Grapevine’s ‘water heroes’ celebrated after keeping community safe during winter storm

Aquaman’s got nothing on the water heroes of Grapevine.

While cities throughout Texas were struggling with water safety during the recent winter storm, Grapevine was doing just fine.

Unlike many cities in North Texas its size, Grapevine maintains its own water treatment plant. Behind that plant is a group of individuals city officials will take every opportunity possible to boast about, often referred to as some of the most talented and hard-working unsung heroes in the community.

There’s nothing glamorous about being a water hero. No shoe company is going to ask for an endorsement. But they have the gratitude of the more than 50,000 citizens throughout the city who were able to shower, wash dishes, and even grab a refreshing drink of water during the storm.

The Utility Field Operations Team is a division of Public Works, and its mission is to maintain, repair and monitor the entirety of Grapevine’s water distribution and wastewater collection systems. In other words, they keep the water safe and clean in the best of times, and more important, the worst of times, just as the department has been doing since 1959.

“Grapevine like surrounding cities, was dependent upon wells to supply potable water to its citizens in its early history. In the late ‘40s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitted and built Grapevine Reservoir, and Grapevine acquired some of the lake’s water rights,” said Bryan Beck, the city’s Director of Public Works.

Beck said a water treatment plant later was established to supplement potable water supply for the growing community. After the opening of Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, Grapevine’s leadership recognized that the city’s growth would require increased water needs. Grapevine joined with the Trinity River Authority in the late 1970s before expanding its treatment plant in the 1980s.

Some facts about Grapevine’s water distribution system include:

▪ 306 miles (1,615,680 feet) of water mains.

▪ 15,000 water meters

▪ If you placed every section of mainline pipe in Grapevine end-to-end on Interstate 35, you would cover enough distance to get to New Braunfels and back. And this does not include the service lines that go to each and every property in Grapevine.

The water treatment plant reported that normal wintertime water demand in Grapevine averages 5.5 million gallons per day. When everyone started dripping their faucets as requested during the freezing weather, the demand increased to 8.5 million gallons per day. The peak demand rose to 20.5 millions gallons per day when the water main breaks were occurring.

In sub-freezing temperatures, wastewater flow doubles, and the wastewater treatment plant team worked continuously to maintain the integrity of the plant while also maintaining 32 lift stations. The successful outcome from their efforts resulted in zero overflows.

And through it all, thanks to their water heroes, the citizens never missed a drop of clean and safe water, prompting praise from Mayor William D. Tate.

“During the recent unprecedented winter weather event that our community endured, our remarkable public works team proved to be Grapevine’s water heroes,” Tate said. “While our citizens were proactive in following suggested guidelines, our Grapevine team worked day and night, successfully managing to maintain the integrity of our water system.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2021 at 6:00 AM.