Tarrant Regional Water District Village Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Fort Worth

FACILITY BASIC INFORMATION

Plant Name: Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility

Location: 4500 Wilma Lane, Fort Worth, TX 76012

Operating Authority: City of Fort Worth

Design Capacity: 166 MGD

Peak Flow Capacity: 480 MGD (2-hour peak)

Population Served: ~1.3 Million

Service Area: Fort Worth and 23 Customer Cities

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Receiving Water Body: West Fork Trinity River

NPDES/TPDES Permit: WQ0010494013

Year Commissioned: 1958 (Major expansions: 1978, 1994, 2011)

1. INTRODUCTION

The Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility (VCWRF) stands as one of the largest and most technically advanced wastewater infrastructure assets in the State of Texas. Operated by the City of Fort Worth, this 166-MGD permitted facility serves a population of approximately 1.3 million residents across Fort Worth and 23 wholesale customer cities within Tarrant and Johnson counties.

Commissioned originally in 1958 and subject to continuous modernization, VCWRF is critical to the hydrological health of the Trinity River Basin. During dry weather conditions, the facility’s effluent can constitute up to 95% of the river’s flow downstream of the discharge point, making advanced tertiary treatment essential for environmental compliance. The facility is also an industry leader in energy independence, operating a 5.2 MW cogeneration facility that utilizes recovered digester gas to offset approximately 40-50% of the plant’s total electrical demand. Through rigorous asset management and recent capital investments exceeding $100 million, Village Creek continues to set benchmarks for cost-efficiency and effluent quality in the Southwest.

2. FACILITY OVERVIEW

A. Service Area & Coverage

The VCWRF operates as a regional facility. While owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth, it functions as the central treatment hub for a vast collection system spanning much of Tarrant County. The service area includes major wholesale customer cities such as Arlington, Kennedale, Haltom City, Hurst, and North Richland Hills. The collection system feeding the plant is extensive, comprising over 3,600 miles of pipe and utilizing large-diameter interceptors that gravitate toward the low-lying Village Creek basin.

B. Operational Capacity

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The plant is permitted for an annual average daily flow of 166 million gallons per day (MGD). Historically, the plant treats an average of 100 to 115 MGD, providing a comfortable capacity buffer for the rapidly growing Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. However, the facility is designed to handle significant hydraulic surges, with a 2-hour peak flow capacity of 480 MGD to manage intense inflow and infiltration (I/I) events common to the region’s subtropical climate.

C. Discharge & Compliance

Treated effluent is discharged into the West Fork of the Trinity River (Segment 0806). Because the Trinity River is an effluent-dominated stream (often composed primarily of treated wastewater during summer months), the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) imposes stringent TPDES permit limits. The facility consistently achieves National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) Peak Performance Awards, often maintaining Platinum status for consecutive years of full compliance.

3. TREATMENT PROCESS

Village Creek utilizes a complex treatment train involving activated sludge secondary treatment followed by tertiary filtration to meet rigorous BOD, TSS, and Ammonia limits.

A. Preliminary Treatment

Influent wastewater enters the plant through massive interceptors where it undergoes preliminary screening. The headworks facility utilizes mechanically cleaned bar screens to remove large debris, rags, and plastics. Following screening, flow velocity is reduced in aerated grit chambers, allowing inorganic solids (sand, gravel, coffee grounds) to settle while organic matter remains suspended. The grit is removed via screw conveyors, washed, and disposed of in a sanitary landfill. Odor control at the headworks is managed via chemical scrubbers to mitigate H₂S emissions.

B. Primary Treatment

Flow is distributed to primary clarifiers where gravity settling occurs. These large rectangular basins reduce flow velocity, allowing settleable solids to form a sludge blanket on the bottom and floatable grease/scum to be skimmed from the surface. Primary treatment at VCWRF typically removes 30-35% of BOD and 50-60% of TSS. The primary sludge is pumped directly to the anaerobic digesters, while the primary effluent flows to the aeration basins.

C. Secondary Treatment (Activated Sludge)

The core biological treatment utilizes a high-rate activated sludge process. The plant operates multiple aeration trains where primary effluent is mixed with Return Activated Sludge (RAS) to form mixed liquor.

• Aeration: Large centrifugal blowers supply air through fine-bubble diffusers, providing the oxygen necessary for microorganisms to metabolize dissolved organic matter and convert ammonia to nitrate (nitrification).
• Secondary Clarification: The mixed liquor flows to circular secondary clarifiers where the biological solids settle out. The clear supernatant overflows the weirs, while the settled biomass is either returned to the aeration basins (RAS) or wasted (WAS) to the solids handling train.

