Arlington Water Utilities’ new laboratory and maintenance building is a freshly painted maze filled with test tubes and microscopes. Lab coats hang on doors, bottles of raw reservoir water wait to be tested for E. coli, and scientists examine graphs for chemical fluctuations.

The building opened in early August after two years of construction. The $12.3 million project is part of the city’s broader efforts to meet the growing water needs of the city and its neighbors.

Arlington water officials use the lab to analyze water from around the city and the treatment process. They take samples from water reservoirs, treatment plants and distribution points, test pH and water hardness, and look for about 370 different substances. In 2023, lab officials analyzed 7,305 samples.

The Maintenance Department, which shares the new building with Laboratory Services, oversees the city’s various water infrastructures, including water towers, wastewater treatment plants and sewage stations.

The Laboratory Services and Maintenance Building is adjacent to the John F. Kubala Water Treatment Plant in southwest Arlington, one of the city’s two wastewater treatment plants.

Previously, laboratory and maintenance services were housed in three separate buildings at the city’s other facility, the Pierce Burch Water Treatment Plant in western Arlington.

The Pierce-Burch power plant, which is 17 years older than Kubala, is undergoing a $112.5 million modernization project to replace old infrastructure. Improvements include new chemical treatment plants and generators, and the project will make the plant more efficient and safer from accidents, said Alex Whiteway, director of Arlington Water Utilities.

Both treatment plants, often hidden out of sight and unobtrusively in the far corners of the city, are pillars of Arlington’s infrastructure, producing 18 billion gallons of treated water annually – and every ounce flows through one of the two plants, said Bill Gase, deputy director of the water utilities.

The plants also treat water for some neighboring communities, including parts of Kennedale and Dalworthington Gardens.

The Kubala Wastewater Treatment Plant, the larger and newer of the two, treats most of Arlington’s water. Its offices are always staffed, its pumps hum constantly, and its ponds, each resembling a small lake, never stop flowing.

In the summer, when water use is highest, Kubala treats about 64 million gallons of water per day – well below its maximum daily capacity of about 97.5 million gallons.

Pierce-Burch operates only during the warm months and produces about 36 million gallons a day. It shuts down during the winter, when citywide water demand is about 40 million gallons.

The difference in daily water use between summer and winter – 100 million gallons versus 40 million gallons – is evidence of how much water residents use to water their lawns, Gase said.

From a small room filled with computer screens in Kubala, officials constantly monitor the water levels of Arlington’s 10 water towers.

The amount of water in each tower at any given time reflects real-time water consumption across the city, so the wastewater treatment plants know down to the second how much water they need to produce.

A rapidly emptying water tower can be a sign of a water main break, Gase said. In that case, it’s up to the water inspector to immediately dispatch workers to fix any potential problems.

During severe winter storms like the one in February 2021, when lines and pipes are prone to bursting, monitoring water towers can be one of the most stressful jobs in the city, he said.

“Normally our peak demand day is in the summer,” Gase said. “But in 2021, like almost everywhere else in the metroplex, the peak demand day was in February because of all the broken pipes.”

Arlington’s lab services also test water quality for nearby smaller cities that purchase water from the Tarrant Regional Water District. Cities like Kennedale, Mansfield and Waxahachie all get water from the same reservoirs but do not have their own labs.

The Tarrant Regional Water District produces some of the softest water in the state, which reflects how many hard minerals are dissolved in the water sources, according to data compiled by HydroFLOW USA.

Arlington reported an average of 5 grains per gallon or GPS in 2023, putting it behind other major cities in Texas. Austin reported 11 GPS, Houston reported 8 GPS, San Antonio reported 21 GPS.

For a detailed report on water treatment in Arlington, including chemical levels in the City’s reclaimed water, see the 2023 Arlington Water Quality Report.

Drew Shaw is a reporter for the Arlington Report. You can reach him at [email protected] 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.

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