 Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007 were marked by one of the most severe droughts in the
North Texas Municipal Water District’s (NTMWD) history. The extended drought
resulted in less than normal rainfall, which is needed to replenish supplies, and
continued periods of extremely high temperatures escalated water consumption. As a
result, NTMWD’s three supply reservoirs experienced declines in capacities until the
frequent and abundant rains began in the spring of 2007. Below average rainfall began
in 2003 for Jim Chapman Lake, also known as Cooper Lake, and continued for over a
four-year period thus establishing a new drought of record for that reservoir. The
drought conditions for Lavon Lake were being compared to the drought of record of
the 1950s which lasted for seven years. Lake Texoma experienced declines in capacity;
however, not to the extent of the other NTMWD supply sources. Supply capacities were
at record lows during 2006 with Lavon Lake declining to 17.12’ below the top of the
conservation pool or 36% of its storage capacity. Jim Chapman Lake declined 17.99’
below the top of its conservation pool or 15% of its storage capacity.
Our focus over the past two fiscal years has been two-fold. First, and most
immediate, NTMWD, Member Cities and Customers have worked diligently to
bring awareness and to educate the public on the need to use water wisely, efficiently,
and to conserve in order to extend our existing water supply. Equally important was
the acceleration and development of additional raw water supplies to meet the
current and future water demands within the region served.
NTMWD has managed resources well and planned appropriately for the future
since its founding in 1951. By employing one of the most technologically-advanced
modeling systems, analyses predicted the NTMWD could meet our customers’
water demands during the recently experienced drought even if the multi-year
drought of the 1950s had repeated itself. In fact, analyses showed that a 10 percent
savings in annual water use achieved by the types of conservation methods implemented in 2006 would result in adequate water supplies through 2008 and
2009 had the drought continued. Included in this forecast was NTMWD’s
development of the Upper Sabine Basin River Water Supply Project and the East
Fork Raw Water Supply projects that are scheduled to be online by early 2008.
Throughout 2006 and 2007, the NTMWD continued to maintain, at the highest
levels, other infrastructure components so important to the region. NTMWD’s
Wastewater System and Sewer System treated over 29 billion gallons of wastewater
during the 2005-06 Operations Year and 34 billion gallons of wastewater during
the 2006-07 Operations Year. Providing solid waste disposal services to its five Solid
Waste Member Cities and the residents of Collin County, NTMWD’s 121 Regional
Disposal Facility safely disposed of over 699,000 tons of commercial and municipal
solid waste during 2005-06 and over 791,000 tons during 2006-07.
NTMWD is committed to preserving and protecting the environment. NTMWD
promotes water conservation and reuse strategies to help extend our existing supply,
protecting water quality, and encourages recycling and waste reduction to prolong
the life of the landfill.
While we reflect on NTMWD’s accomplishments set out in our annual report,
we emphasize that our ongoing planning and superior customer service will continue
to distinguish our water, wastewater, and solid waste systems as among the best in
Texas. The public can be confident that we will always be prepared to seize
opportunities and to meet challenges, whether the challenges are weather-related or
due to a growing region.
Jim Parks
Executive Director
Conflicts of Interest in Accordance with HB 914 can be viewed here.
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