HARRIS COUNTY – The City of Houston is engaged in ongoing work in the North Houston area aimed at decommissioning small local wastewater processing plants and consolidating facilities into larger regionalized operations. North Houston District Vice President of Planning & Infrastructure, Robert Fiederlein, recently shared details about the City’s project, which has impacts for local residents and commuters in the District’s northwest, northeast, and southeast quadrants.
Force Main Project Flushes Inefficiencies, Modernizes North Houston Wastewater Processing If you live or work within the North Houston District, then you are likely already aware of construction being done along major corridors in the area. This City of Houston force main project began in Fall 2025 and is now approaching the completion of Phase 1, with construction expected to continue until the completion of Phase 9 in Winter of 2028.
The work will involve the decommissioning and consolidation of old wastewater treatment facilities, installation of new wastewater pipes, and pumping the wastewater through those pipes to a mega treatment plant located near Bush Intercontinental Airport for processing. It is part of broader efforts by the City of Houston to regionalize wastewater processing across areas including Kingwood, West Houston, and South Houston, and will strengthen Houston’s wastewater system by modernizing aging infrastructure and improving efficiency.
What to Expect During Construction While the extensive project will not cause any full road closures, the traveling public can expect to experience traffic congestion and delays due to lane closures and the presence of work crews and heavy machinery.
The following roads will be impacted throughout the course of the project:
Benmar Drive: Fall 2025 – Summer 2026 / Spring 2027 – Winter 2028
Northchase Drive: Winter 2026 – Summer 2026 Imperial Valley Drive: Fall 2025 – Fall 2026
Aldine Bender Road: Summer 2026 – Winter 2027 Greens Road: Winter 2026 – Fall 2026
Greens Parkway: Spring 2026 / Spring 2027 – Summer 2027
Cotillion Drive: Fall 2026 – Winter 2027
Once utility work has been completed, all impacted roadways and medians will be reconstructed to restore the area to its original condition.
Upgrading Inherited Utility Infrastructure
Historically, the North Houston area grew as an unincorporated part of Harris County until annexed by the City of Houston in the 1980s. When the City acquired it, they inherited the wastewater treatment plants that served small piecemeal sections of the area, treating wastewater and supplying drinking water for people living here.
The problem was that these smaller wastewater plants were significantly less efficient than largescale plants with greater processing capacity. And they posed potential environmental impacts to nearby Greens Bayou, due to more frequent issues with processing wastewater.
“For reference, these small local facilities typically only have capacity for maybe 1-2 million gallons per day. Meanwhile, the mega processing plant established near Bush Intercontinental Airport has the capacity to process 55 million gallons per day,” said North Houston Vice President of Planning & Infrastructure, Robert Fiederlein.
These smaller plants included:
*Northgate Wastewater Treatment Plant
*Municipal Utility District (MUD) 203 Wastewater Treatment Plant
*Imperial Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant
*The former Northgate Wastewater Treatment Plant was already converted to a lift station—a simpler pass-through station that pushes wastewater on to its final destination for processing—in 2024. The MUD 203 and Imperial Valley plants are undergoing decommissioning and will be completed by 2028, after a force main redirecting wastewater to the new Northgate Lift Station, and on to the IAH mega processing plant.
The Value for Local Residents & Business Owners By consolidating and upgrading wastewater infrastructure, the project ensures the system can meet current and future demand while protecting public health and the environment. Reducing reliance on the smaller, outdated facilities that are costly to maintain and more prone to issues leads to better outcomes for the community and the bayou ecosystem.
The force main project has been encouraged by the Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC), which has been advocating for the City and other entities to move toward the regionalization of wastewater treatment plants for decades.
“The City of Houston has plans to do this all across the area; to regionalize. The District just happens to be the beneficiary of three of the small plants they’re consolidating. We want to share details about the ongoing project to the public so they’re aware of the ongoing work in the area and how it will impact them,” Fiederlein said.
Once complete, the project will deliver strengthened overall wastewater system performance, helping to prevent breakdowns and service interruptions and support the growing North Houston community. A single, larger gravity line feeding a regional lift station is easier to operate and maintain than multiple smaller facilities and lines. This helps reduce the risk of backups and overflows during heavy rain and supports compliance with strict state and federal water quality standards.
Check back for periodic updates as the construction progresses.
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