Timeline Accelerates to Bring Water And Wastewater Utilities to Dallas’ ‘Unserved Areas’

In areas long served by wells and septic tanks, the promise of access to city utilities has been just out of reach. However, that could change — and fast — as the City of Dallas moves aggressively to bring water and sewer service to these areas.

In a Wednesday briefing, Dallas Water Utilities Director Terry Lowery noted that Dallas City Council Districts 8 and 3 have the most unserved areas. There are just “a couple” of unserved areas in Districts 9 through 14, she added. 

Forty-seven occupied areas that need utility upgrades were identified in 2020. The work will cost the city about $34 million and is being funded through an increased contribution from DWU to the Street and Alley Repair Fund, along with American Rescue Plan Act funds, officials said.

Originally scheduled to be a 10-year project, the contribution of the ARPA funds now allows for completion in 2026, said DWU Assistant Director Sarah Standifer. 

City Manager T.C. Broadnax summarized a 72-page report on the program during Wednesday’s briefing. 

“These areas have been tracked since the late 1990s, and rather than wait on redevelopment initiatives, a program was launched to serve areas where customers were living and working,” he said. 

Additional funds were authorized to assist customers in retrofitting and connecting the city’s newest infrastructure, the city manager added. 

DWU, Public Works, and the Housing & Neighborhood Revitalization Department have partnered to ensure the most cost-effective, expedited delivery, Broadnax said. 

Tracking Dallas Water Utilities’ Unserved Areas

Lowery reviewed the program’s history and how the utilities are being implemented. 

“The first steps on this were undertaken in 1998,” she said. “At that point in time, there were 125 unserved areas in the Dallas city limits that either had no water, wastewater, or no water and wastewater provided by the city. In 2020, we did an update and took a deeper dive into this to see where we were,”

Septic systems in the state are overseen by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and Dallas County is their representative for permitting and inspection of systems. 

“Working with their data and our GIS data, we’ve been able to determine that there are at least 457 septic systems in Dallas,” Lowery said. “We are designing the Unserved Areas Program to eliminate as many of those as possible. Due to topography, there will be some septic systems that we’re not able to put on city infrastructure.” 

The original concept was to prioritize and rank the 47 unserved areas based on cost-benefit, quality of life, and the presence of other city initiatives and projects. For example, if an area was already identified as being in a revitalization zone or the Comprehensive Housing Policy, it got more points. 

How Unserved Areas Underline Racial Equity

District 3 Councilman Casey Thomas said the update is particularly important for residents in his area and District 8, some of whom have waited decades for an infrastructure upgrade. 

“It’s a really good opportunity once again for us to not just talk about racial equity but to show racial equity,” he said. “Some of these areas have been intentionally unserved, not that anyone who’s here now played a role in that, but we’re here to fix it now.” 

District 8 Councilman Tennell Atkins also emphasized that he wanted equity to be a priority as upgrades are made. He asked for more information on how residents can connect to city infrastructure and qualify for neighborhood revitalization programs. 

“Can you make sure that all the council members that have houses [in their districts] that are on septic tanks, that we know where they are?” Atkins asked city staff. “I also want to make sure my staff knows so we can contact people and let them know financial assistance is available.” 

Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn King Arnold said she was shocked at how many homes are still on septic tanks. 

“I know there are many who find it hard to believe [that some residents are without city water and wastewater] in Big D,” she said. “I was one of them. I was actually shocked to find out we still have that disparity.”

The next steps for the Water and Wastewater Services Unserved Areas Program include completing designs for all unserved areas, awarding construction contracts for the project work plans, and finalizing a homeowner assistance program.