Celina officials are looking to build a wastewater treatment facility to support the city’s growing population.
Officials are considering a site on Smiley Road north of Parvin Road for a water reclamation facility, according to a fact sheet Mayor Ryan Tubbs shared on social media.
City officials filed a permit application for the facility with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in June 2026, according to TCEQ documents.
If the permit is approved, officials plan to begin design work on the facility in 2031, according to the fact sheet.
The background
Water reclamation facilities take in wastewater from sewers and storm drains, clean it, and then put the treated water back into the water supply as raw water.
Right now, Celina’s wastewater is primarily treated at the Doe Branch Water Reclamation Facility, a treatment site in Little Elm operated by the Upper Trinity Regional Water District, according to the fact sheet.
Doe Branch is undergoing a $269 million expansion to grow the facility’s treatment capacity from 4 million gallons per day to 12 million gallons per day, or mgd, according to previous reporting.
The expansion, which is a shared project with the town of Prosper, is expected to wrap up in fall 2028.
The city of Celina also operates two water reclamation facilities, according to the fact sheet: one serving the Legacy Hills development and one serving downtown Celina.
Celina City Council approved a $70.3 million construction contract to expand the Downtown Water Reclamation Facility’s capacity from 0.95 mgd to 3 mgd at a July 2026 meeting.
Looking ahead
Even with more treatment capacity set to come online at the Doe Branch and Downtown facilities, Celina’s growth will likely warrant an additional treatment facility, according to Tubbs's post.
The Smiley Road site would be ideal for a new facility because of its location along Doe Branch Creek, according to the fact sheet.
The potential facility would start by treating less than 1 mgd, and the TCEQ permit would allow the facility to increase its treatment capacity up to 11.4 mgd as the city grows, per the fact sheet.
If the city’s TCEQ application for the site is approved, the City Council would decide when to move forward with the Smiley Road facility based on how quickly the Doe Branch facility reaches 75% capacity, according to the fact sheet.
Based on current projections, officials expect to begin designing the Smiley Road facility in 2031 and start treating wastewater at the plant as early as 2034, per the fact sheet.
Offering input
A notice informing landowners within a quarter-mile of the Smiley Road site about the application for a wastewater treatment facility has been issued, according to TCEQ documents.
As of Sept. 17, the TCEQ has received 107 comments opposing a wastewater facility on Smiley Road as well as 32 requests for a public meeting and 11 requests for a contested case hearing, per TCEQ data.
Once the TCEQ makes a preliminary decision on the application, a second notice will be sent out with a deadline for public comment, according to the TCEQ website.
