Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) voting delegates approved policy at the recent TFB Annual Meeting opposing the planning and further consideration of Lake Ringgold in Clay County.

Several county Farm Bureaus in the region submitted policy resolutions opposing the Lake Ringgold project currently being pursued by the City of Wichita Falls.

Opponents say Lake Ringgold is a controversial, unnecessary and costly water project that would destroy wildlife habitat and force Texans off the land that provides their livelihood.

Planning of the lake began in 1950 by the state water board. By the time land is set aside to mitigate for lost wetlands and wildlife habitat, it is expected that 40,000 acres will be taken out of production for the lake.

The state has approved the city’s permit to build and use 65,000-acre-feet of water per year.

The construction of Lake Ringgold would impact more than 20 ranching families in Clay County, including Deborah Clark and her husband Emry Birdwell of Henrietta.

“It has been on the books since the 1950s, but there was a fight against it in the 1970s, and the landowners out here fought hard enough. But the City of Wichita Falls went over and condemned land in the western part of the county and built Lake Arrowhead. The City of Wichita Falls in its water plan says that by 2070, they will need water. But we have refuted their numbers. We used their numbers out of the region water plan with our experts, and we can show that again, the City of Wichita Falls doubled their claim for water based on an increasing population projection that just doesn’t meet even what our state demographers show is trending in this part of the world,” Clark said. “I’m sympathetic whenever we go to talk to groups or individuals. We understand the need for water, but we are also quick to point out that the numbers that have been used are just a smokescreen. The City of Wichita Falls actually has enough water to meet its projected demands by 2070.”

Clark said impacted landowners have filed for an appeal in State District Court against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). She said the city did not prove its need and did not meet its burden of proof in the TCEQ contested case hearing.

The impacted landowners, Clark said, will also oppose efforts by the City of Wichita Falls in the federal permitting process.

“We’re just landowners in Clay County, but this can happen to anybody across our state. Some of our landowners are legacy owners, with the land in their family for five generations. And most of us are trying to make a living off this land. For those in which the land is not their number-one income-producing source, it is the legacy of the land that’s important to them and their families,” she said. “It’s more than the landowners, though. It’s all of Clay County. We’re working to oppose a reservoir that we truly don’t feel is needed, and the administrative law judge also ruled with that same opinion.”

Opponents of the lake project contend the price tag of the 20-year build could approach $1 billion.

Clark noted she is anticipating the statewide approach to water issues espoused by State Sen. Charles Perry of Lubbock.

“One of the things that he looks at is that regional fixes to local solutions are far less productive and cost efficient than looking at what our needs are statewide,” she said. “I’m hopeful that he really is looking at water needs on a state basis, rather than on these localized projects that cost our region so much money and loss of habitat and other natural resources, much less eminent domain issues.”