The Integrated Pipeline Project: What Tarrant Regional Water District’s Raw Water Supply Plan Means for Fast Growing Western Suburbs

What is the Integrated Pipeline Project?

It is a regional raw water line, not a local water system. According to TRWD's Integrated Pipeline Project page, the line is a joint project of TRWD and Dallas Water Utilities. It carries water from Lake Palestine, with added water from Cedar Creek and Richland-Chambers reservoirs and from two East Texas reuse projects.

TRWD reports that the line adds up to 350 million gallons per day of capacity into the Metroplex. The partners share some costs, but each one's water stays separate, and each handles its own final connections. TRWD says building one line together instead of two was the point of the partnership.

Two phases are done and three remain. TRWD says Phases 1 and 2 are complete and performing as expected, and it expects the remaining three phases to be finished by 2032. That date is TRWD's published target, not a date any single development can plan around without checking.

Who actually serves water to a western suburb site?

Usually not TRWD. TRWD is a raw water supplier. Its own site names Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield and the Trinity River Authority as its primary wholesale customers. Those customers treat the water, then sell it at retail or wholesale it again to smaller cities and utilities.

A site in a fast growing western suburb is often three or four steps away from the pipeline:

1. TRWD delivers raw water to a wholesale customer.
2. The wholesale customer treats it at its own plant.
3. A transmission main carries treated water to the retail system that serves your area.
4. The retail system's storage, pump stations and mains deliver it to your meter and hydrants.

Each step has its own owner, capacity and capital plan. Good news at step 1 says little about step 4.

Which links in the chain usually limit a new development?

Local links, not regional supply. In growth corridors, the usual constraint is a transmission main, a storage tank or a pressure plane that was sized for the last wave of growth. Treatment plant capacity can also lag if an expansion is still in design.

TCEQ sets minimums that make these links measurable. Under 30 TAC §290.45(b)(2), a surface water system needs treatment capacity of 0.6 gpm per connection and total storage of 200 gallons per connection. A system with more than 2,500 connections needs elevated storage of 100 gallons per connection.

Those are floor values for drinking water only. §290.45(a) states that they do not include fire flow capacity, which is added on top.

How does fire flow change the picture?

Fire flow is often the binding number. A main that carries domestic demand with room to spare can fall short when a commercial building or multifamily project needs a high fire flow.

The pressure test is in 30 TAC §290.44(d). A system must keep 35 psi at all points at 1.5 gpm per connection, and a system that provides firefighting capacity must hold 20 psi under combined fire and drinking water flow. A hydraulic model of your site against the provider's system answers that question. Our post on fire flow analysis for a Texas subdivision walks through the method.

Does it matter who holds the retail service area?

Yes, and it is the first thing to check. In the western counties, a site can sit inside a city's system, a special utility district, a water supply corporation, or a private utility's certificated service area. The holder of that service area decides the terms of service, not the wholesale supplier.

Ask for the provider's written service availability letter for your actual program: units or building area, peak demand, and required fire flow. A general "service is available" note confirms that a main exists. It does not confirm capacity. Our water and wastewater due diligence work is built around getting that letter right.

How should a phased project plan around regional and local timelines?

Match each phase to the infrastructure that will serve it. Early phases may run on today's mains and tanks. Later phases may depend on a tank, a pump station or a transmission main that is still in the provider's capital plan.

Build a phase-by-phase demand table and compare it with the provider's capital improvement plan. Where a needed project is scheduled later than your phase, you have three choices: change the phasing, fund the improvement under the provider's cost participation rules, or wait. Regional planning is public in the Region C regional water plan, which covers the Tarrant County area and lists strategies such as the pipeline.

What are the limits of this guide?

This is general education based on public sources from TRWD, TCEQ and the Texas Water Development Board as of October 2026. Pipeline phase dates are TRWD's published targets and can change. Service terms, cost participation and capacity are set by each provider, so confirm them for your site in writing.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Integrated Pipeline Project serve my site directly?

Almost certainly not. It delivers raw water into the TRWD and Dallas Water Utilities systems. Your site is served by a retail provider that buys treated water from a wholesale customer or treats its own.

When will the Integrated Pipeline Project be finished?

TRWD reports that Phases 1 and 2 are complete and that it expects the remaining three phases to be done by 2032. Check TRWD's project page for the current status.

I'm buying 300 acres west of Fort Worth for a master planned community. The seller says water is "no problem" because of the new pipeline. What should I ask before closing?

Identify who holds retail service rights for the tract. Then ask that provider, in writing, for capacity at your connection point for each phase, including fire flow. Ask which tanks, pump stations and mains serve the area, and whether any are in its capital plan. Ask how cost participation works if you need an upgrade.

Is regional raw water supply ever the limit?

It can be during a severe drought, when wholesale suppliers apply drought contingency stages. For most development decisions, though, the local treatment, transmission and storage links decide whether and when you get service.

What TCEQ rules set minimum water system capacity?

30 TAC §290.45 sets production, storage and pumping minimums per connection, and §290.44(d) sets the 35 psi and 20 psi pressure tests. Fire flow is in addition to the §290.45 minimums.

Related resources

• Water Supply Planning for Master Planned Communities in Tarrant County: What Developers Get Wrong
• Wastewater Capacity in Fort Worth’s ETJ: What Happens When the City Won’t Annex Your Development
• Water Line Replacement in Dallas: What Developers Need to Know About Aging Mains
• What a Utility Feasibility Study Actually Tells You, and When to Get One

Not sure your western Tarrant County site has water service it can count on?

We trace the full chain from wholesale supply to your hydrant and tell you which link sets your schedule.

We specialize in:

• Water and wastewater due diligence for land acquisition
• Service availability requests and provider coordination
• Hydraulic modeling and fire flow analysis
• Water storage and pressure zone design
• Phased utility master planning for large developments
• Water distribution and transmission main design

Modern Engineering Solutions, McKinney, Texas. Contact: (214) 833-6748 or mod-eng.com