Water, water, everywhere? Nope!

It came out of the blue and hit inhabitants of Cherokee and nearby counties by total surprise. Redtown Ranch Holdings LLC and Pine Bliss LLC, combined, are proposing drilling 45 “test” wells into the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer which is a major source of drinking water for 60 counties in Texas. The fact of the matter is that already one well has been drilled, but with a 16” pipe, it appears to be more than a just a test and more of a “ready to go” well. The proposal by these two companies would potentially remove 25 billion gallons of water to be piped to areas far from East Texas.

Imagine you have a glass of water but with such a short straw you can only get to half of the water. That is the potential situation we are being faced with, current wells will not be deep enough to reach the lowered levels of the aquifer.

Now picture the aquifer as an underground lake and think about how the level drops during the summer or during a drought.

That is the problem many local and municipal water systems are dealing with. Existing water systems that already have working wells and struggle to provide safe drinking water for their customers and members. When the aquifer levels drop, so does available water. 

During a board meeting on Monday night in Palestine, the Norwood Water System in Anderson County met with their attorney Chase Palmer who explained the uphill battle it will take to stop these test wells and how expensive the legal costs will be. Redtown Ranch Holdings LLC and Pine Bliss LLC are extremely well financed. They have already spent over a million dollars to run three phase electric lines, ostensibly to power this project so they obviously have deep pockets.

Smaller water systems that have fewer customers will find it difficult to cover those costs. Carl Brummit with Maydelle Water Supply, which has less than 300 customers, said they already have to spend hundreds of thousand dollars to upgrade their lines. They couldn’t afford the additional legal costs. But they aren’t the only water company facing this dilemma. Many of these community systems are so small they don’t even have offices.

If you do choose to make your voice heard, your protest of these test wells must be sent to the Trinity Neches Ground Water Conservation District. There are forms available on their website but the catch is, you have to file a protest on each of the 45 permits individually or you lose your right to protest this, forever. The protest forms must be received at the Trinity Neches Ground Water Conservation District office, 501 Devereaux St. Jacksonville, TX 75766. Deadline to file is Thursday, June 19, at 10 a.m. Their phone number is (903) 541-4845.

Water security is already a concern for most Texans and this proposed taking of part of our East Texas available water and sending it elsewhere presents a scary future for our local supply. 

It’s the David vs Goliath story.