Tyler City Council seats for Districts 1, 3, and 5 are up for election in May 2025.

The president of a Garland-based engineering company says a 10-year rehabilitation of Tyler’s sewer system is almost halfway complete.

In April 2017, the city entered into an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to rehabilitate its sewer system.

The age of the system was causing problems such as sanitary sewer overflows, which is essentially when there is a break in the system and sewage spills out.

“Right now, everything we’re doing is within the (agreement) requirements,” James Forbs, president of Pipeline Analysis, told the Tyler City Council during its Wednesday meeting. “All deadlines have been met, and we don’t foresee any issues at this point.”

Tyler had an estimated 620 miles of sewer and 8,500 manholes in April 2017, Forbs said. With the city’s increased population and after five years of work, there are now about 700 miles of sewer and 11,056 manholes.

The Environmental Protection Agency looks at the number of sanitary sewer overflows per 100 miles of sewer, Forbs said. In April 2017, Tyler had 15 overflows per 100 miles, and in 2021 it was down to nine, he said.

“The trend is in the right direction,” he said. “If EPA is looking at us, which I’m sure they’re monitoring us along with TCEQ, the trend is down, and that’s a good thing.”

Overflows often are caused by fat, grease and oil in pipes, Forbs said. In response, the city initiated a program in which restaurants, cafeterias and other places with grease traps are inspected to ensure they are pumping the traps regularly.

Under the April 2017 agreement, all pipes have to be cleaned, with a minimum of 100 miles done per year. At this time, “we’re way ahead of the schedule,” Forbs said.

Other requirements of the agreement include system cleaning, condition assessment, capacity assessment and the development of new procedures or updating current procedures.

System cleaning requires the inspection of all city manholes within five years and the inspection of every inch of pipes with closed circuit television cameras within eight years, Forbs said.

All manholes have been inspected, and the goal is to finish pipe inspection within seven years, he added.

By completing pipe inspections a year early, not only does this give the city more time to repair the pipes by the end of the 10-year agreement, but should cut associated costs, Forbs said.

In other business Wednesday, City Manager Edward Broussard announced that Darin Jennings, who has served as development services engineer manager since 2021, will be the new city engineer.

“Darin has the knowledge, experience and the collaborative spirit this role requires,” said Assistant City Manager Heather Nick. “Darin’s key priorities include: fostering a collaborative working environment, prioritizing strong communication and the prudent management of the half-cent sales tax program.”

Jennings will plan, direct and administer activities of the engineering department such as overseeing design and construction of capital improvement projects and half-cent sales tax fund administration, according to the city.

He is a licensed professional engineer in Texas and has more than 30 years of experience, according to the city. Jennings has worked for private consulting engineering firms and for the city of Rowlett as assistant city engineer.

Also on Wednesday, the city canceled November elections for mayor as well as council districts 2, 4 and 6.

All candidates for the posts face no opponent in the general election: Don Warren for mayor; Broderick McGee for District 2; James Wynne for District 4; and Brad Curtis for District 6.