Town of Flower Mound Public Works staff presented a utilities-focused work session on Oct. 20 highlighting water and wastewater production volumes, stormwater and drainage responsibilities, asset-management priorities and current staffing shortages.

Public Works Assistant Director Brian Waltonburg and other staff described the townwide volume of treated water and wastewater, system accomplishments, ongoing SCADA and physical-security upgrades, and the department’s priority to improve asset-management data and preventive maintenance. Staff said the town delivered roughly 5.3 billion gallons of potable water townwide in the most recent 12-month period; the wastewater treatment volume cited during the presentation (about 1.6 billion gallons) covered the East-side treatment plant and does not include west-side treatment volumes.

Staff outlined efforts to reduce inflow and infiltration in sanitary lines, to expand reuse systems for irrigation in new areas (Lakeside reuse and Denton Creek reuse), and to deploy GIS and CityWorks software improvements to better track assets and work orders. The department reported more than 9,000 laboratory tests annually, top national benchmark scores for some wastewater and stormwater services, and completion of a multi-year SCADA security enhancement project roughly 60% complete.

Council and staff discussed several operational challenges: an increase in service-line leaks tied to aging materials installed in the late 1990s, a backlog of roughly 300 utility work orders and preventative-maintenance tasks, and 13 current vacancies in Public Works utilities (nine in utility line maintenance, two in utility operations and two in stormwater). Staff said many vacancies are for equipment-operator roles that require CDLs and field training; staff and the town manager said recruitment is ongoing and noted employees often obtain marketable skills that make retention and rapid replacement difficult.

Council members asked about reuse as an irrigation strategy to reduce potable-water use for landscaping, and about safety in scenarios where a single operator staffs a treatment plant overnight. Staff said graveyard-shift operators typically remain in a control room and are on-call; the chief operator and manager receive after-hours notices and staff are required to call back at intervals when in the field. Council members urged formalizing response protocols and cited an objective to fund additional overnight staffing in the future to address safety concerns.

Staff said several decision-package requests tied to utilities may be brought forward in future budget cycles, including additional utility-line maintenance positions, a second overnight plant operator for safety, and equipment replacements tied to condition assessments. The department said hiring an asset-management analyst and improving CityWorks usage will be priorities to quantify preventive-maintenance ROI and to better target investments in infrastructure replacement and rehabilitation.

Council did not take formal action during the work session; staff said they will return with more detailed proposals and budget requests tied to the asset-management program and to staffing needs.