The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) on March 31 approved more than $171.7 million in financial assistance for 13 water, wastewater and flood mitigation projects spanning multiple regions of the state, according to the agency.
The money will fund construction of water and wastewater treatment plants, distribution line replacements, storage tank installations and pump station upgrades. It will also fund a basin-wide flood mitigation planning study covering roughly 24,000 square miles of South Texas.
The largest single award went to the Riverbend Water Resources District in Red River County, which received $59 million. The funds came in the form of $49 million in financing and $10 million in principal forgiveness through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). The district plans to use the funds to build a new raw water intake system on Wright Patman Lake, along with a pump station and pipeline to move untreated water from the lake to a new 25-million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant, according to the TWDB.
The project also includes environmental mitigation work and decommissioning of the district’s existing treatment plant and raw water conveyance system. Officials estimate the district could save roughly $20.8 million over the life of the loan by financing through the DWSRF.
The second-largest project in this funding round belongs to the Agua Special Utility District (SUD) in Hidalgo County. The district secured over $31 million, split between $21.04 million in financing and $10 million in principal forgiveness.
The funding will support a new surface water treatment plant designed to handle 5 million gallons per day at launch with the ability to double that output as demand grows. The project covers the plant itself along with site work and the supporting systems needed to operate it at both its initial and expanded capacity.
The TWDB said the district could save about $7.5 million over the life of the loan through the DWSRF. The funding follows a $6.06 million DWSRF financing commitment the TWDB approved in June 2025 for the planning, acquisition and design phase of the same treatment plant, according to officials.
Other notable projects include:
- $20.6 million — City of Katy (Harris, Fort Bend and Waller counties): The city will expand its wastewater treatment plant capacity to 5.3 million gallons per day.
- $19 million — City of Mercedes (Hidalgo County): The city will upgrade its water treatment plant, rehabilitate an elevated storage tank and replace nearly 10,000 feet of water main.
- $10.8 million — Champions Municipal Utility District (Harris County): The district will replace water and sewer lines across a significant portion of its system and rehabilitate multiple storage tanks.
- $6.2 million — Jim Hogg County Water Control and Improvement District No. 2 (Jim Hogg County): The district will build new elevated and ground storage tanks, a chlorination system and pump house and replace desalination membranes.
- $6 million — Travis County Water Control and Improvement District, Point Venture (Travis County): The district will build a new 545,000-gallon standpipe, rehabilitate its elevated storage tank and upgrade pump station capacity.
- $5.8 million — City of Mount Vernon (Franklin County): The city will overhaul its wastewater treatment plant and replace roughly 8,260 feet of sewer pipeline.
The TWDB also approved funding for the City of Whitewright ($3.17 million), the Dean Water Supply Corporation ($3.5 million), the City of Albany ($2.97 million), the South Rains SUD ($2.85 million) and the Nueces River Authority ($750,000).
San Antonio-based Pape-Dawson Engineers is the only firm publicly attached to any of the 13 projects, serving as program manager for the Riverbend district’s broader water system overhaul. The firm is overseeing design, engineering and construction for the effort.
The funding round drew from the DWSRF, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), the Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) and the Texas Water Development Fund. The DWSRF accounted for the largest share at roughly $121.4 million across six projects, followed by the Texas Water Development Fund at $43.75 million across five projects. Of the total approved, about $38.1 million took the form of principal forgiveness, meaning recipients will not have to repay those dollars. The TWDB structured the remaining funds as financing through its various programs.
Photo by Orhan Akbaba from Pexels
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