This is not a history book. This is the story of water in Mansfield, past and present.
WHY WATER? If you’re a nerd, you’ll love all of the quirkiness of the molecule itself. If you’re a nature lover, you may have memories of kayaking or camping by a water body. Yoga studios and spas love the zen sound of water. Love food? Water helped make it. Love health? Water helped clean it. Why Water? Water connects a community and it does so behind the scenes. You rarely notice it, and yet life’s routine gets complicated without it. Water IS the fabric of our lives. Water is in your coffee every morning. Water is in your pet’s bowl at home. Water is in your teenager’s shower that runs too long. Water is in your kids’ water bottles at their sporting events. Water IS life...and not in the touchy feely “we’d all die without it” way. Water is literally life. Every single day, from the moment we wake up to the moment we get ready for bed, water is there. This book was made by people who love water. We love water as an element, water as an industry, water as a place of employment, and water as a community. We love water, from the raw water in our drinking water sources—Cedar Creek Lake and Richland Chambers Lake—to the water at Bud Ervin Water Treatment Plant, to the men and women in the field—right now, as you read this—ensuring that safe, clean water comes from your tap and that wastewater safely leaves your home to be treated. We love water. For your family, and for ours. For your family, from ours. 2017 marks 100 years of water service in Mansfield. We hope you enjoy the water story we have to tell.
- CITY OF MANSFIELD WATER UTILITIES
EARTH. Ironic name for a planet that is 71 percent
molecules is much weaker—20 times weaker. It means
water. From space there seems such an abundance
the very chemical nature of the water molecule makes
of water that it’s hard to believe this planet could ever
it susceptible to contamination. The water molecule
face a water crisis. And yet, much of the world faces a
has a deep love for making bonds, but it’s a blind love
water crisis. You may be familiar with the quote “water,
that may lead it to make bonds with things that are
water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” It was written
poisonous. Slightly less scary, but just as detrimental,
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his work “The Rime of
it may bond with things that make it undrinkable
the Ancient Mariner.” Of all the water on earth, only
such as salt.
three percent is freshwater. The rest is saltwater, which cannot readily be used for human consumption. The
These things don’t cross our minds often in America. Safe, clean water is the standard. This is not the case for much of the world. “Clean enough” is sufficient motivation to walk miles a day in order to find water. “Any water will do” is the standard in much of the world. What kind of problems arise when an increasing population depends upon a finite resource? Pollution and scarcity. According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, 2.1 billion people lack access to safe, readily available water at home, and 4.5 billion lack
salt in saltwater actually causes your body to become
access to safely managed sanitation. Dirty water
more dehydrated. There are processes which remove
is responsible for more deaths in the world then all
salt from seawater such as desalination, however its
violence including war. Much of the world’s population
use in the U.S. has been limited due to high cost. Which
acutely feels the visceral burden of one percent.
brings us back to that three percent of freshwater, the water we depend upon.
WHAT DOES ONE PERCENT MEAN TO AMERICA? While America does have its issues,
Three percent includes ALL freshwater which means the
such as the crisis in Flint, Michigan, most Americans
water in the atmosphere and the water in glaciers, ice
are immune to the water crisis. Even during the worst
caps, and groundwater. These sources are not readily
drought years, aside from irrigation restrictions, most of
available for drinking water. So where does that leave
us go about life unfettered. Maps of the U.S., including
us? What percent of the water on Earth do it’s 7.5
Texas, are marked by meandering rivers and lakes of
billion inhabitants have to share? Not only with each
all sizes. Looks can be deceiving. Did you know that
other but with all other living things on the planet.
there is only one naturally-formed lake in the state of
ONE PERCENT FOR ALL. One percent to drink. One percent to bathe. One percent to irrigate. One percent to live. One percent for all life. One. If that number alone doesn’t give you pause to think a little more about water
the same amount of water “onThere’s Earth as there was when it was formed. It stays the same, and yet it is always changing. Solid, liquid, gas; and just like water, our lives can change form too and we can become something else entirely. Scott Harrison Charity: Water
”
Texas? Caddo Lake holds that distinction while all other lakes in Texas are manmade for the primary purpose of flood control and drinking water reservoirs. So what does one percent mean to Mansfield? Nestled between behemoths like Dallas
maybe this will: water is a flirt. What does that mean?
