November 12, 2000 (Thomson Financial Media)—The 16 long-range water plans that are flowing into the Texas Water Development Board promise to generate a multi-billion dollar flood of new bond issuance in coming years, though there is still a river of paperwork to navigate before any of the proposals seek funding.
An initial review of the half dozen or so plans already submitted shows that billions of dollars have been recommended for the new projects, which range from new reservoirs to water pipelines to purification plants that would improve the quality of existing supplies. Final plans are due to the board and the Legislature in January, but the initial deadline is Oct. 1.
By far the largest projects are planned for the regions around Dallas, where some $4 billion of projects are recommended, and Houston, where $1.6 billion of projects are recommended. But the proposed projects are also expected to include the construction of one of the largest ever desalination plants on the Gulf Coast near Victoria to supply Corpus Christ and San Antonio, two cities that have come dangerously close to running out of water in recent years.
"It's going to cost some serious dollars," said Bill Mullican, water resource planning director at the board, who has been overseeing the development of the plans. Though financing decisions will be left until later, most are expected to be paid for with bonds, according to draft reports and officials familiar with the planning process.
Mullican said it was too soon to predict the total dollar value of future projects because the plans will be refined during the coming months as the submission deadline approaches. There are still many steps to go through before the plans become final and the board begins to consider financing options.
Because public hearings must be held before the Oct. 1 deadline, the plans must be available for public inspection by Aug. 30, effectively forcing the districts to complete their initial plans within the week. Seven districts have already submitted their proposed plans to the board or posted drafts of the plans on their Web sites.
"This is truly a bottom up planning process," said Mullican.
The planning has generated tons of paper and is expected to generate thousands of pages more as districts analyze and project future water needs based on population and industrial growth estimates. Many of the plans will ultimately be posted on the Water Development Board's Web site, www.twdb.state.tx.us.
Some districts already have begun holding hearings, and more hearings are expected during the next two months as districts work to put the plans together. The Texas Legislature called for development of the comprehensive water plans under Senate Bill One, passed in 1997 after several serious droughts created water shortages in some parts of the state. Under the planning process, the state was divided into 16 regions and district planning committees involving water districts, local governments, and residents. These committees were created to develop the water plans along with outside consultants.
The Water Development Board will use the regional plans to coordinate a statewide plan for the Legislature when it convenes in January.
Though the region around the Dallas metropolitan area has been seen as having one of the most stable and durable long-term water supplies in the state, projected population growth has forced the region to look at building at least one new reservoir, to be called the Marvin Nichols Reservoir, in cooperation with another region in east Texas. In 50 years, the demand for water in the region is expected to nearly double. Besides the $1.5 billion new reservoir located near Mt. Pleasant in east Texas, the region would need new pipelines to supply water from the new reservoir and other reservoirs to the region's largest water users: Dallas Water Utilities, the Tarrant Regional Water District, and the North Texas Municipal Water District.
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