North Texas Municipal Water District Regional Service Through Unity Meeting Our Region s Needs Today and Tomorrow

Transcription

1 North Texas Municipal Water District Regional Service Through Unity Meeting Our Region s Needs Today and Tomorrow Lower Bois d Arc Creek Reservoir Update Tom Kula, Executive Director Mike Rickman, Deputy Director Operations May 21, 2016

2 Agenda About North Texas Municipal Water District Lower Bois d Arc Creek Reservoir Why it s Needed and Who it will Serve Project Facts and Key Components History Working with Fannin County Land Purchases and Property Taxes Permitting Progress and Environmental Requirements Addressing Concerns Benefits to Fannin County Questions and Answers

3 About NTMWD Regional provider: water, wastewater, solid waste Wholesale water service for: 13 Member Cities 33 Customer Cities, Towns, Municipal Utility Districts, Special Utility Districts, Water Supply Corporations City of Bonham is Customer Serve population of more than 1.6 million

4 Why it s Needed Growing communities = growing needs Population to double in 50 years Critical part of state water plan Reservoir will help: Meet projected North Texas water supply needs through 2040 and beyond Better serve Fannin County Provide recreational opportunities Support region s economic growth

5 KEY FACTS / COMPONENTS Location: Fannin County, TX Area: 16,526 acres Supply: up to 108 MGD Average/ Max Depth: 22/70 ft Lake Elevation: 534 ft msl Owner & operator: NTMWD Cost Estimate: ~$1 billion Once approved, will be first major reservoir constructed in Texas in 30 years

6 PROJECT COMPONENTS: Reservoir Dam and Intake (1) Earthen embankment Dam approx. 10,400 feet in length and maximum height of about 90 feet 1 Intake designed for up to 236 million gallons per day (MGD) Larger diversions only when reservoir is near full

7 PROJECT COMPONENTS: Raw Water Pipeline (2) 35 miles of 90-inch to 96-inch underground pipeline Will move water from reservoir to new treatment plant to be built in Leonard 2

8 PROJECT COMPONENTS: Water Treatment Plant (3) Located on 662-acre property just west of City of Leonard 3 Initial treatment capacity of up to 70 million gallons per day Ability to expand capacity to meet future needs

9 PROJECT COMPONENTS: Road Improvements, Bridge (4) Working with TX DOT and County on plans Existing FM 1396 highway will be re-routed along current FM 897 right-ofway to U.S. 82 New bridge will be constructed over lake for north-south access 4 Smaller roadways around lake will be adjusted or improved to ensure ease of navigation around lake

10 PROJECT COMPONENTS: Mitigation Area (5) Mitigation for impacts to wetlands and waterways is required NTMWD has purchased 15,000-acre Riverby Ranch for this purpose Mitigation is proposed to include: Planting more than 2 million trees on 5,472 acres 40 miles of stream improvements 2,900 acres of new or reestablished herbaceous plants 5

11 HISTORY AND STATUS Fannin County officials approached NTMWD seeking construction of reservoir in late 2003 A series of meetings were held; partnership developed County supported economic study on impacts of reservoir on Lower Bois d Arc Creek in Fannin County Economic study completed in 2004 (updated in 2007, 2012 and 2015) projects significant benefits to Fannin County

12 HISTORY AND STATUS 2004: City of Bonham became customer of NTMWD Contract provisions include: 30-year term NTMWD to plan, design, construct, finance, operate and maintain a new water treatment plant to serve Bonham more than $20 million spent for 6 MGD state-of-the-art facility Existing Bonham plant staff allowed to become employees of NTMWD

13 HISTORY AND STATUS March Fannin County Commissioners passed resolution: Endorsing and encouraging state and federal permitting actions required for the proposed LBCR; Requesting NTMWD undertake permitting and future construction of the proposed LBCR; and Encouraging formation of local entity to represent interests of Fannin County communities, cities, towns and water providers in the planning, permitting, and construction of the proposed reservoir. Resolutions of support for developing Reservoir from: Fannin County Commissioners Fannin County Water Supply Agency City of Bonham Bois d Arc MUD City of Dodd City City of Honey Grove City of Leonard Ravenna-Nunnelee WSC City of Savoy White Shed WSC

14 HISTORY AND STATUS May Fannin County Water Supply Agency and NTMWD executed Memorandum of Agreement with these provisions: to secure an adequate and dependable future water supply for its members in Fannin County NTMWD agrees to provide a water supply from the Reservoir to be treated to potable water quality, to and through the Agency, for any members of the Agency that request to receive potable water service. The price for water shall be consistent with the District s legally adopted customer rate.

