Caddo Lake Withdrawals/ Data Center Questions

 By Tyler J. Gordon, Mayor
Village of Mooringsport

Some very serious questions need to be answered!
 
If these issues are not properly studied and addressed, they could lead to long-term harm to the internationally protected wetlands of Caddo Lake.
 
Before any water is sold to large industrial users like data centers, we need clear, transparent answers about the environmental, hydrological, and economic impacts on our region.
 
This isn’t about being for or against development but about protecting something that can’t be replaced.
 
I spoke with Laura-Ashley Overdyke with the Caddo Lake Institute last week, and based on the information I’ve been given, Caddo Lake CAN support the proposed water use under normal conditions. That said, the part that truly concerns us is what happens during extended dry and drought seasons.
 
Anyone who has spent time on Caddo Lake knows that from July through October, we already struggle with low water levels. This isn’t theoretical, it happens EVERY year.
 
Public monitoring data I have directly studied from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Texas Parks & Wildlife shows that lake levels routinely decline during late summer and early fall, and historic lows tend to occur during prolonged dry periods. Wetlands like ours at Caddo Lake are especially sensitive to sustained low water, even if average annual numbers look acceptable on paper.
 
Now, here we are making major water commitments to large industrial users when I feel there has been minimal study on the long term effects to endangered wetlands.
 
I believe we owe it to this lake and unique ecosystem to ask a few honest questions:
 
How much water would be taken during drought months, not just annual averages?
 
What safeguards exist if lake levels drop faster than expected?
 
At what point does protecting the wetlands take priority over withdrawals?
 
And here is a big one:
 
Who is responsible if the ecological impacts are worse than projected?
 
We’ve already been fighting the last year to prevent Dallas from purchasing vast amounts of water from lake of the pines, but now we’re going to be fighting both sides it seems.
 
I’m ALL for economical development in my local communities, but I will NOT back projects that assist in ruining one of the most beautiful places in the world. Not directly against it, but without some serious data shown, it’s hard to be FOR it.
 
Caddo Lake is internationally protected for a reason. Once damage is done, there’s no quick fix and no amount of revenue can replace a lost ecosystem.
 
I’m not here to stir fear. I just want to make sure we slow down enough to ask the right questions and protect something that belongs to all of us.
 
My words here may not make a difference to any decisions that are made, but at least it’ll allow you all to ask the proper questions and as a community, we can demand answers to these questions.
 
I’d like my daughters to experience Caddo Lake as myself and the previous FOUR generations of my family have been able to experience it.