The Tarrant Regional Water District, which supplies water to more than 70 customers across 11 North Texas counties—including Fort Worth, Arlington and Mansfield—has put forward a budget that would raise both its property‑tax rate and its raw‑water sales price for fiscal year 2027.
Proposed tax increase
Board directors are set to vote on a new tax levy of $0.0273 per $100 of property valuation, up from $0.0265 in 2026. The increase represents a 3.88% change and would generate roughly $33.24 million in additional tax revenue. Those funds are earmarked for flood‑control maintenance, recreation assets such as Trinity Trails, Twin Points Park and Airfield Falls, and the ongoing $1.6 billion Central City/Panther Island flood‑control project that will create bypass channels to protect Northside and downtown Fort Worth.
Raw‑water rate adjustment
The district also proposes raising the price it charges for raw water from $1.43 to $1.50 per thousand gallons, a 5.4% increase. The higher rate is projected to bring in about $205 million in sales revenue, helping to cover operating costs, maintenance of the 260‑mile pipeline network, and capital improvements.
Why the changes are needed
General manager Dan Buhman told board members in July that the district is entering a “heavy delivery phase” of capital projects. Population growth is expected to double the service area’s demand—from 2.5 million today to 5 million people by 2080—accounting for roughly 72% of the capital‑improvement budget over the next five years. At the same time, nearly half of the district’s short‑term capital spending will go toward replacing aging infrastructure, including pipelines that are more than 50 years old and reservoirs approaching a century of service.
Statewide, Texas loses an estimated 572,000 acre‑feet of water each year—about 186 billion gallons—through leaky pipes, underscoring the urgency of the district’s asset‑management plan.
Key projects funded by the proposed increase
- Marty Leonard Wetlands at Cedar Creek Reservoir, which will filter treated wastewater and return it to the lake for municipal use.
- Mary’s Creek Water Reclamation Facility, slated to treat roughly 166 million gallons per day by 2028 in partnership with the City of Fort Worth.
- Continued construction of the integrated pipeline to the Richland‑Chambers Reservoir in East Texas.
A public hearing on the tax proposal is scheduled for September 10, with a board vote set for September 15. Residents can view the district’s taxing boundaries on its Flood Protection website.
Impact on local families
Higher property taxes and water rates will affect homeowners and businesses throughout the district’s service area. While the district emphasizes transparency about the need for these adjustments, it also pledges to keep costs as low as possible while safeguarding flood‑control infrastructure that protects neighborhoods and recreational spaces that families rely on.
Original reporting: Fort Worth Report — read the source article.
