Lake Fork Water Dispute Ends With ‘major Win' for Dallas, Mayor Mike Rawlings Says

A years-long water dispute has ended with what Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings calls "a major win" for the city and North Texas.The City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a settlement with the Sabine River Authority over the water it draws from the Lake Fork reservoir, which the city built — and paid for most of — but did not own. The reservoir is about 80 miles east of Dallas. The state-run authority had raised the city's costs to about $27 million a year from about $3 million after its officials and the city spent six years trying to agree on new water rates to no avail.Customers' water rates had already jumped in recent years to cover the increased cost to purchase the untreated water. But with the litigation pending, the money was paid into an escrow account. The escrow money — about $68.7 million worth — will be used to pay the new rates in future years.Those new rates will likely be about half or less than the rates the authority had tried to charge, depending on how much water the city draws from the reservoir.   Continue reading...