and Fort Worth, Mansfield seems far removed from the
While the covalent bond within the water molecule
challenges posed by a world sharing one percent of all
is very strong and tight, the hydrogen bond between
water on the planet. At Mansfield Water Utilities, the
number that rings in our ears is 50 percent. That is the percentage
WATER MAKES US A COMMUNITY. It connects us to our
increase in the water demand during the summer months primarily
neighbors, both inside and outside political and geographical
attributed to outdoor irrigation. Population growth impacts a city’s
boundaries and jurisdictions. Water makes us a community
water use, but there is another “p” word that affects it even more.
through the shared resource, the shared impacts, the shared
PEAKING. If you’re imagining a mountain peak like Mount Everest, you’re on the right track. Our Mount Everest is a single day, usually around the end of August, when the Texas summer heat and infrequent rainfall has really settled in and made itself at home. Our Mount Everest is the highest data point on our water production line graph. It’s the day the Bud Ervin Water Treatment Plant is designed to accommodate. We don’t reach Mount Everest but once a year, but our plant has to be ready to reach that summit regardless. We want people to use water. We want people to enjoy it. We just don’t want people to waste it. We don’t want to take it for granted. Life’s heartbeat isn’t measured by the thunderous booms in the skies during our infamous Texas storms. It is measured by the
The Trinity River faint trickle of the rivers, creeks, lakes, and streams that carry our lifeblood; the same trickle that continues in the infrastructure beneath the surface, the arteries that pump this simple, magic liquid out to our extremities—our cities, and our towns. The veins that pump it back to the heart, the treatment plants, to be purified and released back from whence it came. Our fate lies with that trickle, drowned out by the hustle and bustle of the everyday. And yet, a few of us have our ears to the ground, interpreting the stories told by those ancient drops.
infrastructure, the shared health and quality of our water. The shared stories of weekends, holidays, and special occasions marked by celebrations near and around water. The confluence of these shared facets of our lives’ connection with water creates a story of our community and of our beloved town turned full-fledged city. Intermingled in this flow of history is the story of water. The history of water in Mansfield has a 100-year story. These pages tell that story through a shared history; from its humble beginnings at the lone well on Water Street to the 45.5 million gallon-a-day, technologically advanced Bud Ervin Water Treatment Plant. It’s a familiar story to anyone with small town roots, but a story unique to Mansfield all the same.
A SINGLE DROP OF WATER SEEMS INSIGNIFICANT, AND YET WHEN ENOUGH COME TOGETHER THESE DROPS ARE POWERFUL ENOUGH TO CARVE A CHASM INTO THE EARTH VISIBLE FROM SPACE. Rivers, creeks, lakes— these collections of ancient drops served as clear determinants of life for early explorers, pioneers, and settlers. Like most stories in history, Mansfield’s story begins with a water source. So where does our water come from? Mansfield sits 67 miles northwest of its raw water supply, Richland Chambers and Cedar Creek Lakes. These lakes are owned and operated by the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD), whose massive 72-inch and 90-inch pipelines carry millions of gallons of raw water against gravity, every day to north Texas. TRWD owns four major reservoirs that provide the drinking water supply for 2.1 million people in Tarrant County. This number grows each year, as this area continues to be one of the fastest growing regions in the country. The shared water in our lakes connects us to the other communities depending upon them for their supply. It connects us to all the communities around our lakes, whose stormwater runoff drains to them and who we rely upon to keep our water source clean. Water is, the epitome of “location, location, location.” We see this in the forged paths of the New World explorers. Even the dinosaurs, who drank the very same water we do now, depended upon a water source. We see this in our very own founding fathers, Ralph Man and Julian Feild, who left Fort Worth to find a new place for their grist mill when drought caused the water to run dry.
Spillway at Richland Chambers Reservoir
RALPH SANDIFORD MAN PUT THE MAN IN MANSFIELD, QUITE LITERALLY. He left Charleston in 1847 and arrived in Harrison County, Texas, three years later. In 1854, he moved to Fort Worth. With his partners Julian Feild and David Mauck, he constructed
Ralph Man
the first water-powered mill in Fort Worth close to the confluence of the Clear Fork and the West Fork of the Trinity River. When the water source failed, Man moved to the Walnut Creek settlement in southeastern Tarrant County. In 1859, with help from local settlers and brickmaker S. W. A. Hook, he and Feild began construction of another mill, which was completed in 1860. This gristmill, still operating after the turn of the century, was powered first by horses, then water, and then steam.
Julian Feild
The water works of Mansfield consisted of a pump and an old cypress tank on the property next to the old mill.
1909
The Mansfield water system consists of three water wells.
1940
The Bud Ervin Water Treatment Plant treats up to 45.5 million gallons per day. Richland Chambers and Cedar Creek reservoirs are the primary raw water sources.
