Engineering giant Burns & McDonnell has secured an $80 million contract to design and construct a major water reclamation facility in San Marcos, Texas, underscoring the state’s rapid investment in water infrastructure amid unprecedented population growth.
According to a Sept. 22 news release, the Kansas City, Missouri-based firm will lead the development of a 2-million-gallon-per-day treatment plant that will help the City of San Marcos manage increasing wastewater volumes tied to a series of planned residential developments.
“The facility will help San Marcos manage increasing wastewater demands from a planned residential development,” said Lydia Schroeder, spokesperson for Burns & McDonnell. The project is expected to play a key role in expanding the city’s wastewater management capacity for future growth.
Once operational, the new plant will process 2 million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater, with the flexibility to expand capacity to 8 MGD as the city’s needs evolve.
Alongside the treatment infrastructure, Burns & McDonnell will construct two new buildings totaling about 20,000 square feet to house administrative and processing operations, ensuring the facility is designed for both performance and future scalability.
“Our progressive design-build approach gives us the ability to collaborate early, make informed decisions and accelerate delivery — all while keeping the city’s priorities front and center,” said Sarah Isbell, leader of the firm’s water segment in Texas.
The project’s progressive design-build model is intended to speed up delivery, minimize risks, and allow the contractor and city officials to make real-time decisions that maintain both budget and schedule integrity.
Burns & McDonnell will also implement a temporary wastewater management system while the permanent plant is being designed and built — an effort to keep up with rising demand from residential developers contributing to the city’s cost-sharing plan.
According to Schroeder, construction of the interim facilities is slated to begin in January 2026, followed by permanent plant construction in Q3 2026. The full project is expected to reach substantial completion by August 2028.
The accelerated schedule reflects San Marcos’s rapid population growth, driven by an influx of new housing developments along the I-35 corridor connecting Austin and San Antonio.
To finance the project, San Marcos entered a cost-sharing agreement with local residential developers who will directly benefit from the expanded wastewater capacity. This collaborative approach allows the city to align utility expansion with housing timelines, ensuring infrastructure keeps pace with regional construction activity.
The Burns & McDonnell team will work closely with city engineers and developers to integrate the facility into San Marcos’s long-term infrastructure plan, which prioritizes resilience, environmental compliance, and energy efficiency.
The San Marcos facility represents one of several large-scale water infrastructure projects underway in Texas as the state braces for intensifying droughts and growing population pressures.
In May 2025, the Texas Legislature approved two major funding bills that will allocate nearly $20 billion toward modernizing water systems, improving drought resilience, and addressing aging infrastructure.
The private sector is also gearing up for growth in this space. In recent months, San Antonio-based Zachry Construction announced an agreement to acquire Plano-based Crescent Constructors, a move aimed at strengthening its position in the increasingly competitive water infrastructure market.
Industry analysts say such investments are crucial to sustaining Texas’s urban expansion and maintaining access to clean water across its fast-growing municipalities.
With more than 125 years in engineering and construction, Burns & McDonnell has become a key player in the U.S. water infrastructure market. The firm’s progressive design-build model has been applied to wastewater and energy projects nationwide, known for balancing innovation, cost-efficiency, and long-term sustainability.
In Texas alone, the company has contributed to multiple major municipal and industrial water projects, including advanced treatment facilities, water reuse systems, and stormwater management initiatives.
As Texas continues to invest heavily in infrastructure modernization, Burns & McDonnell’s San Marcos project marks another milestone in its mission to deliver reliable, community-driven water solutions that support both population growth and environmental stewardship.
Originally reported by Matthew Thibault in Construction Dive.
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