May 25, 2006 - The regional water plans filed by a Northeast Texas and an East Texas groups were among the five plans approved May 16 by the Texas Water Development Board, clearing the way for TWDB to prepare the State Water Plan.

The 15 regional water plans issued to the TWDB by the Jan. 3 deadline have now all been approved by the board. Region L’s plan (involving South Central Texas) was not filed by the deadline. The Region L plan issued to TWDB in February will be used in TWDB’s development of the State Water Plan, according to Carla Daws, TWDB communications officer.

The state’s regional groups were formed to develop plans for ensuring adequate water supply needs through 2060. The State Water Plan, to be developed by TWDB from the approved regional plans, will be provided to state leaders in about six months.

The Northeast Texas (Region D) Regional Water Planning Area includes 18 counties and a portion of Smith County. Groundwater and surface water resources are abundant in the region and are generated from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in the central and northern part of the region and the Trinity Aquifer in the north; as well as from the Red, Sulphur, Cypress, and Sabine River basins and small parts of the Trinity and Neches River basins.

The East Texas (Region I) Regional Water Planning Area includes all or part of 20 counties, stretching from the Golden Triangle of Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange in the south to Tyler in the piney woods of Smith County in the north, and from the Texas-Louisiana border in the east to the Trinity River basin boundary in the west. The region has a large amount of surface water available, from the Sabine and Neches rivers and their tributaries. Eleven major reservoirs with storage capacity over 5,000-acre feet, and two major aquifers (the Gulf Coast and the Carrizo-Wilcox) currently exist in the region.

Both regions expect population to increase, as well as the demand for water supplies. Their plans for dealing with expected water shortages include several methods, such as conservation and wastewater reuse. The Region D plan calls for no construction of new reservoirs but rather strategies that involve utilizing available contracted water from Water User Groups (WUGs) or drill new wells within the WUGs area. The Region I plan also recommends “no unique stream segments or reservoir sites.”

Other regional water plans approved May 16 were for the Panhandle (Region A), the Plateau (Region J), and the Lower Colorado (Region K). Each regional water planning group’s approved plan can be viewed online at www.twdb.state.tx.us/rwpg/main-docs/2006RWPindex.asp.