Joe Pool Lake is developed. This lake receives the stormwater runoff from Mansfield. Currently, Joe Pool Lake serves as a reservoir for the City of Midlothian for their public water supply.
Water Street officially becomes Main Street.
SEPTEMBER 8
1958
1986
2017
1917
1956
1965
1973
1988
2011
Milton May Farr begins expansion of the city water infrastructure.
Water District’s long range water supply plan calls for construction of Cedar Creek and Richland Chambers reservoirs.
Mansfield operates five wells, with an estimated pumping capacity of 1.4 million gallons per day.
Cedar Creek pipeline is completed. Mansfield’s first surface water treatment plant is built. The plant can treat three million gallons a day.
The Richland-Chambers pipeline is completed.
Integrated Pipeline Agreement, which will add additional capacity from Richland Chambers and Cedar Creek.
Richland Chambers pipeline coming to Mansfield c.1988 DID YOU KNOW? The Tarrant Regional Water District
acres and can naturally treat up
operates the George W. Shannon
to 90 million gallons a day. It also
Wetlands Water Reuse Project, just
serves as a habitat for native and
adjacent to the Richland Chambers
migratory wildlife. This includes
Reservoir. It was the first of its kind
240 species of birds that have
in the United States and serves as a
been known to flock to the wetlands
functional water supply alternative.
in numbers reaching as high as
The wetland project covers 2022
30,000 at certain times of the year.
THE JOURNEY OF MANSFIELD’S WATER BEGINS AT THE RESERVOIRS BUT CONTINUES ON A 67-MILE JOURNEY, AGAINST GRAVITY, TO THE BUD ERVIN WATER TREATMENT PLANT. In the world of water, quantity and quality are mutually exclusive. Quality is a moot point if you have zero quantity, but it’s just as detrimental if the quantity you have is poor quality. Especially if the quality is beyond what technology can economically treat. Drinking water treatment connects us, the water utility, to our city because we hold the health of our community in our hands every day, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When that water is used, and leaves our homes and businesses to be cleaned, that treatment process connects us to our neighbors, both in Mansfield and beyond. Everything we flush down the toilet or put down a drain has to be treated before it can be returned to the Trinity River outside of Dallas at the Trinity River Authority Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. Every community that relies on the Trinity River as a water source depends upon our stewardship of this resource for the health of their own community. What we do in Mansfield impacts what people are drinking down the river in Houston. Stormwater quality connects us even further. Everything that goes down a storm drain flows to our rivers, creeks, streams, and ultimately to our lakes, without being treated. Anything put on the ground ends up in our waterways. Stormwater in Mansfield drains to Joe Pool Lake. And while we don’t directly pull from it for our raw water source, the people in Midlothian do. Fortunately, the water quality of our primary water sources, Richland Chambers and Cedar Creek, is so high that it makes the treatment process more efficient and effective. In fact, the quality is so high that water piped into Richland Chambers directly from the Trinity River has to be treated by traversing through a manmade wetland directly adjacent to the lake before it is legally permitted to enter the lake. As Mansfield grew, the need for quality water treatment became more imperative. Mansfield continues to be at the forefront of treatment technology.
Bud Ervin Water Treatment Plant
WASTEWATER. Safe, clean drinking water is only half of the equation. The health of a community also depends on a sanitation system. In 1925, the city constructed its first sewer plant located at what is now Hardy Allmon
IN 1909, THE WATER WORKS OF MANSFIELD CONSISTED OF A PUMP AND AN OLD CYPRESS TANK ON THE PROPERTY NEXT TO THE OLD MILL.
park. In 1926, M.M. Farr installed the first sewage collection system. In 1950, a new $60,000 sewer system was installed with a $22,500 sewage disposal
It was operated by A.M Fowler, who had been improving and
plant on Walnut Creek at what is now Phillip Thompson
expanding the water system since 1904. The tank leaked
Soccer Fields.
water constantly across Broad Street, creating mud holes which were a problem for wagons and early automobiles.
In 1974, Mansfield entered the Central Regional Wastewater System (CRWS) operated by the Trinity River
In August 1917, the City Council granted Milton May Farr a
Authority (TRA). Wastewater from Mansfield still flows
50-year franchise agreement to operate the electric plant.
to the CRWS to be treated and then discharged to the
Soon after he supplied the city with electricity, he began to work on setting up the city’s water supply as we know it. The city functioned primarily on wells until late 1975 when the
Trinity River Authority Central Regional Wastewater System
Trinity River. As the city continues to grow, the south end of town will begin sending its wastewater to the TRA
Milton May Farr Annie Bell Brown Farr
Mountain Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant
city’s first surface water treatment plant went online. The facility
in Midlothian. This treatment plant discharges treated
was capable of treating three million gallons a day and consisted of
effluent to an unnamed stream that makes its way to Joe
a single-solids contact clarifier and two dual-media gravity filters.
