When Readers’ Comments are Wiser Than the Writer’s Column

You can wade through all the legal opinions you want, but the bottom line is that Oklahoma so far doesn’t want to sell North Texas any water.

The most recent indication came Friday when Oklahoma Federal Judge Joe Heaton dismissed Tarrant County’s water district’s suit to get water from Oklahoma. Dallas Water Utilities and other Texas suppliers joined in the case. Like Fort Worth, they understood that Oklahoma’s abundant water supply could greatly help North Texas meet its water needs — and benefit Oklahoma.

But that’s not how Oklahomans see the situation. Only two months earlier, Irving’s agreement with Hugo, Oklahoma to get water from the Oklahoma neighbor was smacked down in federal court in Oklahoma. Before that, Oklahoma lawmakers passed legislation giving preference of water sales to Oklahoma buyers.

The opposition to selling North Texas water remains a mystery for several reasons, but, first, Dallas should do all it can to back Fort Worth’s petition to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court has previously ruled on a technical issue in Fort Worth’s favor, so perhaps it will provide a supportive remedy.

But back to the mystery.

The reluctance is mystifying because Oklahoma could make a bundle on selling water to Texas. The Apache Tribe in southeastern Oklahoma gets this point because it had reached a memorandum of understanding with the Tarrant Regional Water District to sell it water before the federal court intervened.

Also, Oklahoma has enough water to sell North Texas some and have plenty to spare. The state has a little more than three million residents but it has enough water for 21 million people.

In fact, the water that Tarrant County and its North Texas neighbors would like to buy doesn’t benefit Oklahoma at all once Oklahomans have had their crack at it. This region would like to buy water from the south-central and southeastern parts of the state before it reaches the Red River. Once the water from basins hits the river, it takes on too much salt to be any good for drinking. It simply flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

Finally, Oklahoma’s reluctance is a mystery because legislators from Oklahoma and North Texas worked together in Washington long ago to help Oklahoma build new reservoirs in the southern parts of the state. They understood that the water would benefit both sides of the Red River.

It certainly would help North Texas today. Water from Oklahoma could go far in providing Dallas-Fort Worth — America’s fastest-growing region – with the water it needs. And the sales would help Oklahoma’s coffers and keep the water from being wasted.

But that smart remedy remains elusive. What a shame for both sides of the border. [Read the comments that solve the "mystery"]