Carter announced in his opening speech that he had contacted Upper Trinity five to six weeks prior to the meeting, inviting them personally to take part in the forum and state their position publicly.

Through their communications department, Upper Trinity sent a page-long statement to Carter, which was read prior to the cities' joint presentation.

"We are disappointed that Upper Trinity did not wish to attend," Interim Town Manager Harlan Jefferson said. "We are also concerned about them not committing to their responsibilities."

According to Carter, the goal of this public process was to inform the public on water availability and the cost related to it.

The participating cities, including Flower Mound, Cooper Canyon, Double Oak and Krum, expressed their concerns on five main issues: 1- water availability and capacity; 2- the infrastructure; 3- the debt of the water district and the water district board's governance and 4- increasing water rates.

Copper Canyon Mayor Sue Tejml addressed these issues with a power point presentation put together by the towns of Copper Canyon, Double Oak and Flower Mound. The forum panel also included former water district board member for Copper Canyon Eric Metzger, Double Oak council member John Dondrea and Jefferson.

"You all have two questions I am sure: do we have enough water for this part of the county for the coming decades, including droughts," Tejml said to the audience. "The simple answer is yes we do. Your second question is will our water rates keep rising? And the simple answer again is yes they will."

The cities discussed at length the increase in water rates and the districts debt as it proved to be the main concern raised by the citizens in attendance.

According to the figures presented to the audience, Upper Trinity's debt is $295 million. The cost of future capital improvements being estimated at $855 million, the total debt could amount to $1 billion, cities representatives said.

According to the presentation, the escalating water rates are due to questionable business decisions made by the water district board, the first one being an overbuilt infrastructure.

"Part of the problem is that this vast system does not have enough customers," Tejml said. "The city of Denton has its own water utility district and the city of Lewisville and Carrolton do to. Highland Village is almost built out. Where are you going to find the customers for this vast system? And that is part of the problem - a huge system of pipelines without the customers they need to sustain them. If you look at this overbuilt infrastructure, you will find that pipelines are going where there is not the population to do so. It is an inefficient system."

Another part of the problem for the cities come from the district's investment in "extravagant" technology and inflated population estimates, according to officials at the forum..

"There is a problem with buying the most extravagant technology out there," Tejml said. "You may want a very functional advanced system of water treatment but you don't want the Ferrari system of water treatment and that is what you are getting right now at an exorbitant cost."

In their written statement, Upper Trinity counters some of the points, saying that "Upper Trinity has governed wisely, having planned ahead for an adequate water supply."

"For the first time ever, all communities of Denton County have an adequate drinking water supply available," the Upper Trinity response stated. "By state law, Upper Trinity is continuing to plan for the next 50 years, and is developing a diversified portfolio of water resources for the benefit of this region. The portfolio includes additional raw water from the city of Dallas, reusing existing water supplies plus new sources - including the proposed Lake Ralph Hall... A portfolio that doesn't put all our eggs in one basket."

For the four cities attending, the problem with this system is not enough eggs and too many baskets.

According to their presentation, Upper Trinity is building its infrastructure and proposing Lake Ralph Hall based upon inflated population projections. In the case of Flower Mound, the town's projected population at build-out is 93,000. Upper Trinity's estimate done by Region C, the independent water planning group established by the state legislature, is 33 percent higher with 124,000 residents. Regarding Copper Canyon's population estimate at build out is 2,700, but Region C estimate is 93 percent higher with 5,200.

Another issue raised by the cities was the overbuilding of lines that far exceeds the demand.

"Right now we have a plant that has 70 million gallons per day (MGD) in capacity, a peak demand of 41 MGD and an overbuilt of 29 MGD," Tejml said. "This summer when Harpool comes on line, you are going to see 49 MGD over capacity for the demand. That is a 55 percent excess in capacity.
Where are the people going to come from in the future - having already counted the populations that the towns expect - to use this capacity?"

For the cities of Copper Canyon, Double Oak and Double Oak, this means that with or without Lake Ralph Hall, we have plenty of capacity for the area's water needs.

In its statement Upper Trinity argues that "Region C recently approved Upper Trinity's diversified portfolio" and through a democratic process in the boardroom.

Many residents spoke their concerns after the presentation of the facts and asked the present panel what solutions were available to decrease both water rates and the debt.

"I am listening to this and it seems to me that you are all upset and mad but there is nothing that you can do about it," a Double Oak resident said. "I am sitting here and I am mad. I pay big bills that I don't want to pay. All this is just talk. You guys can't do anything about this? No. We are sitting here wasting our time because you guys don't even consider that you might stop talking nice to these people and get to a fight. Is there anybody going to do something about this?"

More public oversight and a change in governance are the solutions sought by the cities in conflict with Upper Trinity.

The way to get some checks and balances in the district's board is to educate the general public on what is going on.

"I think that [the public] is the key to make this happen," Metzger said. "The public has to be aware of what's happening within the district. It needs public accountability and oversight."

The cities were also asking for an independent audit by the Texas State Comptroller or another third party to assess the district's operational, management and business practices.