Timber industry will be devastated

MARVIN NICHOLS RESERVOIR

This proposed, more than $4 billion hole in the ground that is called the Marvin Nichols Reservoir, or the Sulphur Basin project, is more about money than water. There are millions to be made by engineering firms, law firms and others if the lake is ever green lighted. But, very little of that money will stay in Northeast Texas.

It could be ten years from now, or 50 years, but if and when the project ever goes forward, who will benefit?

With a footprint mostly in Red River County, and additional little pieces in Bowie, Titus, Morris and Fannin, the vast majority of the project’s water would travel by pipeline to cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

While the population in Region C is definitely exploding, and there is no doubt that there will be a need for more water supply there in the next 50 years, how much of those projections take into account the gallons upon gallons of water lost to keep lawns green and to leaking infrastructure. One report claimed that close to 20 percent of the water supply is D-FW is lost to leakage.

Taking that into consideration, and many other factors, the Dallas-Ft. Worth area has many alternative sources for water before looking our way.

There have already been studies to show that the raising of the levels at Wright Patman could help substantially, but even that would impact Northeast Texas without any benefit to those who live here. The plan to reallocate water from Wright Patman has been approved, with even the head of the Sulphur River Basin Authority, Chris Spencer saying, “We believe reallocation at this point in time is the best solution to meet future water needs of Texas.”

What about recycling and reuse. There are ways for D-FW to “reclaim” existing water that they already have through new recycling/reuse measure, and they can also tap into the Trinity River.

There are also existing lakes that could be a better option like Toledo Bend, Texoma and the lake that is already being dug over near Bonham, the Lower Bois D’Arc.

Other options include desalinization and drastic conservation measures.

So, why is it that there will ever be a need for the Marvin Nichols Reservoir? Why do the people of Northeast Texas have to face the flooding of farm land that has been owned by the same families for generations, the flooding of bottomland hardwoods that are a source of income for so many, and the burying of homes, communities, cemeteries and history underwater?

This proposed reservoir will ultimately destroy major manufacturing employers in the timber industry and will no doubt do harm to the small towns and school districts as the thousands of acres of farms, ranches, homes and businesses eaten up in the footprint and mitigation are removed from their tax rolls.

While most call it remote, there is also the possibility that Northeast Texas peoples will have to worry about dam failure and earthquakes, since the proposed sit of the reservoir’s dam sits on top of the Talco-Mexia fault line.

So again, we have to ask, where is the benefit for those of us here in Northeast Texas?

The answer to that question is, virtually none.

If the Region C water planners have their way, not only will the 70,000 acre lake be built, and not only will thousands and thousands of additional acres have to be set aside for mitigation, then the Region C stakeholders will not only have their water source, they will also own the water rights.

At that point, we will have to buy our water from them.

At that point, not only will the citizens of Northeast Texas be faced with higher taxes, loss of homelands, loss of jobs, and loss of history, the Region C leaders, and their proponents, will ask us to pay for the water we drink and the water we use to sustain our crops and tend our cattle.

The proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir is not really about water, it is about money. It is about the people of Northeast Texas losing homes and heritage, jobs and justice, and the pristine woodlands that we call home.

Many years ago, when the opposition first began, DeKalb’s Max Shumake called it a “land grab.”

Janice Bezanson, of the Texas Conservation Alliance says, “The timber and agribusiness industries in Northeast Texas – and all economic activity dependent on these industries – would be devastated by the lost production.”

Former Texas State Representative David Simpson noted in 2015,“It’s our private property that they’re seeking to take ... at the expense of our economy, at the expense of our environment.”

There is so much more at stake than the possibility of some lawns in Dallas turning brown. The issue is here in Northeast Texas, and the issue is here now.