Pool Lake.
Mansfield Water Treatment Plant Circa 1970s
STORMWATER. Mansfield’s stormwater drains to Walnut
Sewage Disposal Plant at what is Now Phillip Thompson Soccer Fields
Creek which flows into Joe Pool Lake, one of the water sources for Midlothian. Construction of Joe Pool began in 1977 and the lake was filled by June 1989. The lake is named after U.S.
BUD ERVIN WATER TREATMENT PLANT: A GEM OF MANSFIELD.
Representative Joe Pool from the Oak Cliff area of Dallas.
Mansfield is one of the few cities of its size in the DFW area to have its own water treatment plant. The Bud Ervin Water Treatment Plant (BEWTP) gives Mansfield ultimate control over the quality of the water residents consume. The foresight of water utilities staff and city management to build a surface water treatment plant eliminated Mansfield’s dependency on groundwater from the Trinity Aquifer, ensuring the city had adequate water supply to meet future demand. The investment in advanced technology such as membrane filtration and UV Advanced Oxidation has allowed BEWTP to increase treatment capacity without increasing the footprint of the plant. This has also allowed the plant to expand with population growth while prolonging the need to design and construct an additional water treatment plant.
DID YOU KNOW? The Clean Water Act of 1972 created the National
pet waste and nitrates from lawn fertilizers. Such
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System in order to
discharges even include yard clippings because
help address water pollution by regulating point
as they decompose in water ways, it uses up the
source discharges. In 1999, cities were required
dissolved oxygen in the water leading to fish kills
to obtain permits to discharge non-point sources
and algae blooms. All stormwater flows to our rivers,
to address the rise in water pollution from sources
creeks, and streams untreated.
that aren’t easily pinpointed, such as bacteria from
Mansfield Water Treatment Plant - 1988
FULL LAKES AND TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED TREATMENT PLANTS BECOME A MOOT POINT WITHOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE TO CARRY THAT WATER TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT. The culture of Mansfield Water Utilities is rooted in family. The organization is led by homegrown Director, Jeff Price, who began his career in water utilities out in the field 20 years ago. In April 2017, Mansfield Water Utilities received the Blue Legacy Award from the Texas Water Development Board in the area of public communication. This award can only be won once by a city. While it focused on communication efforts, it incorporated everyone and every process within the division. From the director to the night shift treatment plant operator, from the field personnel in the hole during a main break to the technician reading meters or to the employee collecting payment, the entire team holds a stake in the story. Lose but one employee and the story changes. The public educators are tasked with telling water’s story; to be authentic and creative, always team oriented, dedicated to leadership and excellence. The end goal? To be trusted allies to the community and to infuse the value of water into the Mansfield vernacular. Why do these stories matter? Why do we care? Without the community buy-in of the intangible notion of the value of water, the tangible—the infrastructure and the employees—don’t stand a chance. Water itself is only a piece of the equation to a thriving community. The greatest assets to a water utility are the men and women who work around the clock. They ensure the quality of the water and the integrity of the infrastructure that carries it to the homes and businesses that make our community what it is. This infrastructure, quite literally, connects us. A leak caused by aging water lines connects us. A contractor hitting a sewer line connects us. A neighbor flushing things they shouldn’t or pouring grease down the drain connects us. From the wells and wooden pipelines of the past to the treatment plants and PVC pipes of the present, the maintenance of our infrastructure has been the lifeblood of our community.
THE WATER PIONEERS OF MANSFIELD’S YESTERDAY TRULY PAVED THE WAY FOR ITS LEADERS OF TODAY. Mansfield Water Utilities strives for excellence, but this culture has been ingrained since the beginning into the men and women who dedicated their lives to water in Mansfield.
DID YOU KNOW?
A.M. Fowler has been dubbed the “Father of Water” in
Mansfield’s water treatment plant is called
today. Bud had the foresight to recognize
Mansfield. He pioneered the first water source in Mansfield
the Bud Ervin Water Treatment Plant (BEWTP).
the future needs of the community and to
in 1904 and operated the first pump and storage tank. More
It was renamed and dedicated to Bud Ervin
proactively meet those needs through multiple
wells were dug to meet demand, but soon it was clear that a
in 2011 upon completion of the phase four
expansions to the plant. His leadership brought
formal utility system was needed.
expansion. Bud Ervin was the water utilities
innovation and technology to BEWTP that has
director for 15 years until his retirement in
allowed Mansfield Water Utilities to be one step
2010. He worked for Mansfield Water Utilities
ahead of the city’s rapid growth. Bud was born
for 31 years and truly dedicated his life to
and raised in Mansfield and continues to be a
water. City Manager Clayton Chandler credits
leader in the community.
