May 2025

New Streams Flow This Spring

The five new streams below Leon Hurse Dam are now flowing with spring rain. Grass and trees are also growing along the six miles of tributaries that Upper Trinity Regional Water District restored to natural habitat.​ The surrounding ecosystem is also beginning to thrive once again.​ The team carefully mapped and reconstructed the streams to follow their original winding paths, which had been altered for farmland in the early 20th century. Over the next seven years, Upper Trinity’s contractor, Texas Mitigation Solutions, will monitor the area to ensure the streams and habitat remain healthy and effective.

Connecting the Lake to Customers -
Despite the Cold

Connecting pipeline from the lake to Upper Trinity’s water supply system was a major feat—done during the coldest week of this year.

In mid-February, workers with Garney Construction, Pinnacle Saw Cutting, Juan Cantu Welding and Preferred Materials Concrete connected the six-foot wide pipeline from Lake Ralph Hall to Irving’s equally large pipeline, enabling water to travel the final 20 miles to Upper Trinity’s Harpool Water Treatment Plant where it will be treated and delivered to Upper Trinity’s cities and communities. In order to make the connection to Irving’s pipeline, teams put in a massive “Y” fitting, essentially cutting into a major water artery and welding it back together.

The project required temporarily shutting down the Irving Pipeline (which supplies water to Upper Trinity and Irving), the Harpool Water Treatment Plant, and the Chapman Lake Pump Station. During the shutdown, the treatment plant relied on stored water, and crews completed other key maintenance while this infrastructure wasn’t in use.

“This was a huge operation that took a month of planning in advance and close coordination across all teams,” said Ed Motley, Lake Ralph Hall Program Manager. “Our team worked 14-hour days in freezing rain to get the job done. They were very dedicated and did a great job.”

Crews only took a few days to install the new connection and air-test it for future use. Despite a short delay in pouring concrete (due to freezing temperatures), the connection was backfilled and flowing within the week.