The planning group that sets out how Collin County and the rest of North Texas will find enough water for the next half century has started work on its next plan, due in 2031.
Members of the Region C Water Planning Group met Monday, Oct. 19, at the North Central Texas Council of Governments in Arlington, first for a business meeting and then for a required pre-planning session. That session, which must happen before technical work starts, gives the public a chance to tell the group what issues the new plan should take up.
Votes taken
According to The Dallas Morning News, members voted to keep Freese & Nichols as the group's technical consulting firm, with the Trinity River Authority cleared to sign the contract with the firm on Region C's behalf.
They also reelected Dan Buhman, general manager of the Tarrant Regional Water District, as chairman, and elected Jenna Covington, executive director and general manager of the North Texas Municipal Water District, as vice chair.
Region C covers Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Rockwall and Tarrant counties, among others. Its plan is one of 16 regional plans the Texas Water Development Board combines into the State Water Plan, which is rewritten every five years. The 2031 regional plan will feed the 2032 state plan.
The timeline
The first step is collecting data and comparing projected population growth and water demand with existing supplies, which shows where a region has room to spare and where it falls short. The News reported that the state board plans to publish its nonmunicipal water use projections in March, with its population and demand figures to come in June or July.
