Renovated pump station to help big industry stay cool

​TEXAS CITY – For the first time since its inception, the Gulf Coast Water Authority (GCWA) has to replace a pump station to secure a vital supply of cooling water to big industrial facilities lined up along Galveston Bay, from the island to Texas City.

Seventy years of pumping day and night has left the station badly corroded in parts, with cracks creeping up brick walls built in 1948.

The project is estimated to cost $14 million.

Much of the country’s water infrastructure was built in the first half of the 20th century and designed to run for 75 to 100 years, according to the American Water Works Association (AWWA).

According to a 2012 AWWA report, an estimated a $1 trillion investment nationwide over the next 25 years would be needed to fix aging pieces and catch up with a growing population.

The AWWA has dubbed these times "the era of infrastructure replacement."​​