Editorials

The water is flowing, and so is the cooperation between communities. The cities of Whitehouse and Tyler reached a hard-won agreement Tuesday night that will ensure Whitehouse will have plenty of potable water for as long as it needs it.

Leaders of both cities deserve praise. Tyler Mayor Barbara Bass and Whitehouse Mayor Danny Hogden worked through their disagreements and divergent goals to reach a solution in the best interest of their citizens.

The 25-year contract includes an opt-out provision, which would allow Whitehouse to cancel the contract if its own sources of water, being developed now, should soon prove to be sufficient.

It was not a unanimous vote. council members Charles Parker, Mike Jeter and Tony Hill voted for the contract and Dale Moran and Gene Champion against. Those who voted "no" have legitimate concerns; they fear that funding the contract will undermine their ability to fund their own long-term solutions.

And the contract will result in higher water bills for Whitehouse residents -- but as Jeter correctly noted Tuesday night, any solution to the city's water woes would have.

But Whitehouse has had a water crisis in recent weeks, as an extremely dry July -- one-10th of an inch of rain was reported for the entire month -- and trouble getting wells producing forced the city to restrict outdoor watering.

Residents were understandably angered, and they became even more so when they learned that the city of Whitehouse paid a landowner a $150,000 settlement for 2.4 acres of land -- far more than the appraised value -- after drilling a water well without a contract.

But the overall wells project will likely come in under budget, as council member Dale Moran notes, and will help move Whitehouse toward utility independence.

The contract with Tyler will give Whitehouse some breathing room as it brings more well on line and continues to pursue the Lake Striker project.

The city's predicament shows that water is becoming a very important issue, even in lake-filled East Texas.

"Water is a precious commodity in Texas," Tyler Utilities and Public Works Director Greg Morgan says. "Cities are scrambling to secure resources."

The city of Tyler is set for the near future -- Lake Tyler, Lake Tyler East and Lake Palestine should supply Tyler and the surrounding areas confidently through 2084.

But projects such as Lake Columbia in Cherokee County and the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir in Red River County bear watching, as the state makes provisions for future water needs.

And simmering conflicts between thirsty urban areas and water-rich rural regions must also be monitored.

Still, the agreement between Tyler and Whitehouse shows that conflicts over resources can be resolved amicably. For both cities, this was the right thing to do. We applaud the tenacity of the leadership of both communities for coming up with this solution.