Wednesday, July 24, 1996

West Texas: What water shortage?

By MARK BABINECK
Associated Press

BIG SPRING - The main water supplier in this region has faced challenges ranging from Austin politics to the Concho River snake to the current drought.

And through it all, the taps keep on flowing.

While residents in nearly 300 other Texas communities have faced shortages or rationing this year, tap water is plentiful in this historically dry region.

"People out here live in a perpetual drought," said John Grant, manager of the Big Spring-based district that never has forced rationing upon its customers in 43 years of pumping water.

Cities in the midwestern part of Texas contended for water individually until businessman J.B. Thomas made a simple proposal to five cities in 1946: Band together and spend a historic amount of money on a reservoir.

He told the Fort Worth engineering firm of Freese and Nichols Inc. to "go crazy," according to a brief chronicle written by district historian Joe Pickle.

Midland and Colorado City deemed the $10 million proposal a little too crazy and opted out. Big Spring, Odessa and Snyder carried the torch.

The eventual $12 million tab funded a new remote lake bisected by the Borden and Scurry county line southwest of Snyder. The reservoir began serving all three cities in 1953 and eventually was named for Thomas, longtime president of Texas Electric Service.

"It was absolutely essential to the survival of the municipalities the district serves," said O.H. Ivie, a former Freese & Nichols engineer who joined the district that first year of service. "Since 1953, none of the three has ever curtailed services."

Lake Thomas was followed by Lake E.V. Spence, about 40 miles southeast of Big Spring. The Lower Colorado River Authority, which has jurisdiction along the river from San Saba County to the coast, tried and failed to stop itsconstruction.

The drought of the early 1970s quickly dried up Spence and nearly emptied Thomas as well. Engineers recognized the need for a third reservoir, sparking a battle royal with the LCRA.

"It was more political than anything else," said Ivie, who ended his 31-year term as CRMWD general manager on Jan. 1. "I think when you look back at history and see the problems that existed, you understand why those folks were in opposition. They were doing what they thought was in their best interest.

"Of course, we didn't agree with them."

The addition of Abilene, Midland and San Angelo to the third lake effort bolstered the district's political clout. West Texas legislators promised Gov. Mark White in 1985 that the only way his statewide water legislation would see the light of day was with the Ballinger reservoir.

The pressure forced a deal. The lake won approval with the proviso that the LCRA, which supplies water to 750,000 people in Austin and surrounding areas, had rights to all of the new lake's water over 1,543 feet under dry conditions.

One such release occurred this year to bolster the LCRA's Lakes Travis and Buchanan.

"The relationship has improved considerably," said LCRA spokesman Bill McCann. "We're starting to work together more, and I think both sides are learning the real value of cooperation."

There were other bouts to fight. The district has spent about $3.7 million to protect the endangered Concho River snake, which makes a home in the reservoir and area rivers.

"We're still trapping it, identifying it and making sure the little hummer lives," said former San Angelo city manager Stephen Brown, who associated his city with the district.

A freak 1986 flood caused salt-laden Natural Dam Lake near Big Spring to overflow downstream into Spence, producing a salinity problem that exists today and accelerating the need for a third water depository.

Lake O.H. Ivie went into service in 1995. A complex pipeline system pumps water uphill for about 180 miles to a collection station near Midland's airport. From there, it's on to the taps.

There's no more room for another lake on the upper Colorado, meaning current manager Grant and others must keep searching for future sources.

"We're looking for what to do in the next drought," said Grant, who estimates that the status quo will be adequate until about 2030. "We're looking to 2060 and beyond."

Demineralization of the region's vast saltwater resources is among the most promising possibilities for finding potable water in the next century, Ivie said, particularly for small towns.
Other ideas might take some getting used to.

"Another thing we're looking at is wastewater reuse," Grant added, admitting that public perception might make it a tough sell. "At least we can start with indirect reuse, such as industrial and manufacturing uses."

Ivie said he's most proud of the district's self-sufficient nature - it's never used any state or federal funding - and a board of directors appointed by the three cities that consistently has put civic rivalries aside.

"We just accept the fact that it doesn't rain much in West Texas," said Ivie, now retired in Granbury, southwest of Fort Worth. "So we just do the best we can with what we have. West Texans will always be in a fight for water, and we'll always win."