12-04-2025
‘WE SAVED OUR LAKES!': North Texas Water District Board drops plan to buy water from Lake O' the Pines, Rep. Dean says
TYLER, Texas (KETK) – The North Texas Water District Board has negotiated a deal to get water from sources other than the Lake O' the Pines, East Texas State Rep. Jay Dean of Longview announced on Friday.
State Rep. Jay Dean hosts 'Let's Save Our Lakes' town hall
'The North Texas Water District Board has negotiated a deal to get water from resources closer to them and they have abandoned their proposal to buy the water rights to Lake O' the Pines! This was a huge group effort by the most amazing folks in Texas,' Dean said.
Dean's announcement comes after several local cities and counties passed resolutions opposing the sale of their rights to water from Lake O' the Pines. According to Dean, Jefferson, Daingerfield, Uncertain, Longview, Lone Star, Marion County, Morris County, Upshur County, Gregg County, Harrison County and Cass County have all now passed measures protecting their water rights.
'Thank you to these local leaders and thank you to all the community members who showed up repeatedly to speak at commissioners court and city council meetings,' Dean said.
On Friday, the Longview City Council passed a resolution that affirms 'the City's interest in the reliable and equitable supply of raw water from Lake O' the Pines' and 'opposes any actions that would compromise water availability, sell water rights or lease large quantities of water, or increase costs to Longview ratepayers.'
The Caddo Lake Institute and other community members spoke about the impact that a water sale from Lake O' the Pines would have at the Longview City Council meeting on Friday. The full discussion of the Lake O' the Pines resolution can be watched in the video above.
Dean thanked the Caddo Lake Institute and the Lake O' the Pines Chamber of Commerce for their efforts and support in protecting the lake's water.
'The work by these individuals, organizations and entities will serve as a warning flag for any future attempts to take our water. We have put the entire state on notice that we are not for sale,' Dean said.
Dean added that he successfully added an amendment during a budget hearing on Friday morning that would prohibit the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality from spending money on or approving any inter-basin water transfers from the East Texas Cypress Basin to the metroplex's Region C for two years.
Water district tries to ease concerns about Dallas buying Lake O' the Pines water
The proposed sale of Lake O' the Pines water was a controversial idea to many outspoken East Texans. Dean hosted a 'Let's Save Our Lakes' town hall on Feb. 8 where many concerned members of the public talked about the Lake O' the Pines and other water issues.
This backlash against the proposed sale prompted the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District to go public defending the deal.
The North Texas Municipal Water District was publicly recommending using Lake O' the Pines water as recently as late February. In their Feb. 27 board of directors meeting, North Texas Municipal Water District general manager and executive director Jenna Covington said the following:
'No single water source will meet all the needs for North Texas. To meet those needs, we're focused on increasing water conservation and reuse, using innovative technology to better leverage existing water supplies, and building new connections to existing reservoirs with excess supplies, like Lake O' the Pines,' Covington said on Feb. 27.
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