City of Lago Vista

CHALLENGE

The City of Lago Vista, a community comprised of approximately 7,500 people, sits on the northwestern outskirts of Austin, Texas. Lago Vista is on the springboard of explosive growth and contracted Walker Partners to carefully and meticulously plan the City’s water needs for the next 25 years. Since the City’s incorporation in 1984, much of the Lago Vista’s infrastructure, including the water treatment system and distribution system, were pieced together to fulfill their needs as the City grew. The municipal projects were kept in many different formats ranging from paper plans, electronic plans, local knowledge, paper and electronic reports, and GIS (geographic information systems) data. Anticipating continued rapid growth over the next 25 years, the City of Lago Vista approved the development of their first water master plan. Creating a complete inventory of and modeling the City’s water system and providing a complete water master report that could be used by any operator or user of the water system presented a challenge – a challenge that Walker Partners is highly qualified and energized to take on!

SOLUTION

Walker Partners’ high caliber engineering team quickly went to work taking an inventory of the City’s water system. Water pressures were recorded in 45 different locations over a period of seven weeks. Fire flow tests were performed to determine the availability of water and also the coefficients which would be used in the computer modeling process. Records were gathered from the water treatment plants and utility billing records to develop water use patterns over an entire year. Once the computer model was built and calibrated to mimic existing conditions, many different scenarios were modeled to determine projects the City should fund to stay in compliance with State and Federal regulations today and 25 years into the future. Careful cost estimates were created for the Capital Improvement Projects and provided in the report along with an inventory of the existing system. Lastly, and most importantly, the City of Lago Vista now has a working computer model that can be used in a variety of ways to plan and keep the water system functioning and providing a critical resource to the citizens of Lago Vista.

VALUE  

Walker Partners provides unparalleled customer service and communication. Every project is treated with care and attention. We respect each City’s needs and desires, listen to their goals, and collaborate to provide a thoughtful and sustainable design. Our firm worked with City staff and other experts to ensure the Capital Improvement Projects were in line with the City’s vision for the future. 

completion date: 2016

location: lago vista, Tx