Water

Legislation to protect the future water resources for Dallas and Northeast Texas.

Challenge:

A group of the local community and business leaders in Northeast Texas approached us to form a coalition to represent the water interests and future needs of the Northeast Texas region. With the value of water rising and a growing population, state water planning is an imperative endeavor to seriously assess. The coalition along with interested parties and stakeholders from the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex would develop a significant water resource in the Northeast Texas region, which will serve to ensure the future sustainability, growth, and economic development in both regions of the state in a manner that would best serve the needs of all parties involved. The reservoir would add an additional 78 million gallons of water for Northeast Texas daily for future municipal, industrial, and recreational use. In addition to the surplus in water, the reservoir would lead to substantial economic growth.

Strategy:

By working with local citizen volunteers and local officials from the surrounding counties, a non-profit coalition was formed. This coalition developed a website to educate the people of Northeast Texas, Texas state leaders, and other interested parties about the importance of water for the Metroplex, Northeast Texas region and the State of Texas. Through educating State Legislators, we successfully lobbying them to include the Northeast Texas reservoir in the state water plan, and have continued to work with water planners to ensure water resources are effectively used.

Result:

The reservoir in Northeast Texas is one of nineteen unique reservoir locations to be built in Texas. The water authority overseeing Northeast Texas is proactively pursuing various initiatives to ensure water development in Northeast Texas along the Sulfur River Basin.