Tuesday, November 12th, the Lake Fork Sportsman's Association hosted an event at Emory City Centre with Dallas Water Utilities to dispel rumors and educate the Lake Fork community on the Dallas pump station and future plans for pumping water from Lake Fork. The event was very educational and provided much needed insight for sportsmen, business owners and homeowners around Lake Fork. Ken Del Regno, Assistant Director of Water Production at Dallas Water Utilities, presented information regarding the history of Dallas Water Utilities, the various reservoirs and lakes that provide the Dallas area water as well as their future pumping plans on Lake Fork. Representatives of the Sabine River Authority (SRA) and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department were also there to provide any additional insight required and to answer questions. Is Dallas Using Lake Fork Water Now? They will be, but not directly for the City of Dallas. The pumps are currently being tested and there have been some operational issues that they are working through. However, the pipeline must be full to keep up pressure for fire protection. The North Texas Municipal Water District does have a 3-year contract for 17.8 million gallons per day for the summer. Therefore, Dallas will pump what could equal about a foot of water from Lake Fork for NTMWD, assuming there it doesn't rain enough to compensate. This water is pumped to Tawakoni and then to NTMWD, as NTMWD only has pumping facilities established at Tawakoni. Dallas does not foresee needing to pump any water for the City of Dallas until 2025. They do have water rights to 74% of the water, which is 132,000 acre-feet per year. The lake yields 188,600 acre-feet per year. However, Lake Fork water is the most expensive water for Dallas to pump and is their last and final resource for water due to the expense of pumping such a long distance. Additionally, they require new pipelines to be constructed to move the water to various facilities for treatment, etc. Lake Fork water is also difficult to treat due to its low alkalinity. Many were interested in knowing how much the water level would drop if Dallas were to pump all of its allotted water at once. The answer is that it equates to about 5 feet of water total. Dallas does not anticipate needing to pump from Lake Fork until 2025 based on the growth of the population of the city. However, Dallas stresses that they have been working on many conservation efforts and have had great success in saving water and reusing wastewater. Lake Fork makes up only 10% of Dallas' water supply and Dallas will have spent a billion dollars in infrastructure by the time all pipelines and pumping stations are completed and in working condition for full-time pumping from Lake Fork. The only other water that is being released from Lake Fork is water being released into Lake Fork Creek. This is a requirement by the government so that the creeks, rivers and wildlife can be sustained. Where's the Water Going? As Troy Henry of the Sabine River Authority stated, "The Good Lord is our biggest customer." The lake is down 5.8 feet now due to the drought and evaporation. In the summer the lake has evaporated at a rate of ½ inch per day. Lake Fork's water level actually looks better compared to many lakes in the area. Lake Tawakoni is down 8.9 feet and Lake Ray Hubbard is down 7 feet. The drought is our biggest issue at Lake Fork. If the drought continues, then Dallas will need to resort to pumping from Lake Fork. They are limited however in how much they can pump and they are not allowed to overdraft as they do at the city-owned lakes, such as Lake Ray Hubbard and Lewisville. They pull from lakes based on their distance from the city as well as the lake's water level. Closer lakes are pulled from first and the lower level lakes are pulled from last. This does mean that if the lake is already down by 5 feet, it could come down even more if the area does not get any rain to refill the lake during this time period. Dallas has to be prepared with enough water resources to sustain the city through the worst drought of record, which was the 1958 drought. It was stated that should Dallas have to pull from Lake Fork consistently in an extreme drought situation such as the 1958 drought, it would take seven years to empty the lake assuming there was no rain to refill it during that timeframe. In addition to Dallas, the Sabine River Authority has contracts with smaller water districts in the Lake Fork area and water is pumped from the lake to fulfill those contracts. Other Concerns Addressed Dallas has agreed that they would not pump water during the spawning season. Although the pumping should not have an effect on the bass spawning, this agreement has been made. Additionally, scientific research shows that Lake Fork may not have enough calcium in the water to support the growth of zebra mussles. Additionally, it's important to know that they cannot pump water from a lake infested with zebra mussles (like Lake Texoma) into lakes that do not have the zebra mussles. Therefore, the risk for zebra mussles at Lake Fork at this point is low. The lake has lost some depth due to siltation. This is a natural occurrence in lakes and a "dead pool" area is actually incorporated into the design of the lake when it is built to allow for the build up of silt. It's not cost effective to dredge the lake and remove silt, so this is not planned. About Dallas Water Utilities Approximately 2.4 million people are currently serviced by Dallas Water Utilities. There are two additional water utilities organizations in the Dallas area as well including Tarrant Regional Water District and North Texas Municipal Water District. Dallas has seven lakes from which they can draw water and will have eight when the pipeline Dallas and Tarrant are building from Lake Palestine is completed and connected. Dallas has incorporated a number of conservation efforts. In the past, water was cheaper the more that you used. This has changed over the years and Dallas charges for water on an increasing block rate. The more you use, the more you pay for it. The city has also gone to year round twice per week watering. They also provide free water saving toilets to residents that have older 5 gallon per flush toilets. Due to these efforts, they have been able to save water and put off pumping from further lakes. Dallas began construction of the Lake Fork pump station in 2006. The initial station was completed in 2010 and final construction completed in 2013. As of October 2013, they are testing the pumps. Dallas' future plans for Lake Fork including testing and maintaining their pumps only. Dallas' long-term plan will allow them to use Lake Fork consistently by 2025. Dallas Water Utilities is currently constructing a conveyance system that will allow them to move water from Lake Fork to their Eastside Water Treatment Plant. The pipeline from Lake Palestine is expected to be complete by 2035. Lake Fork and other Texas lakes were initially constructed in response to the drought of 1958. The lake was originally planned as the site of a nuclear energy facility and the lake would have been used for cooling purposes. These plans were later changed and the lake was built under a multiple use concept as a water reservoir for the city and recreation. Construction on the lake began in 1975 and the final closure of the dam occurred February 1980. The lake achieved conservation pool level December 1985. The lake's surface area is 27,690 acres. Lake Fork Sportsman's Association The Lake Fork Sportsman's Association did an excellent job of preparing and hosting this presentation for the community. A video of the presentation will be provided on their website at www.lakeforksa.com. The association is dedicated to providing accurate and reliable information to the community of Lake Fork. They hold meetings the second Tuesday of each month at Oak Ridge Marina. All are welcome to attend and to join as members.