State Rep. Jay Dean hosts ‘Let’s Save Our Lakes’ town hall

AVINGER, Texas (KETK) – East Texas State Rep. Jay Dean hosted a town hall at 10 a.m. on Saturday in order to discuss water issues in his district and across East Texas

Dean represents Gregg, Harrison and Marion counties at the Texas House of Representatives in Austin and he’s been an outspoken on local water rights for years.

He invited several fellow legislators, local mayors, city councils, county elected officials and the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District board to come together on Saturday at the Mims Volunteer Fire Station at 9902 FM 729 in Avinger to discuss the area’s ongoing water issues with concerned community members.

KETK’s full livestream of the town hall can be watched in the video below:

Fellow East Texas State Representatives Cole Hefner of Pittsburg and Gary VanDeaver of New Boston attended the event and spoke along with Dean on Saturday.

“I want the sole focus to be that all parties are being completely transparent with the constituents. We must be very deliberate in protecting our water resources from the Metroplex, not only today, but for generations to come. Our water rights cannot be taken without our permission. You cannot be forced to sell water rights. They cannot be taken with eminent domain if we don’t sell. There’s no need to rush into any decision on this matter.”

State Rep. Jay Dean

Much of the town hall focused on the potential sale of water from the nearby Lake O’ The Pines to Dallas but the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir to the north was also discussed.

Jefferson, Pittsburgh, Daingerfield, Avinger, Lone Star, Ore City and Hughes Springs all helped fund the Lake O’ The Pines when it was first created and those cities would have to vote to sell the lake’s water to Dallas.

VanDeaver represents four of those seven cities and most of the area that would be flooded by the Marvin Nichols reservoir.

“The people whose land is proposed to be taken away by Marvin Nichols and by the mitigation around it, have been living under a cloud their entire lives because they don’t know if they own their land or not. They don’t know if they’re going to have their land,” VanDeaver said. “They can’t build a house on their land. They can’t build barns or other permanent structures because they don’t know how long they’re going to own it. And this is not about Marvin Nichols, but it is about water and it’s about Northeast Texas and about East Texas, and it’s about the precious resource that we have.”

Hefner represents two of the cities in the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District and said that East Texas shouldn’t lose water simply because the state is growing.

“Our state is growing, that’s a testament to good policy and a good living environment in the State of Texas but that don’t mean Dallas gets to come take our land and take our water so they can keep their swimming pools full,” said Hefner. “And so we want to make sure that our people are treated right, that our private property rights are protected. That is a cornerstone, the foundational cornerstone of our whole system of government. The right to own property, the right to worship, the freedom of speech, the freedom to gather like we are here today.”

Dean said that the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District board originally intended to show up to the town hall to answer questions from the public but they couldn’t make it out.

“Well, that’s to their misfortune because, like I promised them, we’re not setting you up for a donkey barbecue here. We just want to know the truth,” Dean said. “We want to know what the heck y’all been working on.”

Dean said that 350 and 400 concerned residents came out to the town hall on Saturday and he thanked Rep. VanDeaver, Rep. Hefner, Laura-Ashley Overdyke from The Caddo Lake Institute and a representative from Congressman Nathaniel Moran’s office for showing up as well.

“There is absolutely strength in numbers and if we can stand together, I truly believe we can successfully fight this! What a great group of folks we have here in House District 7 and greater East Texas! I just can’t tell you how proud I am to serve all of you in Austin.”

Rep. Jay Dean.

Dean also shared a petition to “Halt the Sale of Water from Lake O’ The Pines” that’s gained more than 1000 signatures as of Saturday afternoon.

The town hall was a family friendly event, complete with delicious food and refreshments.