1985 was a bust year for the Texas oil and gas industry. A young Darrel Andrews, who had completed an engineering geology degree from Abilene Christian University the year before, was looking to change jobs. He was newly married and never home, spending most of his time on oil rigs, monitoring the geologic formations being drilled to ensure both safety and efficiency. The job of a mud logger, or drilling inspector, was a critical position, but Darrel was ready for something different.
When Darrel joined Tarrant Regional Water District 40 years ago, it was called Tarrant County Water Control and Improvement District Number One, and construction of the Richland-Chambers Reservoir was underway in East Texas.
One of the biggest challenges in preparing the reservoir footprint was first finding and plugging the multitudes of oil and gas wells that had been drilled in the creek bottoms over previous years, even decades. Some wells were still active, while others existed in varying states, from those that were drilled and abandoned over the years to those that had been drilled, worked and plugged. In all, what was then a small TRWD team of three, accomplished a mighty feat over nearly five years – poring through old maps and Texas Railroad Commission files, and consulting with local residents who knew the area’s history, to find and decommission almost 900 oil and gas well locations, some dating as far back as the late 1800s to the 1920s and ‘30s, when the state was defined by a massive oil boom.
Darrel was a key player in the reservoir effort. When the dam was completed and fill-up began, his responsibilities shifted from using his oil and gas knowledge to focusing more on environmental resource protection and water quality monitoring.
He helped shape the beginning of TRWD’s Environmental Division in 1986 and has remained a leader there over the years, most recently serving as Director of Environmental Services.
He immersed himself in nature, preservation and water recycling when the George W. Shannon Wetlands water supply project was built in the early 1990s – and he has since been involved in planning for the Marty Leonard Cedar Creek Wetlands, a new project addressing the tremendous population growth and related water needs of North Texas, that’s expected to start in 2026.
The Shannon wetlands has received considerable national, and even international, acclaim over the years. Darrel has made presentations about the project in Canada and around the U.S. He was interviewed about the project for a PBS children’s science program. He’s hosted tours for visiting delegations from Mexico, Russia and other countries. It’s been a fun journey, he says.
Officially, Darrel retired in July 2025 but he’s not slowing down yet. He will continue to serve in a transitional, consulting role for the Environmental Division through the end of this year.
His retirement plan is to “help people, whatever that looks like, in big ways, little ways,” Darrel says. He recently helped a friend repair a tornado-hit barn, and that’s where he sees himself down the road, doing things that are important to others, just like the work he’s done all these years through TRWD.
Of all that he’s been involved in over the last 40 years, Darrel says he will miss TRWD’s people the most when he fully retires.
“It feels like a big family. We care about each other and the projects we’re doing. TRWD is a place where people matter – the millions of people we serve and the teams who deliver the water and services that communities need,” he says.
The key to it all
There have been a lot of defining moments over his lengthy career, but a memory that still takes Darrel back and gives him a smile has to do with a tour he hosted well over 30 years ago for a group of water industry professionals.
An especially enthusiastic visitor asked, “Don’t you just love water?”
“At the time, I probably nodded in agreement – but I’ve never forgotten that question,” Darrel says. “It really defines what my life has been about all this time. I feel so lucky to have worked around something so important as water. What would we do without it?”
“So yeah, I guess I do love water.”
That’s one powerful statement – short and sweet – that sums it all up.