In August 1917, M.M. Farr added expanding and improving the city’s water supply system to his already lofty goals of bringing electricity and the Farr Best Theater to Mansfield. An electric well meant the ability to pump water to the community from its source. While this isn’t an official title, Mansfield Water Utilities would be amiss not to crown M.M. Farr as the “Father of Field Operations.” He gave his life to water. In 1950, according to his son, Mr. Farr experienced a heart attack while on a “trouble call” to shut off a water valve. He retired from the city in 1950, it’s assumed in order to recover from his medical condition, but unfortunately passed away on March 16, 1950. His son, Elbert Farr, was appointed City Engineer after his father retired.
Farr family, Elbert is on the Front Row, Second from the Left
Bud for building the water system we have
MANSFIELD WATER UTILITIES IS FORTUNATE TO HAVE ALWAYS HAD THE SUPPORT AND TRUST OF CITY MANAGEMENT. From City Manager Clayton Chandler to retired Assistant City Manager Chris Burkett, management continues to turn to the utilities staff for their expertise and guidance when water issues arise. It takes a team effort to ensure the health and sustainability of a utility and from management to engineering staff to crews in the field, Mansfield Water Utilities is fortunate to work with employees who are second to none.
Snapshot in Time: The Men & Women of Mansfield Water Utilities in 2017
WATER DOESN’T STOP AT THE BUD ERVIN WATER TREATMENT PLANT. It goes out to the community and drives the productivity and livelihood of many different industries and families. Many careers
DID YOU KNOW?
outside of water depend on it for survival. This was true
Byman Geyer started out as a farmer then began to drill for oil.
even as Mansfield was just getting started.
He moved to Mansfield in 1952 and realized water was the real
Blacksmiths, such as Mansfield’s Dunlap and Tims, used
money maker. He started Geyer Drilling Company in 1971. Byman Geyer is also known for bringing baseball to Mansfield. He
water to quench steel. Local cafes and meat markets, such as Huitt’s Café and Market, required ice to preserve meat products. Claude
worked with city officials and many others to set up what we know as Geyer Field.
Galloway’s ice house delivered 3,000 pounds of ice to Huitt’s every Friday.
Fun Fact With the invention of the residential icebox, ice plants began delivering door-to-door. Many towns saw ice delivery as a public utility, requiring utilities to provide ice to the public just like water, electricity and gas.
Earl Lamb, Byman Geyer & John McMillan, 1949
Historic Marker for Southland Ice Company Farming was typically the way of life back in the early 1900’s, but as the century turned, so did technology. Drilling for oil became the go-to profession for many. However, no matter how much oil a town has, if water isn’t a priority, then it will never grow or become sustainable.
Dunlap and Tims Blacksmith was located at Broad & First St.
Huitt’s Café and Market was located at 128 N. Main St.
YOU MAY NOT RECOGNIZE THE NAME JOHN PATRICK DAY, BUT YOU PROBABLY KNOW OF HIS FRIEND AMON CARTER. These two lobbied for the appropriation of
UNDER PRESSURE. Fire and water, as elements, may be as
funds for Joe Pool Lake. In the 1960’s, Day owned Day Drilling
the driving force behind any water system upgrade or improvement
Company, served as a city council member, mayor pro-tem, and
is for adequate fire protection. Fires were a common problem in
served on the water and sewer commission. He had the
the early days. Water was not readily available and buildings,
foresight to see the population growth in Mansfield and
which were often made of wood, quickly succumbed to the flames.
knew water would be at the top of priorities.
Mansfield purchased its first fire truck after a huge fire occurred on
opposite as night and day but they go hand in hand in regards to the public health and safety of a community. One can argue that
the west side of downtown. Even today, Mansfield Water Utilities is
IN A BIT OF A PICKLE: HOW MANSFIELD BECAME THE PICKLE CAPITAL OF TEXAS.
required to maintain a certain pressure in all 300 miles of water line throughout the city specifically for fire protection.
The Best Maid Products company began in the kitchen of Mildred and Jessie Otis Dalton, who lived in a small
Chester Robert “Check” Ball was previously a cattle drover and roughneck, but in the 1920-30s he found his calling as a water-well driller. (Photo 1913)
stone house in Mansfield. Mrs. Dalton’s homemade pies,
DID YOU KNOW?
mayonnaise, sandwich spread, and pickles were popular with the customers in her husband’s grocery in Fort Worth.
