Bois d’Arc Lake Receives ASCE National Honor
The Bois d’Arc Lake water supply program has received a 2025 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Honor Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the top 14 projects in the United States.
The North Texas Municipal Water District’s $1.6 billion system went into service in 2023, supplying water for 2 million North Texans in more than 71 cities ahead of one of the hottest and driest summers on record. The 16,641-acre lake opened for public recreation in April 2024.
Freese and Nichols Chief Operating Officer Jeff Payne joined Cesar Baptista, NTMWD Assistant General Manager – Planning & Engineering, for the award presentation at ASCE’s national convention in Seattle. This marked the 10th national or state award for the Bois d’Arc Lake program and related aspects.
The system’s main elements were built simultaneously in 2018-2023, including a new major dam creating the reservoir, a state-of-the-art treatment plant, two huge pump stations, 60 miles of pipelines and more than 17,000 acres of ecological improvements.
Freese and Nichols teams across multiple disciplines – including water resources, water/wastewater engineering, environmental science, program/construction management and facilities – contributed to the program during more than two decades of planning, permitting, design and construction. Design of key facilities included:
- At the lake: the 2-mile-long, 90-foot-tall embankment and adjacent intake tower, raw water pump station, service spillway and labyrinth weir
- At the Leonard Water Treatment Plant: the high service pump station and terminal storage reservoir
- To convey the water: part of the raw water pipeline
Our team also handled program and construction management and inspection for the overall program, coordinating with multiple partners on four construction manager at risk packages and a full-service provider contract.
View the award video, courtesy of ASCE:
