2025 Texas & Southeast Best Projects
Award of Merit, Water/Environment: City of Houston 108-in. Waterline
City of Houston 108-in. Waterline
Houston
Award of Merit
Submitted by Quiddity Engineering
Owner City of Houston
Lead Design Firm/Civil Engineer Quiddity Engineering
General Contractor Five Cos.
Surveying Services Civilcorp
Geotechnical Investigation Geotest Engineering
In addition to transitioning the Houston region from groundwater to surface water, the $36-million, 108-in. waterline will help support regional growth and water demand projections through 2040 and beyond. It’s also the largest waterline project ever built for the city.
This line is a critical part of the larger 16.5-mile Northeast Transmission Line, which is a large-diameter surface water transmission system designed to deliver nearly 100 million gallons of reliable drinking water daily across Houston and its surrounding districts.
It connects the Northeast Water Purification Plant on Lake Houston to existing northside city waterlines. This 108-in. segment stretches for more than a mile and is installed at depths greater than 50 ft.
To manage the project’s complexity, a phased design process—at 30%, 60%, 90% and 100%—addressed community impacts, permitting requirements and constructibility concerns.
Tunnel-boring machines allowed for safe, efficient installation beneath highways, channels and active railroads. Despite the obstacles, the project stayed under budget and was finally completed after a decade of work in July 2024.
