The regional water district that supplies McKinney says it is willing to study buying surplus water from Millwood Lake in southwest Arkansas, a possible new source for a service area whose population it projects will almost double by 2080.
The North Texas Municipal Water District announced on Wednesday, Oct. 28, that a private company, Heartland Water Partners, had approached it about the purchase. In an Oct. 27 letter to Heartland, Executive Director Jenna Covington wrote that the two sides may open formal negotiations "in the near future."
So far staff have held only informal talks, and no contract terms have been discussed, the district said.
"We are open to exploring the feasibility of this water purchase with the appropriate partners and will do so through a transparent and public process," Covington said. Any purchase, she added, "must be beneficial for communities in both Texas and Arkansas."
What the board approved
On Thursday, Oct. 22, the district's board adopted Resolution No. 26-46. It lets the executive director pursue surface water that is underused, affordable for ratepayers, located in Texas or a neighboring state, and large and dependable enough to justify new raw-water lines for 50 years or more. The resolution approves no purchase, and its staff memo requested no money.
The district said a Millwood deal could yield upward of 100 million gallons daily. Covington's letter cites the latest Texas State Water Plan as saying the district must find over 400,000 acre-feet of additional supply by 2080. Conservation and reuse already make up upward of 30 percent of what it delivers, the letter says.
Where Arkansas water would enter the system is undecided. Some recent coverage named Bois d'Arc Lake, but the district said that may not be the final choice and the transfer point needs further study.
The Arkansas side
The water rights belong to Texarkana, Ark., which holds roughly 150 million gallons daily in Millwood Lake, about 21 times its current use, according to City Manager Tyler Richards.
On Oct. 13 the city's board voted 6-0 to approve a state application, filed through the Southwest Arkansas Water District, that seeks to send as much as 110 million gallons daily to Texas, and agreed to negotiate exclusively with Heartland while that request is pending, Texarkana Today reported.
