Study cites alternative to Marvin Nichols
Metroplex region could quench their needs with available water supplies

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

May 8, 2003 -- Do the words, "No Marvin Nichols," ring a bell?

According to a federal study completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in February, the North Texas area (Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex) could tap into existing water supplies such as Wright Patman in Texarkana, instead of building a new reservoir such as Marvin Nichols.

The study came to light in a story printed in the April 27 edition of The Dallas Morning News.

The Corps suggests one alternative, reads the article, is to redesignate some of the storage in an existing Corps reservoir - Wright Patman, southwest of Texarkana - as water supply and pipe the unclaimed extra westward to another Corps lake, Jim Chapman (also known as Cooper Lake, which is already tied into the urban region's existing water system).

This option could provide about 300,000 acre-feet of water a year for the metroplex, the article explained.

An acre-feet, put into prospective, is equivalent to a football field with a foot of water on it.

The study was not something new for people who oppose the building of the Marvin Nichols Reservoir.

"Unofficially the Sulphur River Oversight Society (SOS) has known for a while about the study," SOS President Max Shumake said on April 29. "This is the first official word that has been released to the public."

Shumake added, "I feel like Region C (the metroplex) is catching a tremendous amount of heat from the Texas Water Development Board and others across Texas. This is what all the regions should have been looking at when they were set up - options."

Many East Texas (Region D) citizens have voiced opposition to the now proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir project. But with the project still on the Region C water plan, the reservoir could still be built by the metroplex.

The Wright Patman option, along with other alternatives such as utilizing Toledo Bend and conservation, is a progressive move, said Walt Sears, administrator for the North East Texas Regional Water Planning Group (NETRWPG).

Sears continued, "The metroplex and Northeast Texas are dependent resources. What's good for us, is good for them. If they damage us, then they damage themselves."

Sears said what Region C is talking about with Wright Patman is the volume of water is already physically capturable. "There are real advantages to taking from existing reservoirs."

Tony Williams, NETRWPG chairman, cited, "This is a good positive result in examining how much water is in a number of reservoirs. I appreciate their effort to examine all their options. We ask them to carefully look at all their options. "

Williams added there may not be one answer but several answers to (the metroplex water) problems.

What does this all mean?

Sears stated if Dallas (Region C) selects taking water from existing reservoirs, they conserve and do other measures, then it could postpone the Marvin Nichols Reservoir project for the foreseeable future.

"If they are successful in using other strategies, then Marvin Nichols could be postponed for at least 20 years," Sears said.

The administrator said, "As we pick water supply solutions, I see progress being as not jumping out there and building a reservoir as the first option.

"Progress is being made from the standpoint of where we were two years ago. Real progress is being made, but slow progress. I am encouraged that they (Region C) are listening to the citizens of East Texas," Sears surmised.

"Region C is right on target," Shumake concluded.