WATER WAR

PITTSBURG — The Region D (Northeast Texas) water board experienced internal conflict at their meeting in Pittsburg on Thursday and are faced with a decision. The group can concede some demands from Dallas regarding the proposed Marvin Nichols reservoir to get to the bargaining table and avoid interregional conflict. The alternative, as Delta County representative David Nabors put it: “I’ll fight until Hell freezes over. They’re not getting the Marvin Nichols Reservoir.”

Approximately 70 citizens and civic leaders assembled at the Region 8 Education Service Center to discuss the strategy with which to approach the Region C (Dallas) group going forward. Last week in Sulphur Springs, Region C members revealed they viewed the proposed Marvin Nichols reservoir as necessary, stating they needed to flood as much as 65,000 acres in Franklin, Titus and Red River counties as soon as 2050.

Previously in 2015, the two groups agreed the reservoir would be much smaller at 42,000 acres and would not be created until 2070, if at all. But DFW officials stated last week they did not believe they were “reneging” on a promise, as their water needs were urgent.

CITIZEN COMMENTS

Rivercrest Independent School District Superintendent Stanley Jessee made his second appearance in front of water board members, beseeching them to consider the future of his district and students.

Jessee, a resident of Cuthand community, said he will lose his land to inundation of Marvin Nichols. However, he said he is also worried about the school district, as the reservoir will “put its foot down right in the middle” of available, taxable lands.

“All the land that’s underwater, that’s our funding,” Jessee said. “People will have to move. I will have to move.”

Jessee said that although it’s uncommon for an educator to speak out about a political issue, he feels it’s important for the future of his community.

“I just didn’t want this to come to pass without having said my piece,” he told the News-Telegram.

Donna Warren, a retired teacher from Clarksville ISD, also spoke against the creation of the reservoir in any form, specifically because of the burden it will place on local taxpayers to create infrastructure in and around the reservoir.

“We will have to create roadways, and some roadways will have to be raised,” Warren said. “Utilities, sewer and water lines will have to be replaced. Where will the money for that come from?”

Tony Smith, of Carollo Engineers, presented about Region D’s water plan. The document, which spans a thousand pages, has taken Carollo Engineers approximately four years to prepare. In Smith’s document, the engineers state in clear language: Region D does not recommend the creation of Marvin Nichols Reservoir, of any size, by any agency.

“Marvin Nichols should not be included as a water management strategy in any regional water plan or the state water plan,” Carollo stated.

Carollo said the engineering firm had based this conclusion on several studies of the environment, agriculture and rural development and more.

Landowner Ray Tab called on Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, to become involved in the area as his district, District 4, encompasses Dallas and only congress has the ability to pass laws protecting specific waterways, he said.

ART OF THE DEAL

Board member Jim Davis stated he believed it was important to remember that Region C was asking for additional water “not because they want to, but because they have to.”

“They’ve got to do something,” Davis noted. “Frankly, I think that gives us our maximum point of leverage in the negotiation.”

“They would have given us anything we wanted the other day in Sulphur Springs if we had agreed to change the date to 2050,” Davis opined.

Region C member Robert Lingenfelter, who appeared not on behalf of the Region C, but in opposition to Marvin Nichols, agreed.

Lingenfelter pointed out that during the discussion in Sulphur Springs, when Region C made need for Northeast Texas water in 2050 known, “the discussion ended right there.” Lingenfelter urged the group to consider the 2050 date because “if you’re giving something up, you’re going to be getting something in return.”

“Forget about 2050 or 2070; … There’s a lot of things you could ask for,” Lingenfelter said.

He suggested one such thing would be asking an outside consultant to look into the seriousness of enforcing strict and mandatory guidelines about landscape watering in DFW municipalities.

“There are year-round outdoor watering limits, which I think would be extraordinarily good. … I think the outside consultant could look at that in Region C,” Lingenfelter said.

He felt that by not discussing a 2050 date, however, Region D might not be able to hire an outside consultant to investigate that possibility, he said.

“You’re talking as if Region C is a monolith,” Lingenfelter noted. “Think about compromise with Region C and give them what they think they need.”

“Let’s make up a wish list of everything we can think of we want and see how much we can get,” Davis agreed.

Thompson, however, was of the opposite opinion.

“If you think at any point you’re going to give them [Region C] something and they’re going to give you what you want, you might want to re-evaluate that position,” he said.

To Thompson, when Region C offers secondary options, it does not hold them as true secondary options, he said.

“The very first meeting we went to, they had [Lake] Wright Patman, but then they took it off,” Thomson said. “Even though the water from [Lake] Texoma is already there, magically it doesn’t come on until Marvin Nichols is online. Those reservoirs are already there.”

Thompson believes that if forced to take Marvin Nichols out of their plans, Region C could do so.

“They’ve got plenty of options,” Thompson stated. “They may not like those options because they have to pay more for those options, … but if they had to do a water plan today and they couldn’t do Marvin Nichols, they’d have a water plan. I assure you.”

Thompson further contends it was Region C who “pushed back from the table” regarding the 2050 vs. 2070 implementation date of the reservoir.

Nabors expressed frustration that Region C had approximately 423,999 acre feet of water in various reservoirs and lakes their upcoming water plan in addition to Marvin Nichols.

“They have plenty of opportunities, and they have plenty of solutions,” Nabors said. “They have water that’s already there.”

Ultimately, according to Thomson, plans are still continuing to change underneath the board’s feet. For example, he said, Region C still perceived Lake Wright Patman as an option in November, but no longer did at last week’s meeting. Region C will hold hold their next meeting and decide what their plan is on Feb. 10.

“You’re dealing with moving objects,” Thompson said.

THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD

According to Thompson, he’s ready to return to the table if Region C is.

“I’m still willing to talk. Everyone can bring their own ideas as long as it’s not 2050 or you can go fly a kite,” Thompson said.

“I’m not negotiating,” Nabors declared. “You can do what you want; they’re not getting my land for nothing.”

“We’ve got 24 people here, and we can all vote however we want to,” board member Walt Sears said. “This is all just a starting point.”

The group has until March 3 to submit their plan concerning an interregional conflict situation for water rights.