Texas eyes Oklahoma water

Lake eufaula

Texas Eyes Oklahoma Water .....

"We're hoping that they'll take a business-type approach to this whole issue," said Jim Oliver, general manager of the water district that serves about 1.8 million people in Fort Worth, Arlington and surrounding areas in North Texas. Hopper Smith, a former state representative who is now a lobbyist for the water district, said officials have been encouraged by Fallin's public statements about the use of business principles to manage state government. “Everything the governor is saying is consistent with what we think is the direction Oklahoma ought to go," Smith said. "We're trying to share the facts with policymakers. And hope at some time that logic drives policy."

A spokesman for the governor, Alex Weintz, said Fallin believes a statewide water study and plan being performed by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board will determine whether the state has enough water to sell to North Texas and still meet the future needs of Oklahomans. The study is scheduled for release later this year. "She wants to listen to all parties, wants everyone to have a voice," Weintz said. "But Oklahoma's needs have to come first."

The district wants to acquire up to 460,000 acre feet of water, about 150 billion gallons, each year from three tributaries that flow into the Red River in far southern Oklahoma — Cache Creek, Beaver Creek and the Kiamichi River. That is about 6 percent of the excess water that flows from the tributaries into the Red River, according to the district. Oliver said it is not financially feasible to draw water directly from the Red River because of salinity issues. He said the district will pay the state between $15 million and $65 million a year depending on how much water is used, revenue that could help build pipelines to deliver water to parched areas of western Oklahoma and help lawmakers work through a budget hole of up to $600 million for the upcoming fiscal year.

But political opposition, especially from southeastern Oklahoma lawmakers, has stalled negotiations. Lawmakers adopted a moratorium on out-of-state water sales after North Texas officials began expressing interest about 10 years ago. In 2009, lawmakers passed a measure that says no out-of-state water permit can prevent Oklahoma from meeting its obligations under interstate compacts with other states. A staunch opponent of the plan, Sen. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant, said southeastern Oklahoma has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state and it makes no sense to sell one of the region's most valuable assets to the state's economic rival south of the Red River. "I want to bring the jobs to the water," Ellis said. "That's the key to growth is water."

The district sued the Water Resources Board in 2007 to gain access to Oklahoma water. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last July, a decision that has been appealed to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. Oral arguments are set for March 8. Smith said the district would rather negotiate an agreement with the state than litigate one. "Oklahoma needs to develop its policy," Smith said. "The win-win is if there's a negotiated agreement."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7423763.html