Fight against Marvin Nichols continues

On Wednesday, members of the Region-D Water Planning Group and the public met at the Region 8 ESC to discuss the 2026 Regional Water Plan. This was the first meeting of the planning group since March, and the room was packed with locals wishing to speak their minds on the Marvin Nichols Reservoir plans or to listen to current information on the plans.

After a roll call, the planning group opened the floor to the public to speak. The first was Mayor Travis Ransom of Atlanta. Ransom approached the members of the group, thanking them for serving, and then began his speech on Marvin Nichols.

“I want to use three words to try to make three points. One is the word conflict… We use the word conflict pretty heavily in the military, and I will say that sometimes we see people shy away from that word,” he said. “As this region considers the many projects in there, I would like to say that the great thing about having a swimming pool in your neighbor’s yard is that you don’t have to deal with it, but if I want to build a swimming pool and I want to have it in my neighbor’s yard, we’re going to have a conflict. I feel like Region C is going to have a conflict with Region D…”

The next word Ransom use was “hostage.” He stated that landowners are being held hostage by Region C in this plan, as they cannot sell their properties, nor can they feel safe about improving upon it or planning for the future.

“Lastly, innovation,” he said. “Each successive generation, I think, is more environmentally conscious than the last… As innovation comes, it’s not just in batteries and bandwidth. It’s also in reuse, recycle, and in those things that will reduce our need for large infrastructure projects which will decimate our bottomland, midland, hardwood forests in Northeast Texas, as well as our economy… Don’t shy away from conflict. Let’s deconflict with our other regions. Let’s not hold our landowners hostage, and let’s use some innovation as we move forward.”

Janice Bezanson of the Texas Conservation Alliance was next to speak. She offered many alternatives to the Marvin Nichols Reservoir, such as imposing limits on water usage per person per day to 120 gallons in Dallas and reallocating flood resources from Lake Texoma.

“Conservation could be enough… If you bring that up, they say, ‘Oh, that would take an act of Congress.’ Well, so get an act of Congress,” she said.

Bezanson encouraged the Water Planning Group to focus on these alternatives and to “hold Region C’s feet to the fire.”

Following Bezanson, the group heard from landowners in the region including David Nabors, Dickie Dalby, Gary Cheatwood, Eddie Belcher, Jim Purviance, and many others. They spoke of the rich history of the land, some claiming eight generations of their families having been raised in this region. Some spoke of other alternatives to Marvin Nichols and Dallas’s past water projects.

When Purviance took the stand, he spoke on the potential impacts of Marvin Nichols on not only the land and history but on education and religious assembly.

Purviance and his wife Stephanie are both educators at Rivercrest ISD.

Purviance said that he teaches geography, and in his classroom hangs a map of the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir superimposed on the Rivercrest ISD boundaries. Purviance states that Rivercrest ISD will be “doomed” if Marvin Nichols Reservoir is constructed.

“If Marvin Nichols comes to pass, I will lose my home, I will lose my land, I will lose my job, and I’m probably going to lose my church,” he said. “I don’t hold it against Region C for wanting another lake. Don’t get me wrong there, but they need to build it in their own backyard and not in mine.”