The city relies on 10 local wells and water sourced from the Trinity River Basin, but by the end of the year, Pearland officials hope to access water from the Brazos River Basin, which will be processed through the soon-to-be-completed $175 million Surface Water Treatment Plant.
By the numbers
Pearland saw a 15.41% population increase from 2016 to 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and data from the city shows Pearland’s water demand has risen with the population increase.
The conditions
Adding the third source of water will go a long way to safeguard the city’s water reserves, especially during drought, Director of Utilities David Sohns said.
The city can process 34 million gallons of water per day. When the Surface Water Treatment plant becomes operational in January, that number will climb to 44 million gallons, which will reduce impacts to the city’s water sources.
“If one of our wells were to be compromised or a motor go out that would have it down for any period of time, or the drought conditions on the Trinity River were to worsen and reduce the volume of water that we're able to receive from that source, then that absolutely could impact our available source water,” Sohns said.
