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Contact:
Judi Pierce - Public Information Officer
Brazos River Authority
254-761-3103
Waco, TX - 10/10/2003
Officials at the Brazos River Authority (Authority) announced today the signing of a strategic alliance with north Texas groundwater provider, Mesa Water, Inc. The non-binding alliance between the public and private organizations begins discussions that could potentially provide additional water to meet a significant portion of the projected requirements for the State of Texas in the next 50 years. The water could be available to customers both in and outside the Brazos River basin by January 1, 2009.
“This alliance between the Authority and Mesa begins discussions that show the potential of creating the largest conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources in the history of Texas, if not the entire country,” said Joe Hinton, chairman of the Authority’s Board of Directors.
“The alliance will aid the Authority in fulfilling its mission to ensure the best management of the State’s natural resources,” said Phil Ford, general manager/chief executive officer of the Authority. “It is also one of several innovative options we are considering to provide new water for the Brazos River basin and Texas. By combining Mesa’s groundwater with our existing surface water system,” said Ford, “Texans will end up with substantially more reliable water than if the two organizations were to move ahead alone.”
Should the alliance result in an actual project, Mesa could deliver its water into the Brazos River basin via a pipeline that would be constructed from the Texas Panhandle. The water could then be transported via the Brazos River, bringing the groundwater closer to the end-user while saving additional pipeline construction costs.
In turn, the Authority would receive revenue from river channel transport charges. The result would allow for a reinvestment of funding in projects that would benefit those living within the Brazos River basin -- such as construction of new infrastructure and an enhanced utilization of existing infrastructure in rural areas.
Moreover, the addition of water in the basin would allow the Authority to improve system water management for the basin while improving the ability to generate hydropower electricity by raising lake levels during drier seasons. Recreationalists would also enjoy the benefit of a larger stream flow throughout the Brazos River – resulting in increased boating and fishing opportunities on the river and augmenting local economies through increased tourism.
Boone Pickens, president of Mesa Water, called the agreement “a precedent-setting example of how the public and private sectors can work together to ensure that all Texans have plenty of competitively priced water for the future. As state and local governments are under increasing pressure to address water needs, this breakthrough can provide water where it is most needed,” he said.
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“It also frees up water that has been stranded and surplus beneath private property in the Panhandle, and will compensate landowners for their water rights. That money can then be used to pay off mortgages and other debts, improve property, and ultimately help preserve the ranching tradition for future generations. In many cases, these water rights are worth more than the land itself,” stated Pickens.
“Through this strategic alliance with the Brazos River Authority, we’re confident that the water can be delivered economically to major metropolitan areas before the end of the current decade.”
The population of the State of Texas is expected to double by 2050. Identifying new sources of water to support that growth is a top priority. The Panhandle’s more than 81 million acre-feet of available water in the four northeastern-most counties could provide a portion of the much needed natural resources for this growing State.
Creation of the Authority/Mesa alliance has the potential to reduce the overall cost of future water by reducing the delivering cost of the water. Construction of the well fields and pipeli
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