WOODWAY, Texas (KXXV) — The City of Woodway is spending nearly $500,000 to replace old water lines, a project that leaders say will improve water pressure and fire response times.
City leaders are moving forward with another round of waterline upgrades, part of a years-long plan to replace old 2-inch lines with larger 6- and 8-inch pipes.
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"The main thing we'll do is provide better pressure overall, and then the, the 2 inch lines are actually not large enough to support fire hydrants, and so we'll upgrade some locations with newer fire hydrants as part of this project as well," Woodway Director of Community Services Mitch Davidson said.
For Woodway Public Safety, the upgrade could make a real difference during emergency calls. Larger lines help fire trucks operate more efficiently without putting as much strain on the equipment.
"Going from a 2 inch to a 6 inch water line is really beneficial for our operational efficiency. It helps our fire trucks work less hard on the scene. So in essence we don't have to turn them up as hard because we have so much more natural power coming through those 6 inch lines," Khalil El-Halabi with Woodway Public Safety said.
El-Halabi told me that doesn't just help firefighters in the moment, it could also extend the life of the city's trucks and hoses over time.
"Going from 2 to 6 inches is, is really a, a, a blessing to also our machinery and the, and the lifespan of our, of our, uh, trucks as well and our hoses as well, um, so it's, it's a, it's a win-win for our organization, I believe," El-Halabi said.
Davidson told me the nearly $500,000 project is part of a long-term plan where the city sets aside money from residents' city water bills each year for infrastructure improvements. Competitive bidding also helped lower the price.
"It's, it's been a long-term project for the city. We started this, we looked, actually looked about 2013 was our first one, so it's just kind of progressively working our way through the city and the city council's been budgeting a set amount of money every year and then after we get a certain amount saved up, we will do another project," Davidson said.
"We went to council last night. We, we opened bids a couple of weeks ago and so council was awarding that contract last night. So now we'll actually get the contract signed and, and move forward with the project," Davidson said.
City development leaders told me the project should take about two months to complete, with some temporary street closures expected along the way.
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