Riverbend Water Resources District is getting closer to determining a location for a new intake structure on Wright Patman Lake, which is needed because of the lake's sedimentation.
Liz Fazio Hale, the district's executive director/CEO, said she expects to hear back from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in June or July at the latest. This state permitting agency will determine whether Riverbend has the ability to put an intake on the perimeter of the reservoir.
"As far as working through the permit process at the federal level, we are going to have to conduct more studies to narrow in on the exact location of where the new intake structure will be located and a new raw water pipeline to the (TexAmericas) east footprint," she said. "We are going to have to study specifically how many wetland crossings that pipeline will intersect with because that will then determine the type of permit we are asking for or seeking at the federal level."
The sedimentation in the lake is caused in part by eroding riverbanks in the upper Sulphur River. Studies conducted on the lake have shown the lake is losing available storage space. Different water modeling methods have been used in the studies, clouding the issue on just how fast the lake is filling in. Riverbend is collaborating with the Sulphur River Basin Authority to conduct a volumetric and sedimentation study to get some clear answers on the sedimentation issue.
In seeking a new intake location, Riverbend is looking at locations identified in the CH2M Hill Engineering study, which was conducted in 2010 to identify an intake location, pump station site and permit and right-of-way requirements.
The final report also suggested a new water treatment plant be built, which is something the water district has been looking at. Riverbend has also commissioned consultant Susan Roth to work on a regional water master plan to help determine where a new plant could be built and at what cost. Those plans will be shown during their next meeting and open house, scheduled for noon June 27 at their offices, 228 A Texas Ave., New Boston, Texas.
Fazio Hale said she and the district's systems manager recently toured Wright Patman via boat to look at various locations and called it a treasure.
"It was really nice because the lake is so beautiful and so massive. It is tucked in the Piney Woods and is not something you drive over like Ray Hubbard," she said. "You have to go seek out Wright Patman. Once you're on it, you recognize what a significant water supply it is for our region."
On the day they visited, she said the water level was at 232 feet. The results of a feasibility study the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been conducting to determine if, and how high, the lake could be raised are expected in July or August.
"We kind of hope they'll lean toward 232 to 235 (feet)," she said.
The lake currently operates at the interim rule curve of 220 feet, put in place in 1969 under a contract the city of Texarkana, Texas, has with the Corps. Riverbend's 16 member entities have passed resolutions supporting the water district in pursuing additional water rights if the lake is raised to the ultimate rule curve of 228.64 feet. If that level is implemented, it would make an additional 80,000 to 100,000 acre-feet of water available for permitting.
"We got a good feel of what it would be like if it was raised to that level and specifically identifying plots of area and Corps land and what it would look like to put a new intake structure at one of those locations," she said. "I do think it will be somewhere east of Rochelle Flats."
She said once the study is done, they will have a road map showing where the intake structure and raw water lines will go, along with the location for the new water treatment plant.
"From there, we are projecting, based on a number of projects we are going to recommend rolling together for completion by 2026," she said. "We are going to recommend to the communities that we issue a large bond package to pay for the preliminary design studies, hopefully to begin by this time next year."
The rough timeline to discuss any new proposed rates with communities includes meetings in August and September, she said, with new rates issued in the fall.
For more information, go to rwrd.org.