Pearland is working toward building out its new Barry Rose Water Reclamation Facility, which is part of a $216 million project to build the plant and decommission two others, and Manvel began work last year after approving a new water reclamation facility for $40 million, officials with both cities said.
Meanwhile, Friendswood approved a slate of water infrastructure projects in December for roughly $10 million, city documents show. The city is also working toward its wastewater master plan, which officials moved forward with in October.
Officials expect the projects to increase both water and wastewater capacity and position them for future growth.
The overview
All three cities saw their respective population grow by at least 12% from 2013-2023, according to U.S. Census data released in December.
That growth has come with plans to upgrade each city’s water infrastructure to keep up with the rising capacity needs, officials said.
Pearland’s new Barry Rose wastewater facility will replace the current facility with the same name and increase the city’s overall wastewater capacity by around 400,000 gallons of water per day. In July, Manvel began building out its new water reclamation facility as well, which initially will add an additional 1 million gallons of water per day to its capacity.
“[Barry Rose] positions us for some increased growth on the east end of town because it’s got a little more capacity,” Pearland Director of Utility David Sohns said.
Those projects in large part are being funded through utility billing, officials said. Both cities have approved, in some cases, double digit rate increases in recent years to meet those needs.
Meanwhile, Friendswood has a litany of projects both planned and underway, including its new wastewater master plan, Director of Communications Glenda Faulkner said in an email.
Diving in deeper
For Pearland, the construction of the new Barry Rose facility will include decommissioning the city’s Longwood Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is outdated and located in a flood plain, Sohns said.
Despite this, once built out, the new Barry Rose facility will take the incoming water from both the old Barry Rose facility and Longwood and increase the total wastewater capacity from around 5.6 million gallons of water per day to 6 million.
The new Barry Rose facility is one of several ways Pearland has increased its surface water and wastewater capacity in recent months, Sohns said. Last October, the city also commissioned a new surface water treatment plant capable of treating up to 10 million gallons per day for drinking water.
Two new groundwater well systems also went online in January after being unavailable for around eight years, adding another 4 million gallons per day total, Pearland Water Assistant Director Zachary Lillie said.
For Manvel, its new facility will bring the city’s total wastewater capacity to 1.5 million gallons per day when combined with its current plant. However, the long-term goal is to decommission that existing plant and have the new plant expanded, which could eventually be able to handle 4 million gallons per day, city officials said Feb. 4.
Friendswood has grown in its capacity to treat water and wastewater over the past two decades, Faulkner said. Officials said they believe the city’s current capacity will be sufficient through 2040.
The cost
While officials said the projects will help their cities expand, the cost to build them stems mostly from utility bills. As a result, all three cities have raised rates in some capacity in recent years.
For Pearland, Sohns said this is because there was a period of time where the city did not increase its utility rates enough to keep up with the growing need, prompting the need for “big jumps,” including a 14% increase in 2023.
Manvel, which opted against a 6.3% increase in its water rates in November, has been in a similar position in recent years, officials said. This led to utility rate increases of double digits—13.4% and 14.9%—in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Manvel Mayor Dan Davis said on Feb. 3 there has not been a formal proposal for another rate increase at this point.
Friendswood officials approved a 7% increase in water rates last year for each of the next three years, as well as a 4%-7% increase in sewer rates during that time, causing a $15 increase in residents’ bi-monthly bills, Faulkner said.
Looking ahead
Pearland officials expect the new Barry Rose facility to be completed by 2028 and be done in three phases, according to city documents.
In Manvel, the new reclamation facility will take 30 months to build out from the start of construction, putting it at a possible completion date of January 2027, city officials said. Other projects stemming from the city’s 2022 master water plan have been in the works as well.
The timeline for various projects, according to city documents and various city officials, includes:
- October 2024: Pearland's new surface water plant goes online
- January 2025: Two groundwater well systems go online in Pearland
- Early 2027: Manvel's water reclamation project is completed
- 2028: Pearland wraps up Barry Rose project, decommissions Longwood Facility
“We’re investing in key projects to increase capacity, improve reliability, protect the environment and ensure we can meet both current and future demand,” Davis said.
