Group says no need for Dallas-based consumers
Friends of the Neches River
Michael Banks

Wildlife- and conservationminded citizens hearing of a one-sided study of potential alternative sites to the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge were quick to point out that these sites had already been studied by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority (UNRMWA) and the City of Dallas want to build Fastrill Reservoir on the upper Neches, flooding much of the land within the refuge boundary.

"The City of Dallas commissioned the study by HDR Engineering, Inc. in a self-serving effort to overturn the Fish and Wildlife Service's 2006 decision to create the refuge," Janice Bezanson, executive director of Texas Conservation Alliance, told reporters.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has been studying bottomland hardwood forest lands in East Texas for more than twenty years, including the tracts suggested by the Dallas report.

In the Spring of 2006, Dallas and UNRMWA requested an additional evaluation of potential sites for the Refuge. The Fish and Wildlife Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department conducted this additional review with Dallas Water Utilities, UNRMWA and HDR Engineering before approving the refuge.

The Fish and Wildlife Service used three major criteria in choosing the location for the Refuge: quality of habitat, availability of large tracts of land from willing sellers, and presence or absence of a conflicting use of the land.

After reviewing HDR's proposed sites, FWS concluded that the current refuge site is the best site for the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge.

"The Neches River Basin is an interstate highway for migrating waterfowl and birds," said Michael Banks of Jacksonville, Co-Chair of Friends of the Neches River, a group of local citizens who want to see the land protected. "The Refuge is on the central flyway for migratory birds - the ducks, geese, and songbirds that add millions of dollars to the Texas economy for hunting, bird-watching, and other outdoor activities. It is a natural resource that needs to be protected. "

According to biologists, the 25,000-acre Neches River Refuge site has some of the highest-quality and least disturbed hardwood forests left in Texas.

It provides essential habitat for many kinds of wildlife: deer, squirrels, egret, otter, Eastern wild turkey and wood ducks.

More than 85 percent of the original bottomland hardwood forests of Texas have already been drowned under reservoirs or converted to other uses.

The City of Dallas and the Texas Water Development Board have filed a lawsuit challenging the creation of the Refuge.

The case is being considered in federal court in Dallas. Lower-Cost Alternatives to

the Reservoir

Fastrill Reservoir is not needed to meet Dallas' future water demand.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area plans to acquire 25 percent more water supply than the amount state water planners estimate the region will use by the year 2060.

The typical standard is to build 10 percent more capacity than the projected demand. The area's water supply would be adequate without building Fastrill.

Should Dallas need more than its planners predict, the State Water Plan lists numerous sources of water supply that could be tapped to meet Dallas' future demand.

Existing reservoirs within striking range of Dallas hold more than two million acre-feet per year in unused water.

By contrast, Dallas would obtain only 100,000 acre-feet per year from the proposed Fastrill Reservoir.

"Dallas should tap Lake Texoma, Wright Patman Reservoir, Toledo Bend Reservoir, or water from one of several other existing lakes," continued Bezanson. "People who want to build Fastrill claim that water from the other reservoirs

is more expensive.

But a study by HDR Engineering shows water could be piped and desalinated from the nearby Lake Texoma for comparable cost. And the State Water Plan shows water brought from Toledo Bend as costing less per unit than Fastrill."

The Dallas area is wellknown for its extravagant use of water.

According to the State Water Plan, Dallas residents had an average daily water use in 2003 of 238 gallons per person.

The state average is less than 185 gallons per person per day and the national average about 150.

Conserving water would avoid building destructive new reservoirs.

Building reservoirs requires condemnation of land under eminent domain, forcing people off their land and out of their homes.

The federal government does not condemn land for a refuge, but, rather, buys land only from willing sellers.

Fastrill reservoir would require extensive condemnation, forcing local landowners to sell their land and uproot their families, many of whom have lived in the area for generations.

"In the case of water supply, doing what is best for the environment is also what is best for the economy," concluded Banks. "Sensible conservation and use of water from existing reservoirs can give Dallas all the water it could ever need, without drowning our ranches, forests, and wildlife habitat here in East Texas."