Preserve Northeast Texas
“We think our citizens have a legitimate complaint and it’s our job to stand up for what’s right, and defend their private property rights,” Rep. Cole Hefner said.
Two state representatives filed bills tied to the reservoir this week and a senator hinted that there may be an alternative water source.
His recognition that Marvin Nichols is ’eminent domain purgatory’ rings true for all of the people of Northeast Texas who have for decades lived with the threat of the loss of their land, livelihoods and heritage to an unnecessary, costly and damaging reservoir.
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.”
CBS19, January 27, 2025
“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.