FORT WORTH, TX — The Upper Trinity Regional Water District (UTRWD) has selected planning, engineering, and program management firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) to serve as general engineering consultant for the Lake Ralph Hall Conveyance System along with Plummer, Halff Associates, and CP&Y.

Lake Ralph Hall, named after the longtime congressman Ralph Hall from Rockwall, will be one of Texas’ newest lakes. The reservoir, one of the state’s biggest water supply projects in nearly 30 years, will be built in southeast Fannin County on the North Sulphur River, and will provide essential water for an area whose population is projected to increase nearly fivefold in the next 50 years. The $490-million project, once complete, will provide an additional 54 million gallons per day (MGD) of treated water for the residents of Denton, Collin, and Fannin counties.

As part of the effort to connect this new lake with its current infrastructure, UTRWD is building a raw water conveyance system. The conveyance system includes a raw water pump station, 32 miles of pipeline, and a new balancing reservoir. The raw water pipeline will stretch from Lake Ralph Hall to a proposed interconnection with existing infrastructure in Collin County. The first phase of the conveyance system, currently under design, will provide 42.5 MGD of raw water.

The LAN team will finalize the pipeline alignment to help UTRWD secure the necessary rights-of-way for future construction, maintenance, and operation of the conveyance system. In addition, LAN will develop the conceptual design for the overall hydraulic system, comprising the pump station, pipeline, balancing reservoir, and interconnection. LAN will also collaborate with UTRWD to determine how these systems will work together. Plummer will provide supporting services to develop the conceptual design of the balancing reservoir and pipeline interconnection. Halff Associates and CP&Y will provide surveying services to support property acquisition.

“Lake Ralph Hall is an exciting project that will help meet the water demands of one of the fastest growing regions in the country,” said Justin Reeves, PE, LAN’s Vice President. “The lake has been in planning and development for more than 20 years and, once complete, will bring both environmental and economic benefits for the North Sulphur River area.”

Conceptual design of the first phase of the Lake Ralph Hall conveyance system will be completed later this year before advancing the project to final design early in 2021. Construction of various conveyance system elements is scheduled to begin in late 2022 with the lake planned to be operational in 2025.