Silas S. Smithee was instrumental in getting
So popular that in 1926, they founded the Best Maid
water to the town for fire protection. He laid a
company. Today the company sells 50 million pounds of
two-inch water main through downtown. It had
pickles a year under the Best Maid and Del-Dixi brands.
five openings to connect a fire hose. The fire hose was 250 feet long and had to be wrapped around two pipes and carried like a stretcher.
Example of an early 1900’s fire plug. Used with Permission from the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum: Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | waterworksmuseum.org John Patrick Day & Family, 1941
The Dalton House in Mansfield
Best Maid Grocery, Fort Worth, TX
WATER IS THE KEY TO A COMMUNITY’S PUBLIC HEALTH. It seems commonplace today, but this simple molecule has been a thing of legends. Ponce De Leon traveled the world in search of the Fountain of Youth, a spring said to restore youth to anyone who drank from it. However, anyone who has been dehydrated knows the healing power of water. This magic is found not from an undiscovered mythical spring but straight from the tap. Our bodies are primarily made up of water. It’s necessary for us to replenish what we lose every day to stay healthy. You can survive three weeks without food, but only three days without water. And yet, while one could argue that all water is a fountain of life, the people of the past were keenly aware that water sometimes held unseen dangers. Typhoid, cholera, and other water-borne diseases once plagued the entire world and Mansfield was no exception. Much of the world is still impacted by water borne
“
The private sector has the ability to impact the bottom line. The public sector has the ability to impact people’s lives. Justin Snasel
illnesses. Water quality is relevant to both our source water and our treated water. In the early 1900s, the waterways across America were ridden with pollution. In June 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire...again. The burning river drew America’s attention and the Clean Water Act (1972) and Safe Drinking Water Act (1974), federal regulations that safeguard waters of the U.S., were enacted. It’s not always cheap, fun, or easy to follow the rules, but it’s the right thing to do in order to protect the water we all depend upon. Regulations dictate how a water utility treats water; how to test, when to test, what to test for, disinfection parameters, etc. Regulations also dictate how a community treats water during the day-to-day routines; what not to put down the storm drain, what to throw away, what to recycle, how to recycle potentially hazardous materials. Regulations connect us as they impact us all as a shared call to stewardship. We spend so much of our lives tied to technology. Doctors and therapists both stress the importance of getting up and out; up from your desk and outdoors. There is such a soothing quality to water, people flock to be around it, whether it’s lakes, rivers, the ocean or even a swimming pool. The buoyancy gives our bodies a brief respite from the weight of gravity. The soft babble of its footsteps give our minds a respite from the weight of our thoughts. Mental health is as important as the rest of the body. Protecting and respecting our water sources gives us a place to find some peaceful headspace. In Mansfield, making a water place a fun space is nothing new.
”
AS IS THE CASE IN ANY ORGANIZATION, MANSFIELD WATER UTILITIES IS ASKED PERIODICALLY FOR A LIST OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS. While the division does have
IN THE EARLY 1900S, MENTAL HEALTH MAY NOT HAVE BEEN A KEY FOCUS AREA FOR DOCTORS OF THE DAY. In 2017, maintaining balance in one’s life is
numerous projects, maintenance schedules, and the occasional
considered key to a person’s health, and being outdoors is one
award, our greatest accomplishment can be summed up in one
way many people achieve this balance.
sentence: we provide safe, clean drinking water and successfully remove wastewater to be treated. These sound like simple achievements, but these are luxuries that billions of people across the world lack. Polluted water and the lack of sanitation is not only deadly, it also stifles the education, the economy, and the hope of a community. Public health is the ultimate purpose of any water utility. Mansfield’s co-founder Julian Feild had close ties to public health as well. One of his sons, Julian Theodore Feild, practiced medicine in Mansfield from 1869 to 1873. His education began early, studying with Col. John Peter Smith (as in John Peter Smith hospital in Fort Worth) in a log house shanty in Fort Worth. Dr. Tedie, as he was called, was one of the
Fun Fact: The History of the Dixie Cup On railways, in schools and near the town wells, you could often find a cup dangling from a chain. This was known as the public drinking cup, common cup, or “little dipper.” This inconspicuous cup turned out to be a major carrier of disease, as little was known about germs and the spreading of disease through mucous. This small cup brought about the very first national drinking water regulations. On October 30, 1912, the federal government banned the use of the common cup on interstate train carriers. In 1908 a disposable paper cup, known as the “Health Kup” was invented to replace the common cup. Today, we know this as the Dixie Cup.
