TWDB Appoints First Regional Flood Planning Group Members; GCA’s Scott Harris Selected To Serve Trinity Region

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AUSTIN, OCTOBER 1, 2020 – The board of directors of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) appointed its first members to serve on 15 regional flood planning groups (RFPGs), selecting Scott Harris, Chief Operating Officer of Gulf Coast Authority, to represent water authorities in the Trinity River region. Over 600 nominations were received by the TWDB Executive Administrator for the initial voting membership of the RFPGs.

“GCA is proud to participate in the flood planning process to help water utilities plan for and mitigate risks associated with flood damage,” said Scott Harris. “With many of our facilities located along the coast, I am thankful to the state of Texas for prioritizing these planning efforts and to the Texas Water Development Board for quickly implementing the process.”

In 2019, the Texas Legislature established a framework for regional flood planning across the state of Texas. Senate Bill 8 (86th Texas Legislature) required the TWDB to establish flood planning regions, appoint initial members of those regions, provide technical and financial assistance, adopt guidance principals, and create rules for a cyclical five-year flood planning process. The first regional flood plans will be due no later than January 10, 2023.

Gulf Coast Authority (www.gcatx.org) was created by the Texas Legislature in 1969 to protect the waters of the state of Texas through environmentally sound, economically feasible and technologically advanced wastewater and water management practices. GCA provides regional industrial and municipal wastewater treatment services, solid waste management, industrial water services and financial services – all with the goal to protect the environment, preserve water resources and promote industrial development for a strong economy.

GCA celebrates 50 years of protecting Texas’ waters

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HOUSTON — Fifty years ago, prompted by deteriorating water quality in the Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay, the Texas Legislature established the Gulf Coast Authority
(GCA) to protect the waters of the State of Texas through regional wastewater treatment and waste disposal solutions. The organization was empowered to own and operate wastewater treatment and other waste management facilities. GCA is also authorized to issue bonds for qualified projects and has issued over $3 billion in such bonds statewide since its inception.

Today, GCA operates four industrial and one municipal wastewater treatment facilities, an industrial landfill, a central laboratory and two trucked-in waste disposal facilities. In 2013, Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation expanding GCA’s role to enable it to build, own and operate other types of water systems to help provide solutions to potable water shortages across the state.

For more information, visit www.gcatx.org or call (281) 488-4115.

GCA awarded for excellence in financial reporting

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HOUSTON — Gulf Coast Authority (GCA) received notification from the Government Finance Officers Association that the GCA’s fiscal year 2017 Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report qualified for a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. The certificate of achievement is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. This is the 31st consecutive year GCA has received this award. Amanda Wilbert, GCA’s Director of Finance, is shown accepting this award.

GCA recognized with an Industrial Treatment Plant of the year award from WEAT

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HOUSTON, May 2018 — Gulf Coast Authority’s (GCA) Washburn Tunnel Wastewater Treatment Facility (WT) was recognized by the Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT) with the Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant of the Year Award. The award was presented at the annual WEAT meeting in San Antonio. Present to accept the award were Phyllis Frank, WT Facility Manager; Scott Harris, Chief Operating Officer; Frank Jones, Chairman of the GCA Board of Directors; and Mark Schultz, GCA Board Member.  GCA was recognized with the award for consistent outstanding performance of daily activities beyond the normal call of duty. The Washburn Tunnel Facility is a regional treatment facility that treats the waste from: multiple industrial plants and one municipality via pipelines, one industrial plant via barge and the Vince Bayou Receiving Station (VBRS) via pipeline which accepts primarily septic tank and portable toilet wastewaters.
Chemical disinfection is achieved using peracetic acid (PAA). At the time of commissioning in 2016, WT’s PAA disinfection system was the largest system operating in the US.