NEW BOSTON, Texas-Riverbend Water Resources District's town hall meeting was packed Wednesday with area and state leaders, members of local water districts and interested citizens all gathering to learn more about Riverbend's water study, which will be included in the regional and state water plans.
Consultant Susan Roth, who is conducting the $500,000 study to evaluate the water systems in Riverbend's three counties and 12 member cities, gave a timeline and overview of what the study entails.
"We're really trying to get a handle on what are the population projections in this area, what are the water demand projections, different industry coming in that's been approaching the TexAmericas Center," she said, "just really making sure we can capture the correct data. And no one knows that data better than you guys, than all these member entities."
The study will also cover infrastructure, distribution and treatment alternatives, as well as water conservation and management plans for each of the entities. She added that it will also include funding alternatives to make the plan cost-effective, and that Riverbend could possibly get grants from the Texas Water Development Board.
"We're going to be looking at loan forgiveness, as I call it grants, and also at very low-interest loans that the water development board offers," she said.
"We've gone out and done a very objective and very thorough evaluation, high-level evaluation, of the infrastructure on the ground, and you'll get to see those reports at our next meeting," she said.
A third meeting will be held in April, a work session will be held in June, and a fourth meeting is planned for September. A final report is expected Dec. 31, 2017.
Bowie County Judge James Carlow and Cass County Judge Becky Wilbanks both emphasized the importance of water in the area and said it was important for current and future population and industry.
"We have an asset many don't have," Wilbanks said. "We need to keep the water because that's the second most important thing for development. That's the basis for our future. Transportation, infrastructure and water. We've got to make sure we can provide the needs of big industry."
State Rep. Gary Van Deaver said those gathered understood that water was vital to the area and that it's a blessing to have such an abundant water supply in East Texas.
"We know that there will come a time when our neighbors will come knocking on our door, and so it is very important that we have a good plan in place," he said. "Obviously our priority is take care of our cities, our communities here, as we develop our water supply and continue to develop our water supply at Patman and make sure we have a long term solution not only to our citizens here but to the economic development."
Texas Water Development Board Member Kathleen Jackson said Riverbend was right on target by funding the study and getting an accurate representation of the area to be included in the state water plan.
"To the extend that you're coming together and you're working on it from a regional standpoint, that's going to make you very competitive in our planning process," she said. She went on to describe the regional water planning process, stating that each region hires an engineer to evaluate current and future needs and the strategies of the projects needed to fill those needs.
"It's extremely important that not only do we do it on this regional basis, but we really drill down and that communities look at what are our specific water needs for the future and that you define what your demands are so that we can help you as the water development board to move forward with the kind of infrastructure projects that you're going to need," she said.
Riverbend Board President Jim Green and Board Member Marshall Wood both expressed Riverbend's intention to remain transparent in the water planning process and welcomed the public to attend not only the meetings on the study, but also the group's board meetings, as well.
"Riverbend was born out of conflict but yet I'm proud to say that it's played a major role of bringing a lot of cohesiveness to help us stay organized as a region for one of the most important things we need to do," Wood said. "The most important thing about this study is we've got to be organized. And in order to be organized, we have to be informed, we have to be unified. But none of that will work if we're not transparent. I hope you will continue to come to the meetings because transparency is a dire requirement of this. Being informed is a necessary aspect of this, and being organized in order to know what our needs are so we can properly protect our needs. If you don't know it you can never defend against somebody else trying to come and get something."
The next board meeting will be held at 12 p.m. Wednesday at Riverbend's offices, 228 Texas Ave. Suite A, New Boston, Texas. The agenda is available at rwrd.org.