Under new management: Tarrant water district seeing gains in transparency, efficiency

Last spring, the Tarrant Regional Water District general manager position attracted about 100 candidates from around the nation. After a thorough vetting and interview process, Dan Buhman, an engineer with years of experience and leadership, was the clear choice.

Buhman was appointed by a unanimous vote of the water district’s board and took the reins on July 1. At the time, the water district was at a crossroads. From what we have seen thus far, Buhman has led and made significant positive changes in many areas.

In the last 11 months, under Buhman’s leadership, the water district has racked up numerous accomplishments, including:

Transparency: The state comptroller’s office has awarded the water district three “Transparency Stars” for going above and beyond in its public transparency efforts. The district has been recognized in the areas of contracts and procurements, traditional finances and debt obligation.

The efforts place it amongst the highest-rated special districts in the State of Texas. The district expects to apply for two additional transparency stars in the coming months.

Environmental stewardship: In January, the Central City Flood Control Project, known as Panther Island, was awarded $403 million for the design and construction of the Trinity River bypass channel that will ultimately protect more than 2,400 acres of established neighborhoods and more than $2.5 billion in property behind the floodway levees currently at risk.

We owe U.S. Reps. Kay Granger and Marc Veasey our thanks for helping secure this funding.

Concurrently, the water district has removed roughly 400,000 tons of hazardous materials on more than two dozen properties north of downtown to improve the health and safety of our community.

Internal governance: Water district board members revamped and adopted new governance policies strengthening how the board governs itself and the general manager. In addition, they established new hiring and personnel policies at all levels of the organization.

Change in legal counsel structure: Buhman hired Stephen Tatum as the first in-house general counsel in the water district’s history. Tatum reports directly to the general manager and advises the board of directors and executive staff.

Core function: The Tarrant water district and the city of Dallas Water Utilities recently celebrated the completion of the joint portion of the Integrated Pipeline Project that connects both suppliers to existing water resources in East Texas. The $2.3 billion project, one of the largest infrastructure projects in the nation, gives two of the state’s largest water suppliers the ability to bring an additional 350 million gallons of water a day back to Dallas-Fort Worth.

The water district not just met but exceeded goals for contracting with minority- and women-owned firms in connection with this project.

It is time we recognize the water district for these efforts. Led by Buhman and supported by the board and all of the hard-working folks there, the organization has made major strides in the right direction.

The Tarrant Regional Water District plans, builds and maintains complex infrastructure to ensure we have clean drinking water every day, and it is highly-regarded as an industry leader in its field. If the past 10-months are indicative of Buhman’s leadership, it’s time this community stops focusing on the past and gives Buhman and his team our strong support.