John Bunker Sands Wetland Center in Seagoville. Photo: friscogreenliving.com

By Bill Sullivan

Frisco’s participation in the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) not only helps secure the city’s water needs for the foreseeable future, but it also has an environmentally-friendly side effect.

Part of the NTMWD’s water supply will be derived from the East Fork Reuse Project, which also creates man-made wetlands that will become home to birds and wildlife. At the heart of that aspect of the project is the new John Bunker Sands Wetland Center, which officially debuted with an open house on Oct. 9.

The building and grounds will provide a venue for research, education, wildlife observation, and community gatherings. The 5,400-square foot facility features a staging and exhibit hall for interactive presentations, a fully equipped lab for use by research groups to study wetland plants and animals, a classroom for hands-on education and research, and an observation deck to view the wetlands.

Beyond the building, the Wetland Center offers boardwalks extending into the wetlands, allowing visitors to view the systems and observe wildlife up close. Pavilions and an observation tower are included in future plans.

What’s in all this for Frisco? In addition to being part of a large-scale environmentally-conscious endeavor, the project is expected to boost the NTMWD’s water supply by about 40 percent, adding an estimated 102,000 acre-feet of water per year – the same capacity supplied by Lavon Lake.

Here’s how it all works: After water is diverted from the East Fork of the Trinity River, it passes through 1,840 acres of wetlands, where plants will “polish” it, removing about 95 percent of the sediment, 80 percent of the nitrogen and 65 percent of the phosphorous. The water then will be pumped through an 84” pipe about 41 miles north of the site to Lavon Lake for storage, blending and water supply use. The NTMWD provides treated drinking water for more than 1.5 million citizens in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Hunt, Kaufman and Rockwall Counties.

For directions to Center, click here. To read a Q&A on the East Fork Reuse Project, click here.