proposed
Lower Bois d'Arc Reservoir
On 1/30/2007, the North Texas Municipal Water District held a public meeting at the Bonham Civic Center to give Fannin County residents information about the proposed Lower Bois d'Arc Reservoir.
Brief Summary of the proposed plan:
They expect to use 16,526 acres for the full normal pool of the
Reservoir and 5,574 acres for the flood pool.
The dam used to create the Reservoir will be 10,400 ft long
with a maximum height of 90 ft and a top width of 20 ft.
The North Texas Municipal Water District has information
about the Reservoir on their website. www.ntmwd.com
Our Concerns, based on our understanding of the
proposal combined with local wisdom:
1) Fannin County will retain no water rights. Although the water source is located within the county, all water rights will belong to NTMWD. They will determine quantity and price of water that will be used in Fannin County from Lower Bois d'Arc Reservoir. The revenues will benefit NTMWD, not Fannin County or any of its entities.
2) Speculative rumors of development are all Fannin County has been promised from this reservoir. The Jim Chapman (Cooper Dam) was sold on these same principles. While it is a USACE reservoir (meaning there is a stipulation against developing the shoreline) the town of Klondike -- situated less than one mile from the reservoir -- has seen no significant growth.
3) NTMWD has applied for up to 175,000 acre feet of water per year to be drawn from Lower Bois d'arc. The capacity at conservation pool is approsimately 366,000 af. The shoreline will be mainly muddy flats in the typical NE Texas summers.
4) The site for the proposed Lower Bois d'Arc Reservoir is situated at the point of two different eco regions and has the most fertile agricultural land in the county -- making it unique in value and irreplaceable.
5) The Bois d'Arc river bottom in the main thoroughfare for wildlife throughout the county. Once severed, the wildlife through the county will suffer tremendously.
6) According to the Army Corps of Engineers' study of the Bois d'Arc Basin Section 905(b) (WRDA 86) Analysis by the Tulsa District, reservoir sites locted at lower river miles 23.5, 24.8, and 28.6 were dropped from further consideration in the reconnaissance phase. Reservoir sites in the lower portion of the basin were eliminated primarily because of the lack of effective flood control and potential technical and enfironmental problems associated with locating reservoirs in wetland areas in the lower Bois d'Arc Creek Basin. The best location for a reservoir in the lower portion of the basin, river mile 23.5 [Coffee Mill site], would inundate an existing Forest Service lake and significant wetland areas. In addition, the shallow nature of the reservoir would potentially pose water quality problems.
7) "Mitigation" --The word sounds fairly innocent until you understand what
it means in the context of the proposed Lower Bois d'Arc Reservoir. One of the pieces of literature handed out at the information exhibit in January states that, "For the full normal pool of the Reservoir, 16,526 acres will be needed. An additional estimated 5,574 acres will be purchased for the flood pool. Additional land will be needed to mitigate environmental impacts of the Reservoir." (a)
No mention of how many acres for mitigation. Curious.
The additional acreage required for Cooper Lake was 1-1/2 times the acreage for the lake and its flood pool. The same for Lake Gilmer. Mitigation is determined by a formula of habitat values; it's not just how many acres will be lost to the reservoir, but also how high-quality the habitat is. For the proposed Lower Bois d'Arc, we have heard an estimate of twice the acreage of the lake. (b) 16,526 + 5,574 = 22,100 x 2 = 44,200 acres!
(a) "Land for a New Reservoir"(b) Texas Conservation AllianceTo find out about the struggle againstanother Texas reservoir
(Marvin Nichols) click here.
Deadline for the following actions has passed, but we leave the links here for your information: For a letter to the TCEQ to request a contested case hearing on the permit for construction of this project click here. For instructions on formatting and mailing this letter click here.
[To download Adobe Reader (free) which is needed to view these forms, click here.]
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