D. Tertiary Treatment (Filtration)

To meet the strict Trinity River discharge standards, secondary effluent undergoes tertiary filtration. VCWRF employs deep-bed sand filters (dual media anthracite and sand). This polishing step is crucial for removing residual suspended solids that may contain bound phosphorus or particulate BOD, ensuring the effluent meets the stringent clarity requirements of the TPDES permit.

E. Disinfection

The filtered water is disinfected using gaseous chlorine in contact basins to eliminate pathogenic organisms. Following sufficient contact time, sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is added to dechlorinate the water before it is released into the Trinity River, preventing toxicity to aquatic life.

F. Solids Handling & Biosolids

VCWRF is renowned for its beneficial reuse program.

• Thickening: Waste Activated Sludge (WAS) is thickened using Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) units or gravity belt thickeners.
• Anaerobic Digestion: Thickened sludge and primary sludge are blended and pumped to anaerobic digesters. These heated tanks stabilize the solids, reducing volatile content and pathogen levels while generating methane gas.
• Dewatering: Digested sludge is dewatered using belt filter presses to produce a cake with 18-20% solids.
• Beneficial Reuse: The biosolids are land-applied on City-owned properties or sold to private farmers as fertilizer/soil conditioner, diverting thousands of tons from landfills annually.

4. INFRASTRUCTURE & FACILITIES

A. Physical Plant

The facility occupies a substantial footprint in East Fort Worth. The site includes extensive maintenance shops, a central control building housing the SCADA center, and a fully accredited environmental laboratory that performs thousands of analyses annually for process control and regulatory reporting.

B. Energy Systems & Cogeneration

Village Creek is a model for energy efficiency. The plant operates a 5.2 MW cogeneration facility featuring two Solar Taurus 60 gas turbines. These turbines are fueled by methane gas (biogas) produced in the anaerobic digesters.

• Energy Recovery: The system captures waste heat from the turbines to heat the anaerobic digesters (maintaining mesophilic temperatures) and provide building heat.
• Grid Offset: The electricity generated offsets approximately 40-50% of the plant’s total power consumption, saving the utility millions of dollars in energy costs over the system’s lifespan and reducing the carbon footprint.

5. RECENT UPGRADES & MAJOR PROJECTS

6. REGULATORY COMPLIANCE & ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE

A. Permit Requirements

The facility operates under TPDES Permit No. WQ0010494013. The discharge standards are reflective of the sensitive nature of the Trinity River. Typical effluent limits include:

• CBOD5: 5-10 mg/L (Seasonal variations)
• TSS: 12-15 mg/L
• Ammonia-Nitrogen (NH3-N): 2-3 mg/L (Seasonal)
• Minimum DO: 4.0 – 5.0 mg/L

B. Environmental Stewardship

The City of Fort Worth has received recognition for its biosolids beneficial reuse program, which applies Class AB biosolids to agricultural land. This circular economy approach returns nutrients to the soil rather than consuming landfill space. Furthermore, the plant’s participation in the North Texas “Grease Abatement” program helps protect the collection system and improves the quality of influent for digestion.

10. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS SUMMARY

12. FAQ SECTION

Technical Questions

1. Does Village Creek WRF utilize biological nutrient removal (BNR)?
Currently, Village Creek relies primarily on conventional activated sludge for nitrification (ammonia removal) and chemical/biological uptake for BOD. While it achieves high-level nitrification, it does not employ a full enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) configuration, relying instead on solids removal via tertiary filtration to manage particulate nutrients.

2. What is the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of the facility?
While variable based on flow, the total process time from headworks to outfall is generally between 12 to 24 hours under average flow conditions.

3. How does the cogeneration system handle biogas fluctuations?
The facility has gas storage capabilities and can blend natural gas if digester gas production drops below the turbine requirements, ensuring consistent power generation.

Public Interest Questions

4. Does the plant smell?
Odor control is a priority. The facility uses chemical scrubbers at the headworks (where odors are strongest) to neutralize hydrogen sulfide. The large buffer zone around the plant also helps mitigate off-site impacts.

5. Where does the water go after treatment?
The highly treated water is released into the West Fork of the Trinity River. It flows downstream towards Dallas and eventually to Lake Livingston and Galveston Bay.