15 HISTORY AND STATUS Proposed contract with Fannin County will likely include provisions for NTMWD to: Formalize District keeping tax agencies whole (having been doing informally) Fund development of zoning regulations (already occurring) Agree to enter into wholesale potable water supply contracts with local entities that supply water for domestic/municipal purposes in Fannin County Pay for and construct a county-owned road maintenance facility Construct at least three recreational areas Construct a multi-purpose facility: Recreational and educational purposes Nature center Command center for emergency services Offices for Texas Parks & Wildlife and County Sheriff

16 LAND ACQUISITION Public infrastructure projects require purchase of private land Recognize land owners have concerns Hired local resident to work with property owners office in downtown Bonham Approx. 85% of land purchased to date all through willing sellers NTMWD paying fair market value Paying 70% of land value for pipeline easements Typically 50 ft. wide easements Property remains usable by owners with restrictions on permanent structures Keeping taxing entities whole Have paid property taxes annually on all land acquired For 2015, NTMWD paid approx. $230,000 in county property taxes

17 WORKING WITH FANNIN COUNTY NTMWD funding professional services to support Fannin County s Comprehensive Planning Anticipate construction of 3 recreational areas along with reservoir Committee appointed by Commissioners Court is leading effort, including public process Anticipated completion July 2016 DRAFT/PRELIMINARY PARKS & TRAILS PLAN

18 PERMITTING PROGRESS Received State Water Rights Permit June 2015 Originally anticipated federal permit by December 2015 After decade of studies, agencies now expecting 1-2 year delay EPA requesting use of new assessment model for studying potential forested wetland impacts Extended delays could be costly to all project beneficiaries in the form of higher rates

19 PERMITTING PROGRESS To minimize delays, Congressman Sam Johnson introduced North Texas Reservoir Approval Act to bypass federal permit requirement NTMWD still required to meet environmental regulations for reservoir construction, operations and water treatment TCEQ requirements on water quality and mitigation will be met H.R Introduced by Rep. Sam Johnson Co-Sponsors: Rep. Pete Sessions Rep. John Ratcliffe

20 ADDRESSING CONCERNS: Local Water Supply Contracts Agreements with Fannin County Water Supply Agency (FCWSA) and Bois d Arc Municipal Utility District (MUD) Will provide potable water to members requesting service Doesn t limit amount or volume of water Will use standard rates in effect at time of contract

21 ADDRESSING CONCERNS: Water quality for recreation NTMWD is confident water quality in the lake will support all potential recreational uses Water quality protection is being incorporated into the Fannin County Comprehensive Plan

22 ADDRESSING CONCERNS: Closed Bonham landfill City of Bonham owned a landfill that was closed in 1996 The landfill is outside the Reservoir project area and 500-year floodplain No evidence of impacts to the Reservoir or water quality it will provide 9 years of testing reflects no impacts to water quality and demonstrates compliance with state and federal standards TCEQ has continuing supervision over this closed landfill

23 BENEFITS TO FANNIN COUNTY Access to stable, high quality, long-term water supply that will attract and support new businesses and jobs New state-of-the-art water treatment plant in Bonham more than $20 million investment Boost net taxable real estate values in County by an estimated $316 million* Recreational amenities could generate $166 million of economic activity per year in Fannin County through activities such as fishing and boating, as well as new industrial and commercial opportunities* *Based on 2015 updated independent analysis by Clower, T. & Weinstein, B.

24 Questions and Discussion Follow NTMWD online: Facebook LinkedIn YouTube