Lawmakers: Dallas Is A Water-Hog
The House debate on Senate Bill 3, the omnibus water bill, has taken on a strong anti-Dallas tenor.
There are about a gazillion amendments still in the queue, but two that have passed so far would:
1) require regions (namely North Texas) to bring down their per capita water consumption before new reservoirs could be added to the region's list of water projects. The amendment says water districts must have per capita water consumption of under 200 gallons per day. Dallas is the only big city that surpasses this -- it's at about 264 gallons per capita per day. (San Antonio's, for example, is around 140).
2) require water districts that have designated specific reservoir projects to act on those projects (in the form of a city council vote to spend money) by 2013, or risk losing the designation. The amendment is clearly directed at the proposed Marvin Nichols and Fastrill reservoirs that North Texas officials have said they intend to build. Despite vowing Dallas needs them, the city hasn't taken official steps to secure the land or construct the reservoirs, which landowners and farmers say paralyzes them.
"It’s really difficult for people in my area of the state to understand why we need to flood our property," Rep. Stephen Frost, D-Atlanta, said, "in order for another region to continue to be wasteful."