MOUNT PLEASANT, Texas-A study to determine if, and how high, the water level could be raised in Wright Patman Lake for additional water storage is one step closer to completion.
During its regular meeting Tuesday, the Sulphur River Basin Authority's board of directors agreed to pay the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers $350,000 to complete a Tentatively Selected Plan that would determine if the lake could be raised and how high.
SRBA consultant John Jarvis said he's been meeting with the corps to determine exactly what needs to be done to complete the TSP, which is now expected in April 2018.
"We've worked really hard over the past several months to make sure as best we can that's all they're going to need to get to the TSP," he told the board. "The objective was that we don't want to have to come back to the SRBA board and say 'Look, we need more money.'"
On Aug. 10, the Corps sent a letter to SRBA Vice President Wally Kraft requesting SRBA send them the funds by Sept. 15. In the past year, the corps has come to SRBA several times stating they need more money to complete the TSP, which has been expected for almost two years.
Since 2005, SRBA and the Corps have been 50/50 partners in studies to determine if the lake can be raised and what the impact will be for the additional water storage. During that time, several studies have been completed, but not the TSP. In 2012, the Army went to a 3x3x3 Smart Planning Process designed to reduce time and costs. Jarvis has previously stated that when that plan was implemented, they knew the feasibility study on Wright Patman would not be completed in three years. The corps has asked for exemptions and additional funding from their top levels in the past few months, but to no avail.
SRBA's portion of the funding comes from the Joint Committee for Program Development, comprised of the city of Dallas, the city of Irving, North Texas Municipal Water District, Tarrant Regional Water District and the Upper Trinity Water District-all entities seeking water for their growing populations.
James Oliver, general manager of the Tarrant Regional Water District, sent a draft letter to Kraft on Tuesday giving JCPD's support of SRBA paying the $350,000. It also stated they would support SRBA's 2018 operations budget of $225,000 and the supplemental budget of $83,000, that was also approved Tuesday.
Board Member Mike Russell said SRBA has the funds in the 2017 budget and that it doesn't roll over, meaning that if they don't spend it, it goes back to JCPD. He added that although JCPD supports them paying the money to the Corps, that additional money hasn't yet been sent to SRBA.
"Several of the participants have to go back to their councils," he said. "That'll probably be a month or two before they get it on the agenda to get it approved."
The total 2018 budget, with the $375,000 included in the supplemental portion, is $683,000.
In other business, the board approved an interlocal agreement with Texarkana College to facilitate the Clean Rivers Program through 2019. CRP is a partnership between the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and regional water authorities to monitor water quality and participate in improving the quality of surface water in the state's river basins.
The next meeting will be at 1 p.m., Aug. 28, at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center, Mount Pleasant, Texas.