The Walnut Creek Linear Trails connects old Mansfield to new. Along the path, just past Walnut Creek Drive you can still find what many people know as “Red Bluff.” Although this natural landmark is nothing more than the worn face of a weathered bluff that Walnut Creek has carved out over time, Red Bluff feels like you’ve entered another world. For more than 100 years it has been a popular hangout to leave behind the hustle and bustle and relax and take in nature.
Walnut Creek Rocky Ford at Elmer W. Oliver Nature Park
find the universal elements enough; “toTofind the air and water exhilarating; to
first doctors to recognize the health value of the artesian water near Fort Worth.
Hawaiian Falls
He even advised its use as a means to prevent contracting typhoid fever. In that time, typhoid fever, cholera,
”
dysentery and dengue fever were prevalent due to the lack of sanitation and clean drinking water. It wasn’t until water chlorination began that many of these diseases were finally eradicated.
Jay Grow & Family, 1930
THANKS TO MR. JAY GROW, STUDENTS IN MANSFIELD DIDN’T HAVE TO USE A PUBLIC CUP BEGINNING AROUND 1914. Mr. Grow donated two water fountains to Mansfield Independent School District. He also laid the pipes, made the forms, and installed the fountains.
DID YOU KNOW? In excess of 80,000 soldiers died in The Civil War as a result of typhoid fever and dysentery.
be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter...to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life. John Burroughs
Red Bluff in Mansfield: Now & Then
RALPH MAN AND JULIAN FEILD LEFT FORT WORTH AND HEADED SOUTHEAST TO FIND WATER DURING THE DROUGHT. Mansfield’s humble beginnings bore a meager water footprint. After nearly 50 years, water demand in the 1940s still only necessitated three wells. It wasn’t until 1973 that the city required a surface water treatment plant, which could produce three million gallons of water a day. The Bud Ervin Water Treatment Plant, the current plant capable of producing 45.5 million gallons a day, is the great, great, great, great grandchild of that first plant. It has undergone four expansion projects to continually meet the growing demand. The annual water demand average for Mansfield is 11 million gallons a day. When the sprinkler systems turn on this jumps up to 21 million gallons a day. The “lawn” as we know it was first relished by the wealthy of Europe in the 18th century. As lawns became more popular, it became necessary to irrigate areas where rain could not maintain them. The first residential lawn sprinkler patent in the U.S. was registered in 1871. Since then, manicured lawns and the irrigation systems to sustain them have become mainstream, and in most places, mandatory for new homes. Efficient indoor and outdoor plumbing fixtures and irrigation components are helping to curb water waste, but good old fashioned human intervention and engagement continues to be the most impactful. Our demand on our shared water resources connects us to our neighbors and to the 2.1 million residents of Tarrant County.
The Integrated Pipeline is a joint project between Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) and Dallas Water Utilities (DWU). The pipeline will have the capacity to bring an additional 350 million gallons of water per day to North Texas. The pipeline will stretch more than 150 miles from Lake Palestine to Lake Benbrook. By working together, TRWD and DWU will be saving water customers $1 billion over the life of the project. The first phase is expected to be completed by 2018.
75,833 68,612 62,246
DID YOU KNOW? Municipal use drives water usage in our region.
56,368
One key reason is the increase in automated
NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING REGIONS IN THE COUNTRY. This has been true
sprinkler systems for residential landscape
since the 1950s. Jobs, land, and a strong economy are driving more
irrigation. Automatic irrigation systems are
42,203
convenient but often waste water because
and more people to come. A growing population is certainly a driving
they are not routinely maintained. Many times
factor for water system expansion and improvement.
the watering schedule set by home builders to
27,936
establish plant material is never changed. Once established, lawns require significantly less water, even during the Texas heat. Tarrant Regional Water
15,500
District recommends that even during the hottest
8,102 249
418
694
627
719
635
774
964
1,375
periods, lawns typically need no more than an
3,658
inch of water per week. The regional “Water is Awesome” campaign posts weekly watering advice based on local weather station data.
Population of Mansfield
Sprinkler Advertisement from 1901 - Used with Permission of The Irrigation Association Museum
DID YOU KNOW? In 1997, the Texas Legislature enacted Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), comprehensive water legislation that called for
Think your controller is confusing now? Imagine having to use a punch card programmer. - Used with Permission of The Irrigation Association Museum
the development of a State Water Plan in response to increased awareness of limited water supplies in Texas over the next five decades. SB 1 created Regional Water Planning Groups to prepare Regional Water Plans in 2001 and to continue updating their plans every five years to meet changing conditions. Mansfield is in Region C, which released its latest plan in 2016.
