Speaker
-
Brent Fleischer PESenior Project Engineer | LANBrent is a Senior Project Engineer with LAN, specializing in the planning, design, and construction management of water, wastewater, and utility infrastructure projects for multiple municipal utility districts throughout the Houston region. He has extensive experience delivering critical public infrastructure improvements, successfully managing projects ranging from water treatment and distribution systems to wastewater collection and treatment facilities.
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: Sep 17 2026
- Time: 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM
Building Resilience in Water Production: A Case Study in Improving Water Supply Reliability, Operational Efficiency, and Infrastructure Resilience
This presentation explores a case study on improving infrastructure resilience at the Newport Municipal Utility District (MUD) surface water treatment plant (SWTP). Located in northeast Harris County, Newport MUD faces the dual challenges of meeting projected water demands for a growing service area and adhering to groundwater use reductions mandated by the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District. Central to this project is the conversion of the existing conventional treatment train to Ceramic Ultrafiltration (CUF) units to treat the surface water from the San Jacinto River Authority canal. These improvements are designed to bolster the District’s resilience.
The presentation will present the key upgrades and their impacts, which include:
- Enhanced Raw Water Intake: New screens and air lines to improve reliability against variable water quality and zebra mussel populations.
- Operational Efficiency: CUF units reduce production waste from 30% to just 1%, freeing up over 20% of wastewater treatment plant capacity and potentially delaying future wastewater treatment plant expansions.
- Resource Management: Automated processes and reduced electrical and chemical usage are estimated to save the District approximately $500,000 annually.
- System Reliability: Incorporation of larger bulk chemical storage and heat-traced/insulated piping to mitigate impacts from supply shortages and extreme freezing weather.
