Grapevine's aging wastewater treatment plant has needed upgrades for more than two years, but the city hasn't been able to find a contractor willing to do the work at a reasonable price. Officials are changing their approach.
The City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 4, approved a contract of up to $230,000 with Plummer Associates Inc. to repackage the project's bid documents and help the city find a construction manager at risk, or CMAR, to oversee the $13.5 million improvement project. The item appeared as a standalone business item on the council's agenda under Ordinance No. 2026-058. The vote tally was not available as of Thursday, Aug. 6; official minutes have not been published.
What changes for ratepayers
Under the CMAR model, subcontractors bid on individual portions of the project rather than the whole thing. Beck said that could help the city get better pricing and allows officials to reject an uncompetitive bid on one piece of work without scrapping the entire project.
A different engineering firm created the original design documents. Plummer Associates will repackage those plans and assist staff in selecting the construction manager.
The $230,000 engineering contract is funded through the city's utility enterprise fund. The larger construction project will be funded through debt the council authorized in May 2026, when it approved issuing up to $30 million in certificates of obligation for water and wastewater plant projects.
What the project covers
The improvements span all three of the plant's treatment trains:
- Replacing sand disk filters on Train 1 to match Trains 2 and 3
- Replacing leaking air lines on Trains 2 and 3, which increase energy costs and allow dirt into the aeration basin diffusers
- Installing pumping and piping around the plant perimeter to move effluent to clarifiers and supply non-potable water
- Replacing electrical systems tied to the other improvements
The leaking air lines are an ongoing operational problem. The leaks drive up energy usage and damage equipment in the aeration basins.
What's next
City staff plan to bring the CMAR contract and a guaranteed maximum price contract back to council at a future meeting. No date has been announced for that vote.
