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Operating a River Authority During the Pandemic
The Trinity River in Fort Worth, Texas.
T
rinity River Authority (TRA), created in 1955 and based in Arlington, Texas, aims to promote the conservation, reclamation, protection, and development of the natural resources of the Trinity River basin for the benefit of the public. TRA provides service to more than 60 cities, districts, and other large water users in the Trinity River basin. In this interview, TRA General Manager Kevin Ward tells Municipal Water Leader about how the authority has overcome the challenges of the pandemic to continue operations. Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your background and about the TRA.
32 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER | JUNE 2020 COVID-19 SPECIAL ISSUE
municipalwaterleader.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL-E.
Kevin Ward: I’ve been in the water business since 1984. I started out managing utility districts and operations. I was a controller, a corporate secretary, and a vice president for a couple of different management firms in Austin, Texas. Then I worked for the State of Texas in a series of positions, eventually running the Texas Water Development Board from 2002 to 2011. I was recruited to become the TRA’s general manager in 2011 and have worked here ever since. During my time working for the State of Texas, I got some experience in training for emergency operations. I worked
there during the 9/11 period, and we did training and prepared plans for a potential pandemic. The TRA was established by legislation in 1955. Its primary mission was promoting economic development in the basin and stewarding its natural resources. We were able to execute contracts with the federal government and be sponsors for federal reservoir projects. We also own, operate, and sell debt for large regional wastewater and water treatment facilities and do environmental studies. We have jurisdiction over an 18,000‑square‑mile basin that starts just west of IH-35, near Wichita Falls and the border with Oklahoma; crosses Fort Worth and Dallas; goes down the coast; and comes out to the east of Galveston by the Trinity arm of the Galveston Bay system. Since our service area encompasses both the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and parts of Houston, we provide water and sewer services to areas that encompass half the population of the state. We’re a wholesale provider, so we do that through relationships with about 60 entities, including districts, cities, airports, and racetracks. We provide raw and treated water, do wastewater treatment, operate dams, and sponsor saltwater barrier services. Our largest wastewater plant
