Author: Preserve Northeast Texas

Rep. Cole Hefner said that the Marvin Nichols Reservoir project is about taking land from Northeast Texans to fix the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex’s water issues.

Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, introduced House Bills 2109 and 2114 “to help block the further development and land grab of the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir,” according to a news release.

Regional water planners would build the Marvin Nichols reservoir by flooding 67,000 acres in northeastern Texas. Pipes would carry the water to the Metroplex. Belcher owns more than 700 acres of land in the area, inherited from both sides of his family. He intends to pass down the property to his six grandchildren, keeping the ranch in the same family for seven generations.

Generations of East Texas families have lived and died on these lands, and it is their right to allow their heirs to do the same. These lands are their heritage,” said Hefner. “DFW must find another solution to its water woes without depriving our people of their land.”

“I call that particular reservoir ‘eminent domain purgatory.’ It might happen. I know for a fact, with confidence, it’s not going to happen in the next 10 or 15 or 20 years. And I know that that region needs water sooner than that,” said the Republican.

After years of evaluations and months of public input, a state board said it’s feasible a planned reservoir in Northeast Texas could supply water to several North Texas counties by 2050.

Though the project has been deemed feasible, the official recommendation of a reservoir project in the state water plan does not guarantee it will be permitted and implemented because it will have to undergo extensive processes at the state and federal levels.

There is one reason that the Dallas-Fort Worth region continues to push for the Marvin Nichols Reservoir. The reason is simple and it is a motivator as old as time: greed. The companies proposing lakes are the same ones who build them.

Northeast Texas officials called for a recent study on the Marvin Nichols Reservoir to be revised because it is biased and misleading, according to a letter obtained by The Dallas Morning News.

A contingent of 42 concerned residents of Northeast Texas spoke during the meeting voicing their overwhelming opposition to the behemoth lake, which would drown 66,000 acres in the Sulphur River Basin and require as much as three times that amount for mitigation.