$3,767,522

Marvin Nichols Reservoir

That's what the Fort Worth Star-Telegram is reporting the Tarrant Regional Water District lawsuit against Oklahoma cost the taxpayers.  Don't forget the $889,890 paid to 8 Oklahoma lobbyist.

Their back up plan?  They still claim the Marvin Nichols Reservoir.  Remember, folks that told you this lawsuit wouldn't work, also said Marvin Nichols wouldn't either.  Those people in that part of the state don't take kindly to the big city folk taking what they've worked their entire lives for. And they have environmental concerns.  It ain't Tarrant County.

But after a ruling Wednesday by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of Oklahoma, the district appears no closer to getting water from north of the Red River than it was when it started the costly legal battle in 2007.

Judging by the comments from district officials after the ruling, they may be thinking about changing course.

General Manager Jim Oliver said last week that the lawsuit was "only one possible path to an agreement -- and quite frankly -- not the preferred path in our view."

The district board is tentatively scheduled to meet next week to discuss the matter, but board member Hal Sparks said it's premature to say what the board might do.

Waging the lawsuit hasn't been cheap: The district has paid $3,767,522 in legal fees to two law firms and $889,890 to eight Oklahoma lobbyists. At the end of the case those costs will be shared with the other parties in the lawsuit: Dallas Water Utilities, North Texas Municipal Water District and the Upper Trinity Regional Water District.

If Oklahoma water isn't an option, it will likely speed up the use of water from the Sulphur River Basin in Northeast Texas. Among the possibilities are building the controversial Marvin Nichols reservoir or raising the level of Wright Patman Lake in Northeast Texas. A multiyear feasibility study of the basin with the Sulphur River Basin Authority is still being conducted.

"We're going through the permitting process right now with Lower Bois D'Arc reservoir," Hickman said. "We filed five years ago and still have several years to go. One as big as Marvin Nichols would be even more difficult."

And there's the uncertainty of political opposition.

When Dallas tried to build Lake Fastrill along the Neches River in East Texas, environmentalists rallied against it. They eventually won when the area was designated a national wildlife refuge. Now Dallas is re-evaluating its long-term water plan. But Dennis Qualls, a senior engineer with Dallas Water Utilities, said officials there know that anything that includes new reservoirs is far from a sure thing.