Homes and dreams of NE Texas residents could end up underwater
By Hunter Trombetta
KTAL News, October 29, 2024
RED RIVER CO., Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – A David and Goliath fight is playing out over a plan to exchange homes and communities in northeast Texas for more water for Dallas-area residents.
The proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir would put 66,000 acres of land in northeast Texas underwater and set aside an undecided amount of land for mitigation purposes.
“It’s like we the landowners have no say … with the imminent domain laws and stuff like that.” says Eddie Belcher, a resident of Red River County.
The project has been in the works for decades but opponents are sounding the alarm over a renewed push to have it approved, including a recent feasibility report from the Texas Water Development Board that includes an estimated price tag of at least $4.4 billion for the reservoir.
“That’s just a huge price tag for a land grab. You know, if you want to take through imminent domain land and flood it by the acre and you want to sell it back by the bottle. That’s a great business plan, but it’s a raw deal for landowners in northeast Texas.” says Cass County Judge Travis Ransom.
The reservoir would not even be serving the water needs of the people in Northeast Texas area, but instead it would be pumped to the Dallas Metroplex.
“It’s just sinful. So, so I think I would tell people if, if you think it’s gonna be nice to have less expensive water for your lawn or a longer bath or a swimming pool, if you’ve derived it from a lake called Marvin Nichols, you’ve destroyed people who will never be back again together in that community.” says Dr. Jim Marshall, who has owned and operated a ranch in Red River County since 2016 but has also lived in Tarrant County for over two decades.
“So almost every new home that goes in in our area has a pool or there’s a pool complex, a large pool complex for the sub suburban subdivisions, and a considerable amount of water runs down the drain every day.” says Jim.
Opponents of the reservoir say the damage to the timber and agriculture industries on top of the loss of property taxes would be disastrous to the local economy.
“So it’s really, in my opinion, a poor proposal that prioritizes the economic development needs of the Metroplex over the economy and the ecology of northeast Texas.” says Judge Ransom.
To say nothing of the impact it would have on families and communities. Eddie Belcher is the fourth of seven generations who have owned his piece of land in Red River County.
“So it’s just the tranquility and, you know, it belongs to you, you know, you work for it, it belongs to you and it’s your home and I mean, you know, you can come home to it, but now that’s not 100% anymore.” says Eddie.
He and Jim and other residents say they say they will continue to fight back against the reservoir even though they fear time may be running out.
“But the fight it’ll go on, it’ll go on until it’s either stopped or it’s done, you know, and it’s not gonna stop with me, my son and my daughter is just as, I guess tied to this country as I am, or this land, my brothers and sisters also. But I’m gonna be the last man standing there.”
The Texas water development board is accepting public comment on their feasibility report until Friday, October 25th at midnight. You can find a link to the report and where to comment here.
Public comments can also be made at an in person Region D Water Planning Board meeting being held in Pittsburg, TX on Wednesday, October 30th. The meeting agenda packet which contains more info can be found here. The opponents of the Marvin Nichols Reservoir often show up to these meeting to share their personal testimony. They say in one instance a letter that Texas State Representative Gary VanDeaver addressed to Kevin Ward, Chair, Region C Water Planning Group (DFW area) was read aloud by a member of Region D (Jim Thompson, the Chair of North East Texas Regional Water Planning Group) at the September 30th Region C Water Planning meeting to get on the record.