Dallas eyes raising Patman lake level as water option

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

June 30, 2005 - "The City of Dallas has two issues with the Sulphur River Basinwide Study," reported Jim Thompson, president of the Sulphur River Basin Authority (SRBA), during the group's June 21 meeting in Mount Pleasant.

Those issues, which were revealed at a June 6 Joint Committee for Planning and Development (JCPD) meeting held in Wylie, are "they don't want to participate if Marvin Nichols is the end result. They want the lake levels raised at Wright Patman. Two, they don't want to participate if Freese and Nichols has a part" in conducting the study.

The JCPD is comprised of Tarrant Regional Water District, North Texas Water District, Upper Trinity Water District, City of Irving and City of Dallas. All of these entities have a stake in the development of Region C's water plan.

The City of Dallas, after stating their "issues" in a letter given to SRBA, did say they want to "keep all of its water supply options open" and they agreed to participate in Phase 1 of the basinwide study, according to Thompson.

The study is a step in assessing the water availability, and potential, in the river's basin area.

In detailing another of their issues, the City of Dallas "expressed a significant concern regarding the potential use of Freese and Nichols, Inc. (F&N) as the engineering firm to prepare the study, indicating that F&N may have a conflict of interest in preparing the study for a reservoir that they have claimed they would design if it were to be constructed.

"Therefore, consistent with the wishes of the city council in its authorization of the city's participation, we request, in the strongest terms possible, that F&N not be involved in the study in any capacity," the letter added.

The letter concluded by stating the city was looking forward to working the SRBA, other study participants, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to identify the most economical and environmental feasible options.

The City of Dallas also asked the SRBA to contact the city of Texarkana, Texas, about an ongoing study that Texarkana has with regards to the raising of lake levels at Wright Patman.

Texarkana Water Utilities was contacted about this subject and they have agreed to join forces, Mike Burke, SRBA executive director, told board members.

Also, during the June 21 SRBA meeting, the board approved sending letters to auditors throughout the basin asking them to submit letters if they were interested in handling the yearly audit. The fiscal year for the SRBA ends on Aug. 31 and the annual audit has to be turned into the state within 120 days from that date. The audit has been done by the same company for the last five years and members of the board felt they should give someone else the opportunity to handle the yearly audit. Responses from the letters will be reviewed during the next meeting on Aug. 16.

In other news from the meeting, annual employee evaluations where given, with the result of Burke getting a 2.5 percent cost-of-living raise and Secretary Nancy Rose getting a 50-cent per hour pay increase.

The next SRBA meeting is scheduled for Aug. 16, 1:30 p.m., Mount Pleasant Civic Center. (There will not a July meeting.)