State Water Board declares interregional conflict

By Kenny Mitchell

Mount Pleasant Tribune, July 8, 2025

Thanks to a ruling last week by the Texas Water Development Board, water planners in Region D (Northeast Texas) and Region C (DFW area) will head to mediation to try and resolve the decades-long conflict over the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir.

The TWDB ruled that there was a conflict between the two regions and ordered them to go to mediation to resolve the issue. The issue is very simple. Region C’s long range water plan includes the construction of the Marvin Nichols Reservoir in the Sulphur River Basin, and the Region D plan states specifically that Marvin Nichols should not only not be included in the Region C plan, but should not be included in any regional or state plan.

According to state law, the TWDB cannot approve a regional water plan until all interregional conflicts have been resolved.

The proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir has a planned footprint of 66,000 acres that could also require as much as an additional 200,000 acres for mitigation. That massive amount of acreage would be lost from Northeast Texas forever and would dramatically impact generational homesteads, the timber industry and the economy of Northeast Texas as a whole.

Efforts to remove the proposed reservoir for good were attempted in the last session of the Texas legislature. House Bill 2109, authored by House District 1 Representative Gary VanDeaver, proposed that any current water project that had been a part of the state plan for more than 50 years without any construction taking place would be permanently removed from consideration. Marvin Nichols has been a part of the official TWDB plan since 1968. Many from Northeast Texas, including Cass County Judge Travis Ransom, made the trip to Austin to give testimony before the House Natural Resources Committee. Hundreds more voiced their concern by submitting written public comment. The bill never made it to the floor for a vote.

VanDeaver stated at the time, “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.”

Even Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced his concerns to the massive land grab of Northeast Texas land through eminent domain. Gov. Abbott is on record stating, “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.”

Counties and municipalities all across Northeast Texas have voiced their opposition to the proposed reservoir through formal resolutions. That list includes the counties of Red River, Bowie, Cass, Morris, Titus, Marion and Delta.

Region D’s water planning chair Jim Thomson told the board that residents, elected officials and business leaders across Northeast Texas oppose the project, especially due to its environmental and economic impacts.

Thompson stated, “On behalf of the Region D Water Planning Board representing 19 counties in Northeast Texas, I am pleased that the Texas Water Development Board found that an interregional conflict exists over the Marvin Nichols Reservoir proposed as a water management strategy in Region C’s current regional water plan. The proposed plan from Region D opposes this project because it does not protect the agricultural and natural resources of the State or our regional water planning area as required by State law. Marvin Nichols Reservoir’s inclusion in the State Water Plan over the years has caused a great deal of anxiety and concern from our residents, businesses and communities. It is our hope that through the required mediation between the 2 regional water planning groups that a satisfactory resolution can be achieved.”

Janice Bezanson, the Senior Policy Director for the Texas Conservation Alliance, has been on the ground in the battle against the construction of Marvin Nichols for more than two decades. She said of the TWDB ruling, “The Texas Water Development Board certainly made the right decision to declare a conflict between Region C and Region D draft plans. It would be wonderful if the mediation could reach a suitable resolution, but Texas Conservation Alliance will continue to join with the people of Northeast Texas to oppose Marvin Nichols Reservoir no matter what the outcome.”

If the two regions are not able to successfully mediate and resolve their conflict, the TWDB would then propose a solution that would then be followed by public hearings in both regions that would lead the TWDB to make a final determination on whether Marvin Nichols would remain as a state water strategy.