Brazos River Authority Selects GFT for Transformative Texas Water Project

The Brazos River Authority (BRA) selected GFT to advance a critical phase of its Allens Creek Reservoir project—an ambitious new reservoir planned to help meet the long-term water supply needs of the lower Brazos River Basin. Under an initial contract, the firm will provide study and investigation services to support environmental permitting and conceptual design. Later this year, the firm will expand its partnership with the BRA by providing comprehensive engineering design services for the estimated $700 million pumped storage reservoir.

Situated in Austin County, Texas, near where Allens Creek meets the Brazos River, the Allens Creek Reservoir is poised to become the twelfth reservoir in the BRA’s water system—and the first new one in decades. The project is central to the BRA’s strategy to help meet the region’s growing water demand, as the basin population is expected to surpass 10 million people by 2080, according to regional planning forecasts. “Allens Creek is a massively important project for the BRA. It’s a very important project for the basin in terms of future water supply,” said Matt Phillips, BRA deputy general manager. “These really are exciting times at the BRA.”

“This project reflects the kind of challenge our team is built for—complex, multidisciplinary, and vital to the communities it will serve for generations,” said Daven Oswalt, executive director of the firm’s Water Business Group. “We are proud to support the BRA in delivering sustainable water infrastructure at this scale for the people of Texas.”

The scope of work includes a series of in-depth studies across a 9,500-acre project site. The firm’s technical team will focus on:

• Surveying and utility investigations to inform the conceptual layout of key infrastructure.
• River geomorphology and sediment transport analysis to evaluate conditions that will influence the reservoir’s design, including pump station placement and embankment protection.
• Environmental and cultural resource assessments to guide regulatory planning and streamline federal permitting.
• Geotechnical investigations to determine the strength and suitability of foundation materials for significant structures.

The proposed reservoir will enhance the BRA’s ability to capture and store flows from the Brazos River. The reservoir will improve operational efficiency and increase drought resilience throughout the system by providing a strategically located supply near some of the BRA’s largest customers. It will also help reduce dependence on groundwater, supporting regional efforts to address land subsidence.

Permitting is anticipated to take five to 10 years, with design and construction requiring an additional seven years. When complete, the Allens Creek Reservoir will provide nearly 100,000 acre-feet of annual water supply.

“Our firm brings decades of reservoir, dam, and water infrastructure experience to the effort, having delivered more than 3,000 related projects across North America,” said Trent Dreese, PE, Allens Creek project director, senior vice president, and senior director of the firm’s Geotechnical, Dams & Hydraulics Business Line. “Our integrated approach to planning, permitting, and design is tailored to large-scale, phased programs like Allens Creek that require coordination across multiple regulatory and stakeholder groups.”

Learn more about this critical step in the Allens Creek Reservoir project on the Brazos River Authority website.