Water Battle Heats Up - From AP and KXII-TV
December 19th, 2009
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A North Texas water district seeking to buy billions of gallons of water from basins in southern Oklahoma has filed an amended lawsuit against officials in Oklahoma.
The Tarrant Regional Water District filed its amended complaint Friday in federal court in Oklahoma City. The district is suing the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. Officials with the water district that serves Fort Worth, Texas, and surrounding communities claim Oklahoma has 10 times the water it needs to meet its own needs. They say they want only 7 percent of the excess water that flows into the Red River separating
Oklahoma and Texas.
Oklahoma lawmakers, particularly those in southeast Oklahoma, have opposed the proposed water sale, saying the state should first develop a comprehensive water study.
KXII asked Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, for his thoughts on the lawsuit:
"It is not a surprise that Texas is continuing its effort to plunder Oklahoma's water resources. Texas' claims that Oklahoma has 10 times the water it needs is based far more on their political desire to grab this resource than it is based in science. Even now, Oklahoma is continuing a comprehensive water study to look at both its resources and its needs over the next several decades; the Tarrant Regional Water District cannot know the results of that study.
"Oklahoma has parts of our state with critical water needs, and the basin in which that water is found endures droughts that often place strains on our lakes, rivers, streams and aquifers. Before any Oklahoma water gets transferred to help Texas grow, it first should be used to boost Oklahoma's economy.
"With this continued lawsuit, Texas is arrogantly attempting to place its needs above those of Oklahoma where the water originates. As I like to say, God put that water in Oklahoma, and God doesn't make mistakes."
View the story on KXII's "web channel" by going to: http://www.kxii.com/news/headlines/79726322.html?storySection=story
The Associated Press and KXII Channel 12's "First News at 6"