After River Authority Nixes Water Deal, Chairman Resigns

Photo by Flickr user John F Hark/Creative Commons

A Great Egret on the shores of the Toledo Bend Reservoir

Just hours after the Sabine River Authority of Louisiana called off a plan to sell massive amounts of water to Texas, its chairman resigned. Robert Conyer had been on the board for four and half years, and told the Town Talk that he was “frustrated” at the board’s inability to get things done. “Working through politics became the most frustrating thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Conyer told the paper.

The Sabine River Authority of Louisiana, which regulates the Louisiana side of the lake, held a meeting late last week and decided to call off the proposed water deal until the board develops a comprehensive water plan. While Conyer supported the decision to end the proposed water deal, which would have sold water from the Toledo Bend Reservoir to Texas, he wasn’t happy with how the decision went down.

“Commissioners said they had decided prior to Thursday’s meeting to end the water sales talks. Opposition from citizens, civic groups and local governing bodies had been growing in recent weeks, even though the SRA had been talking about the proposal by Toledo Bend Partners LP proposal for most of 2011 and took the first official vote in its favor in August.”

Read more at the Town Talk.