\u201cWe feel very confident about some of our next steps, but we\u2019re going to have some big decisions right around the corner as far as what that next big supply is going to be,\u201d Ickert said.<\/p>\n
Tarrant Regional Water District board members approved the 2025 Integrated Water Supply Plan<\/a> at their Sept. 16 meeting, which hadn\u2019t been updated in over a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n The document outlines strategies to consider as growing development and population<\/a> across 11 counties the agency serves could lead to a maximum shortfall of 513,000 acre feet of water per year. An acre foot is the amount of water needed to cover 1 acre of land with 1 foot of water.\u00a0<\/p>\n Where does Tarrant County\u2019s water come from?<\/strong><\/p>\n About 80% of the area\u2019s water is supplied by the Richland Chambers and Cedar Creek reservoirs and Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Bridgeport.<\/p>\n The remaining 20% of water is pulled from more local lakes:<\/p>\n The gap in resources is slightly more than the size of the Richland-Chambers Reservoir<\/a>, about an hour south of Dallas, that can hold about 1 million acre feet of water \u2014 or 3.6 billion gallons of water.<\/p>\n Tarrant water officials are confident existing and developing resources will allow the district to supply nearly 700,000 acre feet of water per year by 2080. However, they estimate that won\u2019t be enough to address the shortfall, Ickert said during a June 16 board meeting.<\/p>\n The district projects the region will need a maximum of 1.2 million acre feet of water per year by 2080, taking into account population estimates and the potential for drought.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we\u2019re looking long term, we know we need to be able to have supplies for that kind of worst case,\u201d Ickert said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The adopted plan outlines a combination of water resources and strategies \u2014 large and small \u2014 the district can simultaneously pursue, including maximizing water supplies from the Richland-Chambers and Cedar Creek reservoirs and advancing conservation efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no one strategy that\u2019s going to meet our supply gap,\u201d Ickert said. \u201cWe need more than one project.\u201d<\/p>\n Because of the variety of projects the water district can pursue, the plan recommends the agency use the next five years to conduct feasibility studies, primarily on some of the larger potential solutions.<\/p>\n Tapping resources large and small<\/p>\n The agency\u2019s plan suggests exploring extracting groundwater on district-owned land and, while costly, acquiring water from out of state, particularly from Arkansas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pulling water across state lines was one of the largest \u2014 and most expensive at about $10 million \u2014 strategies identified in the plan, requiring more study to address \u201ca lot of unknowns,\u201d Ickert said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smaller projects that could be pursued include purchasing water from Lake Palestine \u2014 a reservoir largely tapped by Dallas \u2014 aquifer recovery storage<\/a>, the process of drilling wells to store water, and adding an additional wetland to the Richland-Chambers Reservoir.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the most cost-efficient, pursuing smaller-scale projects would only secure enough resources through 2080, Ickert said.\u00a0<\/p>\n She stressed the need to look at larger projects, such as the long debated Marvin Nichols Reservoir<\/a>, as they would require fewer smaller initiatives. After decades of legal battles over Marvn Nichols, the reservoir would flood 66,000 acres of private property of northeast Texas timberland and forest.<\/p>\n Now the district should consider pursuing the Toledo Bend Reservoir as another large-scale option, according to the plan.<\/p>\n That would pull water from that East Texas lake and require an additional integrated pipeline project \u2014 a long-distance transmission line to transport water \u2014 and partnering with other officials, such as the North Texas Municipal Water District, to support construction and implementation.<\/p>\n Reallocating flood waters from the Wright Patman Lake near Texarkana to store water supplies is also being considered. The lake would be paired with the Marvin Nichols project, in which both lakes would be released into Lake Bridgeport and, ultimately, downstream into the water district\u2019s service areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n When combined with Marvin Nichols, the Wright Patman Lake project is one of the water district\u2019s most costly options at $4.7 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n The plan also outlines the need to prepare a conservation plan and to follow legislative action that would provide more funding and support for securing water.<\/p>\n Water district successes<\/p>\n A variety of projects have come into existence since the district\u2019s last water plan in 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n That includes the construction of the integrated pipeline project<\/a>, with construction completed from the Cedar Creek Reservoir, an hour southeast of Dallas, to the Kennedale area, Ickert said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The water district and Dallas water utilities are partnered in the $2.3 billion water transmission line project that\u2019s designed to pump more water into the Richland-Chambers and Cedar Creek reservoirs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Conservation has also helped, officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, about 26 billion gallons of water was saved through conservation efforts, which makes up about 20% of the water district\u2019s overall use, Ickert said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Within the past decade, the district obtained permits to pull more water from local sources, including Benbrook and Eagle Mountain lakes<\/a>, which was detailed in the 2014 plan.<\/p>\n As for other developments underway from that plan, North Texans can expect to see some completed as early as 2032.<\/p>\n For example, Mary\u2019s Creek Reclamation Facility<\/a> would provide the city and water district with a new wastewater treatment plant by 2028. With an estimated start date of 2032, the Marty Leonard wetlands would widen the district\u2019s water supply by filtering treated wastewater from the Trinity River and pumping it back into the lake for municipal use.<\/p>\n Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n\n
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The Tarrant Regional Water District and the city of Dallas are partnered on the integrated pipeline project to provide the Dallas-Fort Worth area with an additional 350 million gallons of water a day. (Courtesy photo | Tarrant Regional Water District)<\/p>\n
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