It’s been 44 years since Jesse Yrlas joined Tarrant Regional Water District. The district has grown a lot since then, and so have Jesse’s job responsibilities.
Jesse remembers first becoming acquainted with TRWD while working for Butler Construction Company, builder of the district’s Ennis water pump station starting in 1978.
Jesse had experience pouring and finishing concrete, having worked during high school with his father and grandfather, who were part of the city of Plano’s early development during the 1970s, laying foundations for homebuilders in what was then just a budding community on the outskirts of Dallas.
Jesse’s granddad owned the concrete company, and he had convinced Jesse’s dad to move his family from South Texas to help with the business. The family relocated to Ennis, just south of Dallas, where Jesse and most of his family still live today.
After a while, Jesse decided that he wanted to work closer to home, rather than making the daily drive to Plano, so when he heard that Butler would be building TRWD’s new pump station, he immediately applied for a job.
Joining TRWD
When the project finished in 1980, TRWD asked Jesse if he’d like to join the district as operator of the new pump station. Four TRWD team members stopped by to talk to him about the job.
It was an easy “yes,” since Jesse had been involved in all the details of construction from the ground up. After working all day on the construction crew, he often returned at night, working until 1 or 2 in the morning to help set the pumps. TRWD’s job offer was perfectly aligned with the skills he had already been utilizing.
“North Texas was going through a really hot drought period at the time, so it was important to get the pump station up and running quickly,” he said. “Working extra shifts helped the project move faster.”
When Jesse joined TRWD in 1980, he was responsible for making sure all the pumps were running correctly. He made rounds every hour, checked chemicals and maintained a smooth operation in Ennis for 17 years.
In 1997, he was invited to be a pump mechanic, another job he knew how to do well. He accepted the position and worked for 18 years in that TRWD role.
Beginning a first-of-its-kind new project
When the district’s new Integrated Pipeline Project (IPL) started, coworker Ed Weaver asked Jesse to join the project as a construction inspector on the pipeline and accompanying new pump stations that were planned.
The IPL is a joint water supply project between Dallas Water Utilities and TRWD. The project involves building an additional 150 miles of pipeline to move water from three East Texas reservoirs into the Metroplex. When it’s fully operational, the pipeline will have the capacity to transport 350 million gallons of water per day – ensuring access to reliable water supplies for decades to come.
With a new tunnel underneath the Trinity River complete, the Integrated Pipeline recently reached a milestone. Workers are now beginning to add 50-foot sections of 108-inch diameter steel pipe. Eventually, this section of pipe will carry water from Cedar Creek Reservoir into Tarrant County.
After 44 years, Jesse has a lot of good friends at TRWD and enjoys that his days are never the same.
“It’s always interesting, and there are many beautiful parts of Texas to see as we move to different locations on the pipeline,” he said.
At age 68, Jesse says he has no plans to retire yet. He says he will just keep working “as long as it feels good.”
Jesse is a guy who likes to keep active. When he’s back home in Ennis, he cleans and mows and stays busy outside. On Sundays, you can often find him at church, helping with communion.
He owns cattle land west of Fort Worth that his brother-in-law helps him maintain, and he likes to deer hunt. He spends a lot of time with family and enjoys driving to Howard Payne University in Brownwood to watch his niece play softball.
Mostly, Jesse says, work is his passion.
It seems that the flow of TRWD is what he truly enjoys.
