The regional utility that supplies Allen's drinking water is preparing to shop for more of it, and it is not limiting the search to Texas.
The North Texas Municipal Water District board will consider Resolution No. 26-46 when its directors meet in Wylie at 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, at the district headquarters on East Brown Street. The district's water committee reviews the item a day earlier.
What the resolution allows
The measure would authorize the district's executive director and general manager to identify, support and pursue additional surface water supplies that meet four tests set out in the document:
- the water is underused and available to be developed;
- the cost is reasonable and affordable for the district's ratepayers;
- the source can be inside Texas or originate in a neighboring state;
- the supply is large and reliable enough to justify the pipelines and other raw-water infrastructure it would need, with a target of 50 years or longer.
The resolution does not commit any money, and the staff summary lists no funding request. Any final agreement for a new supply would have to return to the board for approval.
Why the district says it is looking
According to the staff summary, growth across the district's member cities and customers keeps raising water demand through the entire planning horizon. Conservation has reduced how much new water will be needed, the summary says, but a mix of strategies will still be required.
The resolution points to recent investments, including Bois d'Arc Lake, the Leonard Water Treatment Plant and the East Fork water reuse project, and to the district's long-range supply plan and the 2026 Region C Water Plan, which list strategies for meeting future demand. It also says the district wants to partner with entities that hold more surface water than they need locally.
