At their respective Dec. 9 meetings, Prosper Town Council and Celina City Council received an update on the Upper Trinity Regional Water District Doe Branch Water Reclamation Plant, which serves both communities.
What happened
Celina City Council unanimously approved a $12 million increase to the project’s most recent contract amendment.
According to Celina city documents, the project will expand the plant’s capacity from 4 million gallons per day to 12 million gallons per day, or mgd, and add a wastewater pipeline extension from the plant to Fishtrap Road.
Prosper and Celina officials agreed to fund the expansion in April 2024.
The history
The plant was previously expanded in 2021, increasing capacity from 2 mgd to 4 mgd, but continued population growth in both municipalities prompted the need for another expansion.
UTRWD began construction on the expansion project in September 2024.
The project was initially estimated to cost around $209.9 million, with Prosper and Celina splitting the cost evenly. However, costs later increased to $242.4 million in April 2024 and $268.7 million in August 2025, according to Celina city documents.
Celina city documents also note the city’s share has increased from $121.5 million to $135 million. Prosper’s portion decreased from $121.5 million to $101 million after the town reduced its flow allocation from 4 mgd to 3 mgd.
Celina Assistant City Manager Kimberly Brawner said the increase is expected to be the final price change.
While Celina city documents state no funds will be spent immediately, UTRWD is financing construction through bond sales, which the cities will repay through monthly district billing.
What it means
Celina City Manager Robert Ranc said the $12 million increase alone will not immediately raise the city’s wastewater utility rates, but future rate increases are possible due to the overall infrastructure investment.
“It’s not material enough to increase the rates additional to what the $121 million would cost to service the debt on this particular project,” Ranc said.
Similarly, Prosper officials approved raising residential water and wastewater rates last fall as part of adopting the town’s fiscal year 2025-26 budget. Prosper’s budget director Chris Landrum said higher costs for the water reclamation plant contributed to the increase.
Landrum said Prosper is facing a 15% increase in the costs it pays for water, which is part of the reason for the increased rates. Town staff are also projecting rate increases for the next few years, including a 13.77% increase for water and 17.96% increase for wastewater, according to town documents.
The plant is expected to handle an additional 3 mgd by fiscal year 2026-27, directing more wastewater flow from the North Texas Municipal Water District to the Doe Branch plant, according to town documents.
Looking ahead
According to Prosper town documents, construction on the pipeline is expected to be completed in fall 2027, with the plant expansion projected to finish in fall 2028.
