TRWD closes out Lake Palestine Pump Station Package 1, secures $1.2M in credits

TRWD closes out Lake Palestine Pump Station Package 1, secures $1.2M in creditsThe Tarrant Regional Water District board approved final payment to BAR Constructors for the completion of the Lake Palestine Pump Station Intake and Wetwell, alongside a pair of credit change orders that reduced overall project costs.

The board approved a $1.17 million final payment to BAR Constructors, closing out the $54.1 million Package 1 contract for the intake and wetwell.

A reconciliation change order for Package 1 returned $691,100 to the district for unused work items and allowances.

The board also approved a $531,050 credit change order for Package 2 of the pump station by allowing an alternate ASME RTP-1 storage tank for sodium hydroxide.

Package 2 construction, which involves building the pump station on top of the completed wetwell, is currently underway.

The Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) board officially closed out the first package of the Lake Palestine Pump Station project on July 21, 2026, approving final payment and a significant credit change order for the completed intake and wetwell. The board authorized a final payment and release of retainage totaling $1,175,436 to BAR Constructors, Inc., bringing the final contract amount for Package 1 to $54,114,883. The package, which was successfully completed on June 1, involved the construction of the wetwell, intake channel, and foundational piers. As part of the closeout, the district approved a reconciliation change order that credited $691,100 back to the TRWD. The credit accounted for unused work items, extra work items, and allowances, including funds originally set aside for unexpected geotechnical conditions, county road repair, and drilled piers. TRWD staff noted that final restoration activities around the pump station, such as topsoil replacement and hydroseeding, were deferred to Package 2 to prevent damage during the transition between construction phases. In a separate action regarding Package 2 of the Lake Palestine Pump Station, the board approved an additional $531,050 credit change order with BAR Constructors. The savings were achieved by revising contract specifications to allow an alternate ASME RTP-1 storage tank for sodium hydroxide. TRWD IPL Program Manager Ed Weaver explained that the alternate fiberglass tank provides the same material quality and performance without the need for a costly third-party certification inspection. "When we did Cedar Creek, we had a certification inspection, and it was just basically a report observation by a third party. $500,000 for that," Weaver said. "We're requesting to waive the third-party inspection. It's the same tank, same manufacturing process, same testing." The approval reduces the Package 2 contract amount to $130,560,478. Weaver confirmed that construction on Package 2 has already begun, with crews starting foundation work for the pump station that will sit atop the newly completed wetwell.