Next year, the upcoming Bois D’Arc Lake in Fannin County will be a new source of water for the city and the North Texas Municipal Water District. However, Deputy City Manager Don Magner said it is still vital residents maximize Richardson’s water resources through continued conservation efforts.
“We all know how important access to water is and, as Richardson’s water supplier, any addition to the water reserves of the NTMWD is [a] benefit to the people in our community,” he said via email.
The $1.6 billion Bois D’Arc Lake project will act as a reservoir for the water district’s service area, which includes Richardson. NTMWD officials estimate its service area’s population will grow to around 3.6 million people by the year 2065.
Managing water resources are vital for North Texas communities, according to a representative from Willdan Financial Services, Richardson’s water rate consultants.
“By any measure, the North Texas cities and the NTMWD have done an extraordinary job planning for and developing the water resources they need to meet the needs of growth in the coming decades,” Willdan Vice President Dan Jackson said via email.
As part of the fiscal year 2021-22 budget process, Richardson City Council approved a 2.5% increase in the city’s water and sewer rate for residents and commercial businesses. City Manager Dan Johnson said during an August council meeting that the rise was necessary to support system upgrades and improvements.
While utility rates have not been set for future fiscal years, Magner said in July that annual increases could continue through fiscal year 2025-26.
Those utility rate changes would coincide with planned rate increases from the district that are part of an amended wholesale services contract approved last year by all 13 of its member cities.
The agreement will allow cost sharing to be phased in for the district’s member cities by 2033.
Magner called the change in how rates are calculated an “equitable approach” that will allow continued access to water throughout the region.
“The new rate structure is a benefit for all of the members and customers of the NTMWD,” he said. “This is a large benefit to us all and will help to keep our water rates at the lowest and most competitive that they can be.”
Water rates to rise
The water district estimates Richardson will use more than 8.3 billion gallons of water in 2022.
The district’s rates will stay flat at $2.99 per 1,000 gallons for members through 2022. However, rates are projected to rise by $0.22 per 1,000 gallons in 2023, per the district’s website.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates a 10-minute shower with a standard showerhead uses about 25 gallons of water.
The water district acts as a water wholesaler and sets rates to cover its expenses for the district’s partner municipalities. From there, cities set their own rates that they charge businesses and residents, said Billy George, the district’s deputy director of water and wastewater.
Factors like increasing maintenance costs and legislative changes can also raise water costs, Magner said.
“[Those factors] combined with inflationary pressures permeating the marketplace today lead us to think it is likely that price increases will be inevitable,” Magner said. “However, how much and how soon is yet to be decided.”
As no tax revenues were used to construct the reservoir, the Texas Water Development Board approved over $1.47 billion in low-interest funds for the lake and its associated projects from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas, per the district’s website.
Bois D’Arc Lake is a key project that will help meet the region’s water needs through 2040, George said.
“We are preparing for and prepared for the continued growth, providing for homes and businesses, and people,” he said. “These kinds of utilities, water being one of the most important, becomes an underlying driver for economic prosperity.”
Adding a new reservoir
Located northeast of Bonham in Fannin County, the 16,641-acre Bois D’Arc Lake is the first new major reservoir built in the state in nearly 30 years, according to the district’s website.
Construction for the new lake began in 2018, but planning goes back to the 1980s, George said. The district was able to start impounding water for the lake this year and build its dam.
When full, the lake is expected to be around 22 feet deep on average, according to the district website.
Fannin County Judge Randy Moore said he is hopeful the lake’s level will be able to start to rise early next year.
“This can be a win-win for both the water district and people that need water in Plano, Collin County and Fannin County,” Moore said.
Remaining work on the lake will continue into 2023, George said.
“The opening of the lake is in sight, but we need to be patient,” NTMWD Lake Operations Manager Jennifer Stanley said in a statement. “Much work remains to be completed before it is safe to open.”
The NTMWD draws its water from Lavon Lake to serve its northern member cities. But when Bois D’Arc Lake is finished, district staff said the exact portion of water from each water supply received by cities will likely vary from day to day.
The lake effect
Construction is also underway on Lake Ralph Hall, which will be located on the North Sulphur River in southeast Fannin County. That reservoir will become the water source for the Upper Trinity Regional Water District that serves mainly Denton County communities.
In addition to providing water, Moore said both lakes will be recreation attractions.
“These are just going to be tremendous assets,” he said. “We’re going to be the recreation county for all of North Texas.”
As part of the lake project, the NTMWD has spent more than $50 million to construct and improve 11 miles of roads and bridges in Fannin County, per the district’s website.
Beyond those infrastructure improvements, Moore said the county itself has not benefited much from the development of the lake.
“Bois D’Arc is a promise,” Moore said. “The promise is all the development [that] will come [from] people coming in to build homes [and] to go fish [and] hunt.”
Miranda Jaimes contributed to this report.
