LADONIA, Texas -- Another autumn slowly undresses the woods splashed in yellow along the riverbed. Talk of a more lasting change of scenery interrupts the morning wind. "The dam's going to be about right here," says Leon Hurse, walking toward the gaping, wet-weather home of the North Sulphur River.
Here, 65 miles from Dallas, Mr. Hurse, the mayor of nearby Ladonia, is cheerleading a plan to cover 11,000 acres of rural Fannin County with water, his area's oil and gold. Suburban faucets and sprinkler systems stand to get in on the action as well, as the Dallas metro area again looks east to stay flush with one of the basics of growth. The Lewisville-based Upper Trinity Regional Water District is seeking state and federal approval to dam the North Sulphur and create Lake Ralph Hall for its customers in Denton, Dallas and Collin Counties.
"We're looking ever which way" for water, says Tom Taylor, executive director of the district, which provides water, sewerage and other services to a growing base of 25 cities and utility systems. Upper Trinity has applied for a state permit to block the river almost five miles from Ladonia and pipe some of its water to a treatment plant at Lewisville Lake in Denton County. From there, it would be distributed to thousands of homes -- for example, in Flower Mound, Argyle, Sanger and Celina. While the North Sulphur can disappear in Fannin County during dry spells, lake planners are confident its drainage basin can support a reservoir.
At about one-third the size of Lewisville Lake, Ralph Hall -- named for the longtime Democratic Texas Congressman from Rockwall -- would have a water surface of about 8,500 acres at normal elevation, cost $200 million and be as many as 15 years in the making, Mr. Taylor said. State and federal agencies will study environmental impacts and hydrological plans. Public hearings may be held. And if the lake is approved, the district would begin sinking money into securing land -- through condemnation if necessary. The district's customers can expect water rates to increase "modestly" to pay for the lake, but the impact is still uncertain, Mr. Taylor said.
In Fannin County, the mayor and other lake supporters are looking beyond the loss of pastures, woods and about 15 homes to a project that could control erosion, arouse a struggling local economy, provide recreational opportunities and deliver water to an area likely to grow with or without a new lake. But although some property owners in the flood zone say they support or are at least resigned to the project, others are opposing the lake and a proposed development district that could bring new tax levies to the area.
"If I get a decent settlement, it will be OK with me," said Mike Flesher, who moved with his family to 81 acres north of the river in 1996. "We thought this would be it," said Mr. Flesher, a 53-year-old accountant, who built a log-cabin home and runs cattle on land that would be inundated. "It's going to be difficult to move."
Vernon Hill stands to lose about 70 acres of land, but so far his home of 43 years is safe. "I guess I'm for it because it will help the town, and those people in the Dallas area need water," he said. "A lot of water is being wasted, and sooner or later somebody's going to dam that river." But then "it will hurt some people," said Mr. Hill, 80. And "if I have to move, I may not be for it." Richard Fields said he was resigned to losing about 20 acres and wanted a fair price for his land and straight talk. "I realize this is progress that's got to happen," he said. But recent talk of land values and compensation left him troubled. "An attorney told me, 'Sounds like you paid too much for your property.'"
Mr. Hurse and Fannin County Judge Derrell Hall said they wanted to make sure land owners were treated fairly. But "'fairly' is an abused word," Mr. Flesher said. The mayor, a real estate broker and former land appraiser, said he has owned property in and around Ladonia for 40 years. He understands property owners' concerns, he said, particularly those of families with deep roots in the land. "What is the sentimental value of land? It's worth something," Mr. Hurse said.
Mother Nature has been taking land along the North Sulphur in big gulps since the early 1930s, when a public works project went awry. Back then, farmers concerned about flooding formed an improvement district to dig an 18-mile channel near the meandering river. The idea was to remove water from valuable cropland, but the straightened channel quickened the river flow, setting in motion an erosion problem that has worsened with time. "In a good rain, you can hear the land drop off," Mr. Fields said. Today, the channel (originally 16 feet wide and 10 feet deep) stands 250 feet wide and about 42 feet deep north of Ladonia. Workers there are again extending a bridge for State Highway 34 threatened by erosion.
The mayor and others are also counting on the lake to boost the local economy. A few Victorian homes and stone buildings along Main Street hint at Ladonia's days as a cotton-shipping center. The town had 2,000 people and 100 businesses in the late 19th century, but the population today numbers about 700, the mayor said. Like the lake, a new subdivision with three brick homes is offering something to talk about. But last week, the three-sided downtown square was mostly shuttered, save for a health clinic, a ministorage business, the mayor's real estate office, an insurance business, a bank and a funeral home. Vines crept along yesterday's building sites, while weeds rose from sidewalks. The closing of a 145-worker meat-packing plant -- Ladonia's largest employer, taxpayer and water customer -- gutted the town in 2000, the mayor said, leaving it reliant on sales taxes from beer and wine stores.
"Anything that would bring some economy, change and freshness to the area would be welcome," said Beverly Felts, superintendent of the Ladonia-based Fannindel school district. The lake would lure fishing and boating and create jobs and investment, the mayor figures. "I'd like to see some quality residential development. Maybe a motel, restaurants, marinas," he says, driving from the dam site across black, freshly plowed dirt.
How that growth shapes up and who pays for it is a question to be reckoned with. The Legislature this year gave Fannin County authority to control land use around the proposed lake. And Upper Trinity is talking about seeking legislative approval for a conservation and reclamation district around the lake. Proposed legislation has been drafted that would give a district board authority to borrow money, condemn and annex land, impose assessments on property owners and, if voters in the district approve, levy sales and property taxes to pay for improvements such as water, sewerage and drainage systems.
The proposed district, which would extend for a mile around the lake, is drawing criticism from landowners. "I don't see it as essential for the lake project," said Mr. Hall, the county judge. At age 80, Mr. Hurse figures "I'll probably be gone" before Lake Ralph Hall is finished. And he rejects talk that the lake is about personal gain. "We'll have a better market" for land, he says. "But we don't have any way to go but up."