Fort Worth Looks At A Competitive Assessmen

The City of Fort Worth City Council considered two proposals for the operation of a private water system in 1873 and eventually authorized and franchised the Fort Worth Water Works Company in 1882. This private water system was municipalized in 1885. The Fort Worth Water Department has grown over the past century to one of the largest water and wastewater providers in the state of Texas. The water department operates four water treatment plants and a wastewater treatment facility that serves a retail population of 500,000 residents within the corporate boundaries and approximately 380,000 residents as wholesale customers in neighboring cities with Tarrant County, Texas. In the year 1999, two of eight Fort Worth City Council members requested that the City Manager consider the privatization of the city's Village Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant based on a visit to the recently privatized Indianapolis wastewater facility. As a result of this request, several comparisons were made to explain the differences and similarities between the two facilities. Benchmarks were established to evaluate the costs ofoperation and performance of the two facilities. The City Manager's recommendation was to continue the operationof the Village Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant with city employees with continued consideration of private contracting opportunities in the future.