Helping the City of Sherman Embrace Explosive Growth
Big tech is bringing a big boom to the City of Sherman. With two mega-projects being constructed, a semiconductor and semiconductor material plant, the City could see its population double in the next five to 10 years. As Sherman works on the extensive new infrastructure to meet its fast-growing water needs, Freese and Nichols is supporting those efforts with understanding developed through strong relationships and client service.
When Sherman was on the verge of developing a new water and wastewater master plan, Freese and Nichols offered to conduct a brown bag lunch-and-learn to discuss our firm’s approach and benefits of a comprehensive master plan. The City selected us for the project, and we started working with them on the plan in 2021. Not long after, Texas Instruments and GlobiTech (GlobalWafers) each chose Sherman for new a semiconductor and semiconductor material plant. Freese and Nichols is providing program and construction management services on the GlobiTech project
“The news of these two major tech projects coming to Sherman completely turned everything upside down,” Clayton said. “It essentially doubled what the City’s existing water demand was and triggered all these additional water projects. The new industrial boom also spurred additional population growth which wasn’t anticipated based on historical data.”
The water and wastewater master plan, completed in May, maps out several water and wastewater projects to meet those multiplying demands. Because of Freese and Nichols’ trusted relationship with the City, our team was asked to “carry the torch on several water transmission projects,” Clayton said.
Freese and Nichols is helping the City with the design and construction of these water-related projects:
- Expansion of the Lake Texoma Pump Station
- New elevated storage tank
- Water transmission pipeline to feed the new industrial demand
Lake Texoma Pump Station Expansion
Sherman’s water treatment plant and a local power plant receive raw water from a jointly-owned pump station on Lake Texoma. The other municipal water provider uses Lake Texoma water seasonally, and demands are projected to exceed Sherman’s pumping capacity. Freese and Nichols is designing an expansion to increase the pump station’s capacity and redundancy by installing two new vertical turbine pumps, a parallel header and discharge piping to tie into the existing Texoma raw water pipeline.
Shepherd 2.0-MG Elevated Storage Tank
Freese and Nichols is providing design and construction services for the Shepherd 2.0-MG Elevated Storage Tank (EST). The tank will increase storage capacity and water supply within the City’s Southwest Zone to accommodate industrial growth and increased demand. Because of the location within a proposed development, the project requires coordination with the developer, along with road improvements. The new EST will have branding for the City and the tech industry to greet drivers making their way into Sherman from US 75.
Northwest and Southwest Pipeline
To feed the new Shepherd EST, Freese and Nichols is designing a 36-inch water transmission line to transfer water approximately 73,000 linear feet from the City’s water treatment plant to the Southwest industrial area. This is because expansion of Texas Instruments’ production facilities requires improvements to the water transmission system. The project includes a conceptual alignment study, preliminary alignment design, intermediate design, final design, and bid and construction services.
Projects at a Glance
Project Name: Water Master Plan
Project Manager: Cullen Carlson
Assistant Project Manager: Ishita Rahman
Project Name: Wastewater Master Plan
Project Manager: Cullen Carlson
Project Name: Lake Texoma Pump Station Expansion
Project Manager: Lewis Bernard
Project Name: Shepherd 2.0-MG Elevated Storage Tank
Project Manager: Daniel Huffines
Project Name: Northwest and Southwest Pipeline
Project Manager: Jacob Pannell
Assistant Project Manager: Caleb Word