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Planning for Tarrant Regional Water District’s Future
A 108-inch gate valve for the Integrated Pipeline Project being lowered into the ground at a booster station. It is the largest of its kind in the world.
T
he Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) has been providing flood control and water supply services to the city of Fort Worth, Texas, for nearly 100 years. In a swiftly growing urban area that is expected to double in size by 2070, planning for the future through water reuse and new storage and conveyance infrastructure is crucial. In this interview, Jack Stevens, the president of TRWD’s board of directors, tells Municipal Water Leader about his fascinating professional background, how he decided to run for the board, and the ambitious plans that the board has for the district.
Jack Stevens: I grew up in Tampa, Florida, and joined the Air Force because I wanted to see the world. However, as the old adage goes, the federal government wanted me to
34 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER | June 2020
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PHOTO COURTESY OF TRWD.
Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
see Altus, Oklahoma, which is home to the Altus Air Force Base. There, I worked as an electronics technician on Hound Dog nuclear missile systems. I’m a Vietnam- and Cold War–era veteran. At the conclusion of my military service, I moved to Texas, went back to school at the University of Texas at Arlington, got married, and eventually graduated as a dynamics and vibroacoustics engineer. I enjoyed a long and fulfilling career with a wonderful company called Vought Aircraft. My work with Vought didn’t focus on just one specific area, but covered a whole range of interesting projects. I worked on space shuttle components, such as the leading edge and radiator, and on the articulation index on very small microphones—used for purposes I never discovered. I worked on an aircraft-launched satellite-killer system that, while functional, was ultimately never produced in order to comply with an international arms treaty limiting space weapons. I did some work on helicopters in the
