The Supreme Court Will Decide if North Texas Can Take Oklahoma's Water
With North Texas' population exploding and near-perennial drought seeming more and more like a certainty rather than a fluke, state water planners have been scrambling to secure new supplies, going further and further afield in search of waterways that haven't been tapped out.
Several years ago, that quest took the Tarrant Regional Water District to Oklahoma, where they hoped to purchase rights to 150 billion gallons from the southeastern part of the state to pipe to its customers in 11 counties. Oklahoma wouldn't mind. The state has 10 times the water it needs. Certainly it wouldn't deny a thirsty neighbor a mere sip.
Oklahoma's response was less than neighborly. It viewed the water district's request as an attempt to grab the state's natural resources, and the legislature passed laws putting a moratorium on out-of-state water sales. TRD sued in 2007 to stop the laws, and the two parties have been locked in a legal scuffle ever since.
The dispute has now made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in the case on Tuesday.
More at http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2013/04/the_supreme_court_is_set_to_de.php .
Cross-posted in Oklahoma Group.
[font color=green]The court argument centers on the Red River Compact, a 1978 agreement between Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas divvying the water in the Red River basin.[/font]
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