General Project Information : A Brief History of the Lake Columbia Water Supply Project
A Brief History of the Lake Columbia Water Supply Project

In 1978, the Angelina & Neches River Authority (ANRA) began planning for what was then called Mud Creek Reservoir - now called Lake Columbia. In 1985, the Texas Water Commission issued a permit authorizing ANRA to build the reservoir and divert water for municipal and industrial use. After the permit was issued, efforts turned toward developing the project's costs and seeking a federal permit.

In 1988, with funds provided from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the Lake Columbia participants, ANRA began a $632,500 regional water planning study. The purpose of the study was to provide a regional surface water supply plan for the 23 participants located in five counties: Angelina, Cherokee, Nacogdoches, Rusk, and Smith. Planning areas to be addressed were:

1. Areas of Environmental Impact
2. Terrestrial Biology
3. Aquatic Biology
4. Threatened or Endangered Species
5. Socioeconomic
6. Cultural Resources
7. Water Supply
8. Reservoir Conflicts
9. Systems Configuration
10. Financing

In September 1991 the planning study was completed and reports distributed. The report reflects the following observations:

1. A surface water supply is needed to meet the short and long term water needs in the five county study area. Lake Columbia when compared with other reservoirs is the most economical single source of surface water supply.
2. Lake Columbia should have a positive impact on the socioeconomic characteristics of the reservoir site vicinity and the region due to increased economic activity, increased ad valorem taxes and the availability of water resources for future economic growth.
3. Environmental investigations performed as a part of the study effort have indicated that the inundation of the Mud Creek floodplain will have environmental impacts within the reservoir pool and downstream of the proposed dam. Additional studies will be required during the US Corps of Engineers (USCOE) 404 permit process in order to quantify existing resources and draw conclusions concerning the amount of impact. It is anticipated that adverse impacts to the environment caused by the proposed Lake Columbia can be mitigated.

The project has since been broken into a pre-construction phase and a construction phase.

The pre-construction phase will answer questions about the cost of the environmental mitigation, update construction and relocation of conflicts costs, which should result in issuance of a 404 Permit. It is expected that this phase will last approximately two years.

During this same time, regional and statewide water planning has been taking place. Projects such as the Columbia Water Supply Reservoir were evaluated as to their ability to fulfill a need in the region. This project is currently recognized as a resource and strategy by the regional water planning group. This need has been recognized in the statewide water plan.

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