"Intensive Archaeological Survey for the NTMWD North McKinney Pipeline " by Megan Koszarek and Kristin Morgan

Home > Research Projects and Centers > Center for Regional Heritage Research > Index of Texas Archaeology > Vol.

Article Title

Intensive Archaeological Survey for the NTMWD North McKinney Pipeline Phase III—Project No. 431, Collin County, Texas

Authors

Agency

Texas Historical Commission

Abstract

The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) contracted HDR Engineering, Inc. (HDR) to conduct an intensive archaeological survey prior to the installation of the proposed North McKinney Pipeline in McKinney, Collin County, Texas. The pipeline will consist of 23,918 linear feet (ft) of pipeline, with a diameter measuring between 72 inches (in) and 84 in, along an approximately 4.53-mile (mi) long easement corridor. Of this total, approximately 3.28 mi have been previously surveyed by Geo-Marine, Inc. in 2009 (Tiné 2009). Thus, the current cultural resources investigation conducted by HDR will cover the remaining 1.25 mi of pipeline easement. The survey corridor comprises the 40-ft permanent easement with an additional 60 ft temporary construction easement, totaling 100ft. The total Area of Potential Effects (APE) is 660,000 square ft (15.2 acres), and construction impacts are projected at depths of 12 to 20 ft.

HDR completed an intensive archaeological survey of the 1.25 mi APE on April 4, 2017. During the course of the survey notifications, one landowner instructed the HDR crew to avoid entry to a portion of an agricultural field containing young crops. In total, 15 shovel tests were excavated within the remainder of the APE. The survey crew included principal investigator Megan Koszarek and project archaeologist Ben Fullerton, and a total of 16 person hours were invested in the field survey. This work was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit Number 7792.

In accordance with 13 Texas Administrative Code [TAC] 26, no further archaeological investigations are recommended. As a result of the present survey, it is recommended that the proposed installation of approximately 1.25 mi of pipeline will not have any effect on archaeological resources in the project APE, and construction may proceed. In the event that any archaeological deposits are encountered during construction, work should cease, and the Texas Historical Commission (THC) should be notified.

All records and materials generated by this project will be permanently curated at the Center for Archaeological Studies (CAS) at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.