The Waller County Economic Development Partnership brought teams of experts to cover looming issues of energy, mobility and drainage during a half-day infrastructure conference on April 16.

The event, featuring Waller County Judge Trey Duhon as the keynote speaker, took place at Edmonds Hall at the Waller County Fairgrounds, 21988 FM 359 in Hempstead. Duhon noted that Waller County has recently been named as the fastest growing county in Texas and the second-fastest growing county in the nation, according to census data released in late March. The county’s population grew by 5.7% — just behind Jasper County in South Carolina, according to reporting by The Texas Tribune on March 26. The number of people living in Waller County has grown by more than 13,000 residents between 2020 and 2025, going from 56,769 to 69,858.

“Today’s conference is a extremely important reminder that infrastructure is not just about roads and construction projects,” Duhon said in his address. “It is about planning ahead so Waller County can grow in a smart, responsible way that protects both our quality of life and our future opportunities.”

“At the end of the day, being successful in regards to infrastructure is largely contingent on developing strong and meaningful relationships with all of the stakeholders that are involved - such as municipalities, corporate and community partners, state agencies, neighboring counties, nonprofits, developers, planners, engineers, utility companies, emergency management and public safety agencies and more, in order to make sure that our approach is collaborative and that it is centered around the core mission of doing what we can (with the limited tools that we have) to not only maintain, but to improve quality of life while striving to maintain the rural and agricultural heritage that makes Waller County so special,” Duhon said. “It’s no easy task.”

Panelists speaking on energy – Justin Hargraves, manager of Transmission Accounts for CenterPoint Energy; Jon Parrella, co-founder and CEO of TerraFlow Energy; Kristi Hobbs, vice president for system planning and weatherization for ERCOT; and Jay Sutherland, COO of Verde Capital Management -- -- addressed the sharp increase in the number of data centers locating in Texas and their impact on energy and the grid. Panelists also spoke about new technology for battery energy storage systems (BESS). Moderator Vince Yokum, executive director of the Waller EDP, said that the major challenge in attracting businesses to the county was the availability of power he also noted that the county is seeing an influx in large-load users such as data centers and manufacturing. Asked how ERCOT was handling large-load users, Hobbs said the long-term load forecast released a day prior the conference was over 367,000 megawatts for the state in the next five years and that ERCOT was working with the legislature and with utility partners. SB 6, passed last year, ensured that residenti.al customers are protected. Hargraves said that CenterPoint had seen an influx of large-load customers over the past year and that studies were being planned out six to seven years in advance to handle the increased demand. The power loads for AI data centers are volatile and can fluctuate in huge swings multiple times per minute, experts said and those companies are looking for alternative sources of power, including battery energy storage systems

and wind power. Sutherland said that the design of a data center impacts how it uses power – the type of power and the amount that is needed, and that the evolution was changing rapidly, moving from heavy water consumption to evaporative cooling with low water use and closed systems. Not all properties are suitable for data centers; considerations include availability fiber optics to move data in tremendous quantities; sewage; roads for ingress and egress; and proximity to the workforce. Availability of nearby natural gas pipelines is also important, Hargraves said. Equipment shortages and long lead times further complicate development. Hargraves said that a properly designed data center could actually help support the grid.

The panel on mobility – consisting of Matt Brannen of BGE Engineering, AIG Technical Vice President James Koch, TxDOT Fort Bend/Waller Area Engineer Daniel Dvorak and H-GAC Chief Transportation Officer Ron Papsdorf – was moderated by Waller County Precinct 4 Commissioner Justin Beckendorff. Asked what the significant challenges in growth for the county, panelists noted that, outside of I-10, US 290 and parts of US 90, all the roads in Waller County are two-lane, which will require a lot of intersection and road improvements in order to catch up to growth. TxDOT said that the corridors of I-10 and FM 529 are key, and that the department has evolved its permitting process over the last several years in order to keep up with development. The department is coordinating with Tesla and other large developments, he said. Truck parking along I-10 ramps is also an issue and TxDOT is looking at the matter as a safety concern. Papsdorf said that regional collaboration and cooperation was important “in order to catch up and keep up” and said that all stakeholders – including utility and fiber companies – needed to leverage their individual resources to contribute. Panelists said that transportation funding continues to be a challenge and that its primary source – the tax on gasoline – has not been increased since the 1990’s. North-south connectivity between US 290 and I-10 and around FM 529 and is also a concern due to the expansion of facilities in those areas. That mobility will be crucial as the central portions of the county become more developed. FM 362 and FM 359 are also important, as is the proposed expansion of Highway 36A, all of which are TxDOT projects. “The corridors need to be developed earlier rather than later,” one panelist said. With increased loads on Waller County roads, especially a significant increase in freight movements, safety is becoming increasingly important. Asked about the biggest opportunities in advancing regional mobility, panelists said that the development of the FM 359 and FM 362 corridors, along with FM 529 and US 290, are the biggest opportunities to improve mobility. A $1.5 billion investment has been made in I-10 from the Harris County line to FM 359 and will be delivered in four segments – three of which are in Waller County, with the remaining segment in Fort Bend County. Development is already on FM 529, and more is coming; the Harris County portion will be improved first and in late 2030 additional portions will be widened. Alternate ways to get north-south traffic to US 290 include improvements to FM 1489, extending it north of US 90 in Brookshire, and the proposed Highway 36A to move freight through the county. H-GAC is looking ahead to anticipate future needs, as Waller County is expected to double its population in the next 20 years, Papsdorf said, while continuing to look at the needs of today. There is not enough money to address all the needs across the region so hard decisions will be necessary, he said. Beckendorff said that he believed that the county population would double in five or ten years. Brannen said that ordinary citizens wanted projects to increase capacity but that those projects were the most expensive and took the most time. He praised Waller County’s mobility bond projects for its balance of projects which could show some immediate safety

improvements. The projects include several overlay projects as well as intersection improvements, striping, and illumination. Another seven projects will be let in 2026 and six in 2027, he said. Beckendorff said that the county would likely have another mobility bond in two years. An extension of the Harris County Toll Road into Waller County may also be considered. The first stakeholder meeting for Highway36A is set up for April 30 and the first public meeting will be scheduled for this summer where four possible routes will be presented. By late summer the possible routes will be narrowed to two preferred possibilities. The next public meeting will be next spring where a recommended route will be chosen. Beckendorff emphasized the importance of Highway 36A as a hurricane evacuation route.

Drainage experts were Cory Stull, principal and vice president of Freese and Nichols; Jeff Janacek, first assistant to the Chief engineer for Fort Bend County Drainage District; and William Conlan, chief hydrologist for LJA Engineering. The group reviewed the importance of Brazos River watershed to Waller County.