scwd.us

In the 1950s, there was considerable interest in developing the Paluxy River into a water resource, including a waterway for the City of Glen Rose. Governmental surveys were made of the entire area, and it was concluded that the valley located in the northwestern area of Somervell County would be an ideal spot for a reservoir. Nothing was done with this information and data until Stephenville realized that their water supply from ground wells was diminishing and would soon go dry. The old survey information was revived in order to examine the feasibility of developing a surface water supply. Stephenville hired the engineering firm of Freese and Nichols in Fort Worth to develop this idea.

The Brazos River Authority (BRA) had primary water rights to the Paluxy River waters, but waived their primary rights to give Stephenville an opportunity to develop a reservoir on the Paluxy. However, the city of Stephenville did not have sufficient tax base to meet the cost of such a project, so their close neighbor, Somervell County, along with Glen Rose, who happened to have a better tax base, were asked to join in the filing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TECQ) for rights to develop the previously considered reservoir. They agreed.

Because the reservoir would also cover some Hood County jurisdiction, it became necessary to form a water district to administer its operation. That was the beginning of the Somervell County Water District (SCWD), which was created by the Texas Legislature in 1985. It was not the party that filed the application for a reservoir. It was planned that once the proposed reservoir application was granted, Stephenville, Somervell County and Glen Rose would later turn over their rights to the Water District for development.

The TCEQ agreed to authorize the construction of the reservoir, but opponents of the reservoir, local landowners and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife filed an appeal with the District Court in Austin. After about 9 ½ years, the district Court reversed the TCEQ ruling and denied the application. This decision was appealed to the Appellate Court of Civil Appeals, but the decision of the lower District Court was upheld. This effectively put an end to the original application, but there was nothing to prevent it from being refiled.

In the meantime, Stephenville determined that it could spend no more money on that apparent dead-end and advised Somervell County and Glen Rose that it was going to abandon its alliance with Somervell County and Glen Rose and independently seek water from an alternate source. This left the SCWD free to file its own application. The BRA again granted primary water rights to SCWD.

The same engineering firm of Freese and Nichols was retained by SCWD. Freese and Nichols suggested that we make alternate plans rather than attempt to develop a large reservoir, which would lead to costly opposition and political turmoil. They suggested an off-channel reservoir whereby the Paluxy River would not be dammed, but a pool developed to pump the water from the Paluxy into a smaller off-channel reservoir. The SCWD approved of this plan and authorized and directed the engineers to develop the plan and prepare the application to the TCEQ for such a plan. A smaller reservoir was considered because it was more easily justified to TCEQ based upon the Somervell County population. Based upon the present consensus, it appears that a 4000 acre feet reservoir would suffice at the present rate of population growth until 2050.