Searching for water for an exploding population base, the Tarrant Regional Water District wants to pump hundreds of millions of gallons out of Oklahoma creeks and streams into North Texas reservoirs.

Jim Oliver, executive director of the water district, met with Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson and other state officials Tuesday about plans to file a permit to buy water from several basins in southern Oklahoma.

Described as a "robust project" by Oliver and others, the proposal could provide enough water to serve the 4.3 million people who are expected to live in the district's service area in North Central Texas by 2060. The district now provides water to about 1.6 million people.

"The engineers looked at the rainfall patterns and the amounts and the flow over the last 50 years or so, and there is enough water there on an annual basis to make this worth our while to build," Oliver said.

"There is enough surplus water."

Oklahoma officials, who opposed previous efforts by Texas to buy water, indicated Tuesday that they are now open to further discussions.

"We are going to stay as long as they are willing to talk to us," Oliver said.

'Politically sensitive'

The district wants to capture water from three basins before it enters the Red River and takes on too much salt. The district would pump the water under the river, into a pipeline and eventually into one of its reservoirs.

The first pipeline, tapping into Cache Creek near Lawton, Okla., would stretch about 60 miles to Lake Bridgeport in Wise County. It could serve some of the fast-growing areas in northern Tarrant County, Oliver said.

Edmondson said that he found the Texas presentation Tuesday interesting but that Texas has some legislative and legal channels to navigate.

"I don't think it will preclude further discussions," Edmondson said. "It will have to be a plan that is well-explained because most people will have an immediate negative reaction."

Duane Smith, executive director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, said he will need guidance from the governor or the Oklahoma Legislature before considering the Texas proposal.

"I think it is still very politically sensitive," Smith said. "I don't know if it's any better or worse than the last idea."

Oliver described the Oklahoma officials' reaction as "cautiously positive."

"Our biggest task is to let them know that they are not selling us anything that they are ever going to use," Oliver said.

"By the time it gets to the point we're going to take it, it's gone. They can't drink it. They can't water-ski on it. They can't fish in it."

Oklahoma officials have refused to send water to Texas in the past. In 2001, the Oklahoma Legislature blocked efforts by Texas officials to buy water from its reservoirs. And in 2002, lawmakers adopted a moratorium blocking most out-of-state water sales.

At the time, several Oklahoma groups said the sale would inhibit the area's potential for growth. Sportsmen voiced concerns that too much water would be taken from the reservoirs, limiting recreation.

A robust idea

The water district has studied tapping into the Oklahoma basins for years, but the idea really began to flow a year ago.

Aware that previous efforts to get water from the state's reservoirs were politically unpopular north of the Red River, officials began to look at other sources of water in the sparsely populated areas of southern and southeastern Oklahoma, Oliver said.

Two of the basins being eyed -- Cache Creek and Beaver Creek -- are near Lawton, Okla. The Kiamichi River basin is southeast of McAlester.

The water district is considering filing a permit in Oklahoma to take 7 percent of the water that now flows into the Red River and eventually into the Gulf of Mexico.

It is estimated that the Cache Creek and Beaver Creek basins can provide about 150,000 acre-feet of water a year, or about 134 million gallons a day. The Kiamichi River basin would produce about 277 million gallons a day.

Getting the water into the district's system would be relatively inexpensive, since it would flow downhill most of the way, Oliver said.

"We are just asking for water that is exiting the state, basically," Oliver said.

"That is the main difference between our proposals from six years ago when we wanted water out of the reservoirs."

If the permit is approved, the deal could postpone plans to tap into the Toledo Bend Reservoir 175 miles away on the Texas-Louisiana border and delay construction of the proposed $2.15 billion Marvin Nichols Reservoir near Mount Pleasant in East Texas.

"The robustness of this project is what affects those other projects," said Wayne Owen, planning director for the water district.

"It just depends on how robust it is."

Calming the waters

Selling the idea to Oklahoma may not be easy, water district officials said.

On Tuesday, after the meetings in Oklahoma, members of the water district board formally gave Oliver the authority to represent them in talks with Oklahoma.

And the public relations campaign has already begun: A short video, "The Oklahoma Gulfbound Water Opportunity," which stresses Oklahoma's surplus and Texas' need for water, will be shown widely in the state.

The video also points out that the deal could help bail Oklahoma out of a financial bind and pay for facilities to distribute water in drought-plagued areas.

But if that doesn't work, the water district is prepared to file a court challenge to the moratorium passed by the Oklahoma Legislature. A Colorado law firm hired by the district has determined that the moratorium may violate federal interstate commerce laws.

"No one wants to be in a courtroom. That is the last place you want to be," said water district board member Jim Lane, an attorney. "But you have to prepare for whatever challenges are there."

Lane said providing water to North Texas is the district's main job.

"Nothing is more important to a metropolitan area than water," Lane said.

"If they have this excess water and we can legally tap into it for the right price, it may be very far-reaching and help solve the lack of quality water for this area.

"But I'm sure a lot of people will be stunned by it," he said.

Edmondson suggested that less-confrontational measures may allow Texas to tap into Oklahoma's natural resources.

"The fact is that [the moratorium] exists," Edmondson said. "One way to go is the courts; the other is to the Legislature to modify it.

"I would try the legislative route first."

IN THE KNOW

Texas-Oklahoma water proposal

The Tarrant Regional Water District offers the following information to explain its position in seeking water from Oklahoma:

Q: Which areas in Texas would receive the water?

A: The Tarrant Regional Water District, created in 1924, operates a supply system that serves much of North Texas. It provides water to 1.6 million people in the region, including Tarrant, Johnson, Parker, Wise and Denton counties. The primary customers for its raw water are Fort Worth, Arlington and Mansfield.

Q: How much water does Oklahoma have and use?

A: The state has an abundance of water, although some areas are in a drought. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board has found that the Kiamichi River alone has enough excess water to supply an increase in population of 10 million people, or about three times the current state population.

Q: Where would Texas buy the water from?

A: The water would come from the Kiamichi River, Cache Creek and Beaver Creek immediately north of where they enter the Red River. The water would otherwise flow into the Red River, where it would absorb salt before flowing into the Mississippi River and then to the Gulf of Mexico.

Q: How much water does the Tarrant Regional Water District want?

A: The water district wants about 460,000 acre-feet of water, leaving more than 5.8 million acre-feet for Oklahoma's future use. That would be enough water for an additional 35 million people.

Q: What happens if Oklahoma suffers a severe drought?

A: Fort Worth would be restricted from buying even the surplus water that is flowing into the Red River.

Q: How would the contract ensure that the water needs of Oklahoma are protected?

A: Oklahoma law now requires that estimated water demands in each river basin meet or exceed projected needs for the next 50 years before any water can be transferred out of the basin or be purchased by any outside entity.