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Bill Gase, assistant director of Arlington Water Utilities, walks above water basins at the John F. Kubala Water Treatment Plant on Aug. 13, 2024, in Arlington. (Drew Shaw | Arlington Report)
” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Water-Treatment-4-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Water-Treatment-4-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>Arlington Water Utilities’ new Laboratory Services and Maintenance Building is a freshly painted maze filled with test tubes and microscopes. Lab coats hang from doors, flasks of untreated reservoir water wait to be tested for E. coli and scientists scrutinize charts for chemical fluctuations.The building opened in early August, wrapping up two years of construction. The $12.3 million project is part of the municipal government’s broader efforts to stay ahead of the growing water demands of the city and its neighbors.Arlington water officials use the lab to analyze water from across the city and the treatment process. They sample from water reservoirs, treatment plants and distribution sites, testing its pH levels and water hardness and looking for around 370 different substances. In 2023, lab officials analyzed 7,305 samples.Christian Ortiz, a lab analyst for Arlington Water Utilities, has studied water samples for the city for five years. Ortiz now works at the new Laboratory Services and Maintenance Building. (Drew Shaw | Arlington Report)The maintenance department, which shares the new building with laboratory services, oversees the city’s various water infrastructures. These include its water towers, treatment plants and wastewater stations. The Laboratory Services and Maintenance Building neighbors the John F. Kubala Water Treatment Plant in southwest Arlington — one of the city’s two treatment plants. Previously, the lab and maintenance services were located in three separate buildings at the city’s other plant, the Pierce-Burch Water Treatment Plant in west Arlington.Pierce-Burch Water Treatment PlantKubala Water Treatment PlantThe Pierce-Burch plant, 17 years older than Kubala, is undergoing a $112.5 million improvement project to replace old infrastructure. Improvements include new chemical treatment facilities and generators, and the project will make the plant more efficient and accident-proof, said Alex Whiteway, director of Arlington Water Utilities.Both treatment plants, often unseen and subtly tucked in far corners of the city, are pillars of Arlington’s infrastructure. They produce 18 billion gallons of treated water every year — and every ounce flows through one of the two plants, said Bill Gase, assistant director of Water Utilities.Arlington has two water treatment plants:

John F. Kubala Water Treatment Plant

Built in 1989

Daily capacity of 97.5 million gallons

Now houses new Laboratory Services and Maintenance Building

Operates year-round, treating 64 million gallons a day in the summer and 40 million in colder months

Pierce-Burch Water Treatment Plant

Built in 1972

Daily capacity of 87 million gallons

Currently undergoing renovations

Only operates during warm months, treating 36 million gallons a day The plants also treat water for a few neighboring communities, including parts of Kennedale and Dalworthington Gardens.The Kubala treatment plant, the larger and newer of the two, treats most of Arlington’s water. Its offices are constantly staffed. Its pumps are always humming. Its water basins, each resembling small lakes, are never stagnant.During the summer, when water usage is at its peak, Kubala treats about 64 million gallons of water a day — well under its maximum daily capacity of about 97.5 million gallons.To filter out dirt early in the treatment process, water is treated with aluminum sulfate and a cationic polymer, which forces substances to clump together and sink to the bottom of the basins, where it’s vacuumed up. (Drew Shaw | Arlington Report)Where is my water coming from?

Arlington buys water from the Tarrant Regional Water District, drawing from four reservoirs:

Richland-Chambers Reservoir

Lake Arlington

Lake Benbrook

Cedar Creek ReservoirPierce-Burch only operates in the warm months, producing about 36 million gallons daily. It shuts down in the winter when water demand hovers around 40 million gallons citywide.The difference in daily water usage between summer and winter — 100 million gallons versus 40 million gallons — is a testament to how much water is used by residents to irrigate their lawns, Gase said. From a small, computer screen-filled room in Kubala, officials constantly monitor the levels of Arlington’s 10 water towers. The amount of water in each tower at any moment reflects real-time water use across the city, so the treatment plants have second-by-second knowledge of how much water to produce.A rapidly emptying water tower can signal a water-line break, Gase said. In this case, it’s up to the water-monitoring official to immediately dispatch workers to address potential issues.Lydia Waguespack, a water treatment operator, fidgets with bubble wrap while monitoring the city’s usage from the John F. Kubala Water Treatment Plant on Aug. 13, 2024, in Arlington. (Drew Shaw | Arlington Report)During major winter storms like the one in February 2021, when lines and pipes are prone to bursting, water tower monitoring can be one of the most stressful jobs in the city, he said.“Usually, our peak demand day is in the summertime,” Gase said. “But in 2021, like almost everybody else in the metroplex, the peak demand day was in February because of all the broken pipes.”Arlington’s laboratory services also test water quality for nearby smaller cities that buy water from the Tarrant Regional Water District. Cities like Kennedale, Mansfield and Waxahachie all draw from the same reservoirs but don’t have their own labs.Arlington‘s water sources:

Lake ArlingtonLake BenbrookCedar Creek ReservoirRichland-Chambers ReservoirThe Tarrant Regional Water District produces some of the softest water in the state, which reflects how many hard minerals are dissolved in water sources, according to data compiled by HydroFLOW USA.Arlington reported an average of 5 grains per gallon, or gps, in 2023. This trails behind other major Texas cities. Austin reported 11 gps, Houston reported 8 gps, San Antonio reported 21 gps. A detailed report of Arlington’s water treatment process, in addition to chemical levels found in the city’s treated water, can be found on Arlington’s 2023 water quality report. Drew Shaw is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or @shawlings601. At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.