Sabine River group asks to be worked into North East Texas water plan

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

April 7, 2005 - "Water is available" was the message conveyed by Sabine River Authority of Texas (SRATX) to the North East Texas Region Water Planning Group (NETRWPG) at the March 30 meeting in Mount Pleasant.

The purpose of the presentation was to "request the NETRWPG to consider including the Toledo Bend Reservoir Pipeline Project in the NETRWPG regional plan for meeting the SRATX's Upper Sabine Basin water supply service area needs," according to a letter presented to NETRWPG Chairman Jim Thompson.

The letter explained the Sabine River Basin is located in three of the 16 regional water planning areas - Region I, D, and C. NETRWPG oversees Region D.

In Region I (the region immediately south of Region D), the SRATX owns and operates the John W. Simmons Gulf Coast Canal System in Orange County and jointly owns and operates Toledo Bend Reservoir with the Sabine River Authority, State of Louisiana.

SRATX also owns and operates Lake Tawakoni and Lake Fork Reservoirs under a joint use permit. The authority has completed and evaluated studies to access the growing demand for additional water supply in the Upper Sabine Basin service area. Lake Tawakoni and Lake Fork supply water to the Sabine, Trinity and Sulphur River basins.

According to the SRATX, "growing demand is evidenced by the specific requests ... from existing, as well as potential new, customers within the Upper Sabine Basin and adjacent service areas." SRATX has been unable to fulfill these requests since the annual yield of surface water from both lakes is "totally committed" under long-term water supply contracts.

"We have no more water in Lake Tawakoni or Lake Fork to sell," said SRATX's Jack Tatum, who presented the information to the board.

Tatum also stated existing customers are using 30 percent of the contracted water (excluding the City of Dallas) and are unwilling to release committed water due to two reasons: 1) a lack of alternative supplies and concerns with costs of future supplies; and 2) the future supply from the two reservoirs is expected to decrease because of sedimentation.

As far as Toledo Bend Reservoir, it is the largest man-made body of water in the South and the fifth largest in surface acres (181,000 acres/capacity of 4,477,000 acre feet) in the United States. There is a 85-milowatt hydroelectric facility jointly owned by SRATX and the Sabine River Authority-Louisiana. The water ownership is split equally between the states with a total firm annual yield of over 2 million acre feet. The 1 million acre feet allotted to Texas is the largest source of surface water available in the state.

Tatum cited the SRATX has determined the Toledo Bend Reservoir pipeline is the best alternative to meet projected long-term Upper Sabine Basin needs.

Currently, the regional planning process rules exclude it as a water supply option because it is not listed as part of a specifically identified water management strategy.

The pipeline, according to SRATX, would be a viable alternative because it is from an existing reservoir, it is available water, does not over-allocate the available supply, and does not impact any other water supply plan for this service area.

SRATX is also taking an active role in the instream flow and freshwater inflow needs for the Sabine-Neches Estuary.

"We are confident of balancing man's water supply needs and the environment in a win/win long-term situation," Tatum stated.

"It is important to get Toledo Bend to supply the long-term needs. We are asking this board to add the project to the regional plan as a feasible water supply alternative," Tatum concluded.

The question was asked if Region C, which is the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, had heard the presentation, to which the reply was "not yet."

The suggestion was made to the Region C liaison, in attendance at the March 30 NETWRPG meeting, to convey the message about the presentation to the Region C planning members, so that "we can compare apples to apples."

NETRWPG board member Richard Letourneau suggested the consultant team begin the process of making Toledo Bend as a water management strategy, which was approved by the board.

Those in attendance applauded the efforts by the board and the SRATX.

The next NETRWPG meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, at the Titus County Extension office in Mount Pleasant.