and chemical
management needs. Their chemists and engineers can
analyze your requirements and design the most costeffective solution possible. Services include:
Northeast Water Purification Plant
• Grand Opening on June 23, 2004
• PBS&J provided owner’s representative services for the design,
construction, and operation of the Houston Area Water Corporation
40-mgd northeast water purification plant located on the west
shore of Lake Houston in Harris County, Texas.
• This project is unique, in that it is the first of its kind in the Houston
area to be constructed using the design/build/operate method of
• The plant uses a conventional treatment process of coagulation,
flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection.
• It has the potential for expansion to 80 mgd, and the plant site can
accommodate a facility with a capacity of approximately 360 mgd.
NHCRWA Population and Water
Waste Dumped into bayou
• In downtown Houston along Buffalo Bayou at
Allen's Landing is where you see the sewage
problem. Ever since the hurricane, a number of
the city's waste water treatment plants went
without power. As a result, the city was forced to
actually dump raw sewage straight into the
• There are 39 wastewater treatment plants in the
city of Houston. So far, 31 are back up and
running, and treating sewage. (This is after the
Important Facts to Consider
• Up to 60% of Houston water use is for
• Pumping water is becoming less of an option
• Reservoirs and Lakes are limited resources.
• Water must be stored for Houston use.
What do we do with the water?
• 50% of captured water shall be used for
greywater, treated only as required for storage
• 50% of captured water shall be sent for
treatment and then to end users.
• If tanks reach capacity and the tentacles end
points are still under water, the float activator will
still cause them to retract water to the tanks. The
tanks will then need to overflow. This overflow
must be in areas that are not prominent to flood,
allowing that water to slowly reach the bayou