Despite objections from landowners and environmentalists, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Friday voted to approve a permit for a controversial reservoir project east of Wichita Falls in Clay County.
The Lake Ringgold reservoir would help supply water to an area of about 150,000 residents in Wichita Falls and surrounding communities. The city calls the project "essential" for the region.
Commissioners made the decision in Austin Friday morning after hearing from both the city and the opposition.
Nathan Vassar, an attorney for the city of Wichita Falls, told the commission the reservoir would help make the area more water secure for residents. It would join the city's existing reservoirs, Lake Arrowhead and Lake Kickapoo.
"They remember what was largely the driver for this application, the devastating drought of not even 10 years ago, when the city nearly ran out of water," he said.
But opponents of Lake Ringgold pointed to the environmental impacts of reservoirs.
Representing landowners Justin and Shelley O'Malley, attorney Lauren Ice told the commission that a permit is not a harmless oversight.
"There are thousands of acres of upland and riparian terrestrial habitat, in addition to wetland habitat that will be destroyed," Ice said.
State Sen. Drew Springer, who represents Wichita Falls, also opposed the project in a letter to the commission.
"The city should continue to explore and adopt more modern options than building new reservoirs," Springer said in the letter. "The evidence suggests that the proposed reservoir is unnecessary and could lead to substantial and unjustified economic and social costs."
After hearing all arguments, TCEQ chair Jon Niermann said the city had met its permit obligations. All three commissioners voted to approve the permit.
In a statement released after the decision, the city thanked the commission for approving the permit.
"This decision reflects that the City of Wichita Falls met its burden in establishing that the City’s application complied with applicable state laws and regulations and is a defensible permit decision," the statement read. "Most importantly, this decision ensures that the people of Wichita Falls and its surrounding communities are one step closer to having water security for the future."
Janice Benzanson with the Texas Conservation Alliance told KERA after the hearing that the decision could have far-reaching consequences as more attention is being paid to the environmental cost of building Lake Ringgold.
"If this reservoir is built, it will force hundreds of people off their land, some of them out of their homes," Benzanson said. "It will drain on some of the rarest wildlife habitat in Texas and it will saddle the people of Wichita Falls with a half million dollar burden to build a lake they don't need."
She also cited administrative law judge Christiaan Siano's recommendation last year that the permit be denied.
"It's just baffling that the commissioners would ignore and dismiss the judge's findings," Benzanson said.
She said cities have other options for water resource management like desalination and advanced filtration techniques.
"We need to be looking at these more modern approaches that do not have the horrendous environmental impact," Benzanson said.
She added that landowners can appeal the decision in district court.
The project still needs a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to move forward.
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org. You can follow him on X @pabloaarauz.
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