Water has become the hottest topic in Texas to start the year, and we haven’t even entered the summer months. Georgetown enacted a $291 million plan to make sure it doesn’t run out of water, Jacob’s Well is set to be closed to swimming for a fourth-straight year and Corpus Christi is fending off a state takeover if its water crisis doesn’t improve. Meanwhile, one of the fastest-growing cities in Texas is investing hundreds of millions to protect its residents from future water threats.
Fort Worth is putting nearly half a billion dollars toward a new water reclamation facility intent on supporting the growing western portion of the city. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) finally approved a permit for the Mary’s Creek Water Reclamation Facility on August 12, 2025, seven years after the city first filed for the permit. Now Fort Worth has submitted plans with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), revealing the scope of the project.
What is a water reclamation facility?
A water reclamation facility cleans water that flows down drains in homes and businesses so it can be used for “beneficial purposes.” The City of Fort Worth highlighted examples of reclaimed water use, including irrigation water for lawns, landscaping, and athletic fields, as well as commercial and industrial use.
“At the Mary’s Creek plant, as much of the treated water as possible will be conveyed directly to customers as reclaimed water, with the remainder of the treated water being discharged into Mary’s Creek,” the City of Fort Worth writes. “The expanded use of reclaimed water is a critical part of Fort Worth’s future water supply.”…