As we approach the new year, the SJRA Woodlands Division will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Woodlands Division is the wholesale water provider for the 11 Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) in The Woodlands and provides water and wastewater treatment service to more than 130,000 Woodlands residents. The Division currently operates and maintains three regional wastewater treatment plants, a wastewater conveyance system with numerous lift stations, five water plants, 38 water wells, several elevated and ground storage tanks, and miles of wastewater collection and potable water distribution lines, but it did not start out that way.
Let us take a walk down memory lane to 1975 when the Woodlands Division was formed. The Woodlands Township was created by George P. Mitchell in 1974 as a Master Planned Community that provided everything he envisioned residents would need to live, work, play and pray, and yes, that included water and wastewater treatment. However, as The Woodlands developed, the original MUD at the time quickly realized that they did not want to manage the water and wastewater plants. With this being the case, the SJRA Woodlands Division was formed to be the wholesale water and wastewater provider for the MUDs.
Wastewater Service
In 1975 there was one wastewater plant, one water plant, and one water well. As The Woodlands grew so did the SJRA Woodlands Division. It was important to the division to grow with the population and provide the level of service that residents had become accustomed to. In 1999, Wastewater Treatment Plant Number 2 was brought online to service new residents. Four years later Wastewater Treatment Plant Number 3 was brought online to provide additional service due to growth in the area.
Water System
The water system followed the same growth as the wastewater treatment system. Only starting out with one water plant and one well, to 50 years later there are five water plants, 38 water wells, six elevated storage tanks, with the 7th under construction, and nine groundwater storage tanks.
Over the last 50 years the Woodlands Division also experienced growth in its team members. The division has well trained employees working for your water, some with over 30 years’ experience in the water and wastewater industry.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Woodlands community, it is time to reflect on the growth in infrastructure and growth in the SJRA team who continues to serve the residents of The Woodlands by providing reliable water and wastewater treatment service.
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