Efforts underway to provide alternatives to proposed Marvin Nichols

By Kenny Mitchell

Mount Pleasant Tribune, February 19, 2025

The decades old battle by the people of Northeast Texas to keep the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir out of the Sulphur River Basin wages on. But some recent developments bring optimism that the proverbial tide may be turning.

One of those developments came from Lubbock, Texas Senator Charles Perry, who spoke on WFAA -TV in Dallas about an alternative to Marvin Nichols.

Sen. Perry called Marvin Nichols “eminent domain purgatory” and stated that he has a plan that would propose an alternative water source for the DFW water hogs. Perry said that both the Texas Senate and House have $2.5 billion earmarked in their base budgets to boos the state’s water initiative, as well as, he also hopes that voters will approve a $1billion constitutional amendment in November that will dedicate a specific source of revenue for water supply development into perpetuity.

In general, lawmakers plan to use that funding to replace aging infrastructure and dramatically decrease water loss from leaking lines.

Under Perry’s plan state lawmakers will also look at other alternative sources for water supply including desalination and building storage to capture water during extreme rainfall events.

The push for desalination got a boost in late January as a $17.5 million grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation paved the way for Port Isabel-based Laguna Madre Water District to construct the Rio Grande Valley’s first desalination plant to convert seawater to useable water for the region.

Jim Thompson, who has spent decades fighting the proposed reservoir as a Region D Board member and advocate for NE Texas timber producers, said of Perry’s plan, ““We are cautiously optimistic about Sen. Perry’s comments about a potential alternative to Marvin Nicols that would provide the DFW region with water. 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. We look forward to learning more and working with lawmakers to ensure 200,000 acres of private land in Northeast Texas stays in the hands of hardworking Texans.”

The fight to stop Marvin Nichols does not end there. House District 1 Representative Gary Van-Deaver has filed two bills during the current session of the Legislature in an effort to erase the proposed reservoir from the State Water Plan.

Rep. VanDeaver introduced House Bills 2109 and 2114 to “help block the further development and land grab of the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir.” The 66,000-acre behemoth in the Sulphur River Basin has been listed as a possible source of future water since 1968, and HB 2109 would require the executive administrator of the Texas Water Development Board to remove a proposed reservoir from a state water plan if construction has not begun within 50 years.

“It is unreasonable to think that the state has the right to call ‘dibs’ on private property to be taken at some point more than 50 years in the future. We see an entire generation of landowners who are afraid to build a house, a barn or make other long-range plans because the state has laid claims to their land to be taken if future needs require it,” said Rep. VanDeaver. House Bill 2114 is a best practice, transparency bill to prevent engineers who have been involved in the preparation of a state or regional water plan from participating in the construction of a reservoir.

Of the bill, VanDeaver stated, “I believe this bill is a common-sense approach to ensuring that we are not creating conflicts of interest by allowing a firm to have a strong voice in recommending which projects should be pursued and then allow those same firms to collect millions if not billions of state dollars for overseeing the completions of those projects. This brings much-needed transparency to the entire process.”

Rep. VanDeaver went on to say, “As Texans, we hold dear the right to own private property and value the importance of transparency in any attempt to take private property by eminent domain. These bills provide much-needed guardrails to this important process. I look forward to working with my colleagues this session to ensure that the state’s future water needs are met while protecting the private property rights of all Texans.”

All of these efforts are an attempt to stop the construction of a reservoir that, with the possible mitigation numbers, could remove 200,000 acres of generational homesteads, pristine bottomland hardwoods, and pieces of the history of our state and nation out of the realm of general use. The 66,000-acre footprint of the proposed lake would put places like Cuthand underwater forever and would take away the home of species like the bald eagle and the paddlefish. All of this at an estimated cost near $7 billion, which many think is a low-end estimate, with a more realistic number being closer to $10 billion.

While a feasibility study completed last year found no reason not to construct the reservoir, the words of Governor Greg Abbott still ring out to those opposed to the construction of Marvin Nichols. Abbott said roughly one year ago, “There are water needs, whether it be in the Dallas area or even in the Tyler area. But what we must do, we must explore other options before we start taking people’s lands or flooding property that’s been around for literally centuries.”

Lawmakers like Senator Perry and Representative VanDeaver are doing what they can to take the state’s top leader at his word.