170,503
45,857 149,065
40,104 129,090
34,762
97,865
26,431 81,090
22,013 18,975
69,254
DID YOU KNOW? Dr. John Collier, the “Father of Education” in Mansfield and founder of the Men and Women’s College, built his home in 1877. It had no
2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070
Water Demand Demand Projections Projections for for Mansfield MansfieldininAcre acreFeet feet acre footgallons) is 325,851 gallons) (1 acre foot is(1325,851
2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070
PopulationProjections Projections per Region C Mansfield Population per Region Water Planning Group
running water or indoor lavatory facilities. A.J. Dukes purchased the home and remodeled in 1890 making it the first in Mansfield to have indoor plumbing. The home is now the Blessing Funeral Home.
The original clothes washer: This iron wash pot is from 1913. (on exhibit at Mansfield History Museum.) Galvanized bath tub: This tub is from the 1850s. In most early Mansfield homes there was no indoor plumbing. Water for bathing and other household use was heated on the kitchen’s wood burning stove. Back then baths were usually taken only once or twice a week. (on exhibit at Mansfield History Museum.)
Shout Out Senior Customer Service Representative, Nelda Thompson, began as a meter reader with the City of Mansfield 31 years ago. This is a photo of her manual read meter book. Mansfield now uses automated meter infrastructure (AMI) to collect water meter reads via radio transmission back to the meter data management (MDM) system where it is reviewed for accuracy. As we continue to move manually read meters to AMI, we have transitioned away from meter readers to meter technicians. The primary function of the meter technician is to maintain the integrity of the MDM through data evaluation and meter maintenance.
THERE’S MORE TO WATER THAN MEETS THE EYE. There is an entire community of professionals behind the scenes ensuring the delivery of safe, clean drinking water and removal of used wastewater. We strive to produce communication pieces our residents will engage with. We want to do more than place a checkmark on a state mandated public notice list. We take seriously the importance of letting our customers know what happens behind the curtain; at our lakes, at our treatment plant, in the field with our operations personnel. The story doesn’t end with us though. Our story is incomplete without our community. We can’t do our job without your help. You are the “U” in Mansfield Water Utilities. We need ambassadors to ensure accurate information is reaching the community. As a staple of public health, misinformation and rumors about water quality can escalate into a panic quickly. We want people to know they can come to us for answers. Beyond ambassadorship, we need your help. We need you to learn what we do, see what we do, and put this knowledge to work in your own corner of the community; to do your part to keep Mansfield beautiful and its resources sustainable. Our passion is to use water as a catalyst for community transformation.
Water 360 is the educational program for Water Utilities and Environmental Services. This means we use a holistic approach to teach people about how the water system works, both the utility side and the natural side. We feel this is the best way to teach people about their impact on both systems. We need your help to protect and preserve the integrity of our infrastructure and the health and beauty of our creeks and streams. We depend upon Walnut Creek for our recreation and our neighbors depend upon it for their drinking water supply. Find the service opportunity that best fits you and your family or business and let us know how you want to serve your community with us.
WHY WATER? Water is peace and excitement. Adrenaline and exhilaration. Chaos and clarity. It’s everything and nothing. We often here that “water is life” ...but for us, life is water. Many of us fell into our careers in water and, unbeknownst to ourselves, found our passion. Water is in all things we do, eat, breathe, wear, touch, and hear. We challenge you to find one thing where water wasn’t used in any part of the process. If humans suddenly disappeared, water will still exist. It will carry on through the water cycle and continue to sustain the lives of plants and animals, but no one would be there to appreciate it. Our lives, past and present, are connected to each other because of water. We drink the same exact water as our ancestors. You can’t make new water. What we have is what we get. Life is water. Despite its simplicity, we feel it deserves our gratitude. Why? Simple. We believe if we value the most basic, seemingly ordinary thing, such as water, it creates a ripple effect that spreads to all other aspects of your life. We are in the business of making ripples; positive ripples of change. We do it for your family, and for ours; for your family, from ours.
- The Men & Women of Mansfield Water Utilities
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Thank you to our 100-year commemorative book sponsor Master Meter, who has been our partners in delivering safe, clean drinking water in Mansfield for 30 years.
We’d also like to thank Vern Raven, the Mansfield Historical Museum and Heritage Center, and Tarrant Regional Water District for helping us gather content for the book.