Denton board recommends $45.53 million design contract for Clear Creek Water Reclamation Plant

The Denton Public Utilities Board unanimously recommended a professional services agreement with Corolla Engineers on June 8 to design the Clear Creek Water Reclamation Plant, with the design contract capped at $45,528,839.

David Brown, Water Utilities project manager, told the board the plant will regionalize wastewater services in the Clear Creek Drainage Basin north of Loop 28 and relieve capacity constraints at the Pecan Creek Water Reclamation Plant. "This facility will help water utilities regionalize services in the Clear Creek Drainage Basin," Brown said, describing the site near the Hartley Field and Collins Road intersection and a permit history that reached a full 10 million gallon-per-day (MGD) discharge permit in 2025.

Brown said the plant will be an advanced membrane bioreactor (MBR) facility with screening, grit removal, biological nutrient removal (BNR), odor control and ultraviolet disinfection. He said estimated construction costs are about $455,000,000; design services are expected to run through the fourth quarter of 2028, with construction from late 2028 through 2032.

The contract award follows a six‑firm evaluation process; Brown said Corolla’s site plan best balanced functionality and efforts to minimize impacts to nearby mountain bike trails. "They took into consideration the mountain bike trails and put a site plan that we liked," he said, adding the design will place facilities on lower portions of the property and reroute impacted trails where necessary.

Staff described a funding strategy that would use traditional debt for up to 51% of the cost and pursue federal WIFIA financing and the Texas Water Development Board Clean Water State Revolving Fund for additional low‑interest loans. Brown said the city has applied for WIFIA and is pursuing TWDB SRF options.

A board member asked whether the 10 MGD baseline has a life expectancy; Brown estimated roughly 10 years before expansion and confirmed the plant will be designed to allow future enlargement. Another member asked whether the $45.5 million design fee is part of the $455 million construction estimate; Brown said the figures are separate.

After questions about coordination with the Clear Creek interceptor and service areas north of Sherman Drive, a motion to recommend the ordinance for the design contract was moved and the board voted unanimously to approve the recommendation.

The recommendation sends the professional services agreement forward to the city manager for execution pending council action; the board did not take final construction action on the plant at this meeting.