After the Texas Water Development Board declared the existence of an interregional conflict over the controversial Marvin Nichols Reservoir project last summer, a compromise framework has been agreed upon by the Region C and Region D water planning districts and approved by the board.
The compromise postpones the reservoir project but keeps it in the state’s water plan.
Region C is responsible for water planning for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, while Region D covers northeast Texas.
Both groups met over the summer at the direction of TWDB and agreed that the Marvin Nichols Reservoir project will remain in Regions C’s water plan, although the project has been postponed and other reservoir projects are also to be considered.
With the project’s postponement, Region C’s plan is shifting to focus on water conservation and treated reuse.
The TWDB gave final approval of the agreed upon compromise during its January board meeting.
According to the meeting’s agenda, the two regions agreed on revising Region C’s water plan, moving the Marvin Nichols project back twenty years, and considering the Toledo Bend Reservoir as a companion reservoir or a complete alternative.
Estimates have projected that Marvin Nichols would cost about $7 billion to complete, one of the most expensive projects in the state’s water plan.
Originally proposed to be built along the Sulphur River in 1968, it wasn’t until 1984 that the Marvin Nichols Reservoir project was included in the Texas Water Plan. The reservoir would deliver drinking water to the rapidly growing Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
However, constructing the reservoir would require the use of eminent domain to acquire nearly 200,000 acres. The reservoir itself requires 70,000 acres, with the remaining 130,000 needed to offset environmental impact.
Residents from northeast Texas have consistently spoken out against the project, saying that it would cause a loss of “invaluable land, generational farms and ranches, and our way of life.” They also argue that reservoirs are outdated and the proposed location for the Marvin Nichols project is not in the correct location to provide water to the metroplex.
In a report commissioned by the Texas Conservation Alliance, researchers concluded that there is no question that the project could provide a large portion of the water needed for the growing metroplex, but “what is questionable, and what makes this project controversial, is the idea that the project is the most feasible supply alternative for the region.”
“For decades, reservoirs have been the go-to tool for developing our state’s water needs, but a changing climate and advances in innovation demonstrate they are not the solution for our future,” said Janice Bezanson, Senior Policy Director of the Texas Conservation Alliance.
The report also highlighted that the planning process is being pushed by Freese and Nichols, Inc, a Fort Worth-based engineering, planning, and consulting firm and the lead consultant in drafting Region C’s water plan. Marvin Nichols, one of Texas’ most well known water engineers, joined the firm in 1927. He was also the first chairman of the Texas Water Development Board, and the person for whom the highly controversial reservoir project is named.
During an interview with Green Source Texas in August 2024, Bezanson noted that Freese and Nichols “would get a billion dollar contract to build Marvin Nichols Reservoir.”
Locals from northeast Texas have shown up consistently over the years to speak in opposition to the project during regional water district meetings, with many pointing out that it will force families out of the area, some of whom have lived there for generations.
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