City Council Meeting Date: July 21, 2026
Date: July 8, 2026
To: Erin Rinehart, City Manager
From: Jonathan Wheat, P.E., Director of Engineering
Shannon Hicks, P.E., Assistant City Manager
Title
Consider A Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Carrollton, Texas Authorizing The City Manager To Negotiate And Execute A Professional Services Contract With Freese & Nichols, Inc., For Engineering Services Related To The City-Wide Water Distribution Modeling Project In An Amount Not To Exceed $304,500.00.
Body
Summary:
The purpose of this item is to have a useable and accurate distribution-level water model that Public Works and Engineering can use for operational and planning purposes.
Background:
Engineering and Public Works Departments utilize water modeling to assist with pressure performance, pinpointing problem areas, and determining sizing needs related to development. The City’s current water model is inadequate for this purpose as it only includes transmission-level data. A comprehensive distribution-level model is required to accomplish these tasks.
This contract is for the development, maintenance, and application of a comprehensive hydraulic model of the City of Carrollton’s water distribution system. The comprehensive model will serve as a planning and operational tool for evaluating pressure performance, fire flow capabilities, system reliability, storage and pumping operations, development impacts, and capital improvement alternatives.
Financial Implications:
Freese & Nichols, Inc., has submitted a proposal to the City of Carrollton to perform the engineering services for the project for an amount not to exceed $290,000.00 and staff recommends a $14,500 (5%) contingency. Funding is available in the Utilities Consolidated Fund (Account Unit 855160) with PAYGO Funds.
Impact on Community Sustainability:
This project will support the City Council’s strategic objectives and vision of building a community that families and businesses want to call home by:
- Strengthening infrastructure reliability through improved evaluation of pressure performance, fire flow capabilities, and system operations (Healthy).
- Enhancing customer experience by enabling proactive identification of water system issues and supporting efficient daily operations (Optimize).
- Supporting long‑term planning for development impacts and capital improvement alternatives, promoting responsible stewardship of City resources (Economical).
- Improving water quality and system performance across the community through comprehensive distribution‑level modeling (Healthy).
Staff Recommendation/Action Desired:
Staff recommends adopting a resolution to authorize the City Manager to enter an engineering services contract with Freese & Nichols, Inc., for the development, maintenance, and application of a comprehensive hydraulic water model for the City-wide Water Distribution Model project in an amount not to exceed $290,000.00 plus a 5% contingency in the amount of $14,500 for a total authorization of $304,500.00.