Editor’s Note: The Jimplecute sat down with George Otstott, Jefferson’s representative at NETMWD, and Wayne Owen, general manager of NETMWD, this week to discuss the proposal and obtain more details. This story is complicated due to various water measurements used. The Jimplecute has tried to translate the various terms into gallons to more easily relate to the everyday user.
V. Hugh Lewis II
Jefferson Jimplecute
Water, water everywhere…but who gets to drink? And at what price?
The Northeast Texas Municipal Water District (NETMWD) supplies water to the City of Jefferson and six other “member citaies” every day. NETMWD is over the usable water resources in Lake O’ the Pines.
A recent update by George Otstott, Jefferson’s representative on the NETMWD Board of Directors, has sparked a flurry of concerns and online debate over a potential sale of water to North Texas Municipal Water District, which services the Dallas metroplex.
Otstott told the City Council NETMWD was currently in negotiations to sell some of the excess water to them, and that he could not share any additional details at that time because the proposal was still being discussed.
Some viewers of the City Council meeting from the Jimplecute’s live feed, have launched a FaceBook campaign to stop the proposal because they believe it will “drain Caddo Lake,” and destroy the ecological balance.
According to NETMWD General Manager Wayne Owen, the proposed deal is still in the negotiation phase, and no final decisions have been made. Plus, Owen said, at least five of the seven member cities (Jefferson, Avinger, Daingerfield, Hughes Springs, Lone Star, Ore City, and Pittsburg) have to approve the proposal.
Owen did say that negotiations have been ongoing for some time, and that NETMWD is under a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and cannot discuss the financial implications at this time. He said the member cities have been made aware of the forthcoming proposal, but no details have been provided to them at this time.
“There will be no involvement of the member cities until the negotiations are done,” said Owen. “Every city gets an equal vote in this deal, even though each city is entitled to different percentages of water rights.”
Currently NETMWD sells excess water to a variety of cities and industries, including Marshall, Longview, Diana, Tryon Road, Harleton, SWEPCO, Mims and Bi-County. The member cities control 47,000 acre feet of surface water and NETMWD controls 156,800 acre feet of surface water at LOP. That’s a total of 203,800-acre feet of surface water. The 2023 usage from LOP was 14,751 acre feet of water or 7% of available water.
The deal under consideration is to sell an 70,000 acre feet of water to NTMWD. Assuming full usage of 70,000-acre-feet, that would put water usage at LOP at 41.5% of available surface water.
An acre foot of water is the size of one acre of area that is one foot deep in water which is roughly 325,851 gallons of water. On average, most households use about 0.4 to 0.5 acre-feet of water per year.
Owen stressed that the water in question is excess water not being used by anyone. The City of Jefferson, for example, is using less than 15% of their available water.
Each member city would receive a portion of the proceeds of the sale based on their original contribution amount to the creation of LOP. Jefferson’s contribution is 20.8%, Avinger 3.3%, Lone Star 10.3%, Ore City 5.9%, Hughes Springs 12.3%, Daingerfield 22.5%, and Pittsburg 24.9%. While those percentages seem small, the financial impact to each city would be substantial per year. The preferred sale is a permanent sale of the water paid out over 30 years with interest.
Owen did say that various water conservation and drought contingency plans are already in place, and work to protect the available water for each City, as well as downstream environmental areas like Caddo Lake. Otstott further added, “NETMWD has had a long and effective collaborative relationship with Caddo Lake Institute and is committed to sustaining that close partnership into the future.”
“When Lake O’ the Pines was in a severe drought conditions 10-15 years ago, the lake was still at only 75% of storage capacity,” said Owen. “If this had been in place then, there would still be plenty of water for everyone, with more to spare.”
If the deal is accepted, it would be at least 10 years before any water starts moving out of the area, according to Owen. But, member cities would start seeing financial benefits in about 7 years.
The delay is due to the additional permits required from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and, unless a lot of objections are filed during that process, it takes about 7 years to obtain the permit. Additional environmental studies are also required as part of the permitting process and all of those costs are paid by NTMWD, the purchaser.
The member cities will all have all of the proposed sale facts presented during public city council meetings once the preliminary financial terms are reached. From there, each City can take input from citizens and each city council may vote to consent to the sale.
“Nothing is being done behind closed doors, or under the table,” said Otstott. “I want every part of this proposed sale known by the citizens of Jefferson and explained in public meetings including before the City Council. There is still a long way to go on this, and we are working to get the best opportunity for Jefferson, each city, and the region. The Jefferson City Council will vote on the direction they want to take and I will then take that decision to the Water District.”
Owen and Otstott indicated they do not know a timeline for when the proposal will be finalized and the member cities given the opportunity to review and make a decision. They said they hoped a first look could occur this spring.
The Caddo Lake Institute has yet to issue an official statement on the proposed sale but is watching the development closely.