Things are coming together for a new water treatment facility on New Boston Road in Texarkana.
Media Release:
New Boston, Texas — August 5, 2020— Riverbend Water Resources District
(“RWRD”) is excited to announce approval of up to $200 million in multi-year financing
from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) through the Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund to finance planning, acquisition, design, and construction of a new
regional water system. TWDB approved, by resolution, the request and application
from RWRD for financing at their board meeting Wednesday morning.RWRD is a locally controlled regional water district that was created to protect,
conserve and manage the area’s water resources. RWRD was legislatively created in
2009. Riverbend started with 8 member entities and has now grown to include 17
members. Current members include: Annona, Atlanta, Avery, DeKalb, Hooks, Leary,
Maud, Nash, New Boston, Redwater, Texarkana, Wake Village, TexAmericas Center,
Central Bowie County Water Supply Corporation as well as Bowie, Cass and Red River
Counties.The new proposed regional water system would replace the current water treatment
facility located on New Boston Road in Texarkana. The new water treatment facility will
provide increased treatment capacity over the current treatment plant, and is proposed
to be constructed on the TexAmericas property near other RWRD existing facilities. It
would also be expandable in the future to meet long term growth and usage projections
for the region. The system would include a new raw water intake structure to be
constructed at Lake Wright Patman. There would also be a new raw water transmission
line from the proposed intake structure to the proposed water treatment facility.Sonja Yates Hubbard, RWRD’s Chairman of the Board, shared, “It has been a privilege
to work with this group of mayors and member leaders, our directors, staff and
consultants; all universally committed to the region and it’s future. This expansion
prepares us to serve both the near-term needs of these communities and equips us for
exponential economic expansion. This is a historic event.”In early 2016, RWRD began to work with consultants to develop a Regional Water
Master Plan with its members and other surrounding entities. The Regional Water
Master Plan was developed to be a comprehensive plan covering regional water supply
and treatment. The plan contained growth projections, current water supply
assessments, and various alternatives to providing water to the region through
proposed infrastructure improvements. Once completed in late 2018, the plan provided
to Riverbend and its stakeholders a path forward through technical and financial data
that supported constructing a new regional water treatment facility. Since that time,
securing funding has been the priority to keep the project moving forward.“Securing funding for this needed project has been a major point of focus for
Riverbend,” said Kyle Dooley, RWRD’s Executive Director/CEO. “It is through many
years of forethought, hard work, and cooperation of our members, communities, and
directors that we were able to achieve this milestone today. We now turn our attention
to design and construction of the project and look forward to serving our membership
and region with water needed at present and into the future.”
