TRWD Considers Hike for Fort Worth Water Line Upgrades

Local residents advised to schedule underground leak detection service

FORT WORTH, TX, UNITED STATES, September 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — A spike in Fort Worth water leaks caused by aging pipe infrastructure is driving a proposed increase in local water delivery rates and taxes.

This August, the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) discussed a 3% increase in water delivery taxes for 2027. The added $33.24 million in revenue will largely go to improving the levees and pipe systems along the Trinity River.

A vote to increase TRWD’s raw water sale price to $1.50 per thousand gallons is also scheduled by its board directors.

For residents and plumbers in Fort Worth, the tax and rate hikes are largely understandable. But for many, it fails to fully address the underlying problem with outdated freshwater plumbing systems in the city.

“Upgrading the levees and flood prevention equipment is great,” remarks Steven Smith, Responsible Master Plumber (RMP-43457) at Mother Modern Plumbing’s Fort Worth office. “But thousands of corroded galvanized steel and copper pipes are still buried around our homes.”

In 2023, KERA reported the City of Fort Worth lost $5.8 million worth of wasted water through leaks in degraded water lines. Many of these pipes exist on residential properties, which are not included in TRWD’s planned system improvements.

“Homeowners are on their own to update their water supply lines,” Smith says. “Homes built mid-century or before need it the most because of galvanized supply lines.”

Galvanized steel lines within Fort Worth were initially marked as dangerous due to previous connections to lead service lines. Currently, they’re outdated pipe materials susceptible to corrosion and channel rot.

Because of these galvanized service lines, Fort Worth’s historic and vintage properties are at greatest risk of catastrophic leak events and plumbing emergencies, especially under-slab leaks around settling concrete foundations.

Smith encourages homeowners to check the city’s Water Service Inventory Map for lines labeled Galvanized Requiring Replacement.

“We’re seeing more underground leaks on older properties in Historic Southside and Fairmount this year,” Smith reports. “And mixing that extra groundwater with our clay soil creates a lot of foundation movement and structural instability.”

Demand for non-invasive water leak detection is up in historic corridors of Fort Worth as a result. Smith advises residents to seek out acoustic listening devices and infrared thermal imaging as ideal leak location services in older neighborhoods.

“These tools don’t require trenching or property damage,” Smith explains. “The last thing you need around an unstable foundation and broken underground pipes is exploratory digging.”

As TRWD and the City of Fort Worth plan their upgrades to the city’s freshwater plumbing infrastructure, residents are well advised to do the same.

Matthew Silkwood
Mother Modern Plumbing
+1 979-220-1702
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