The Texas Legislature passed HB1, the State Budget, which included language to study the feasibility of the Marvin Nichols Reservoir and deliver findings to the Legislative Budget Board and the Governor by January 5, 2025, the start of the next Legislative Session.
State Rep. Gary Van-Deaver, whose District encompasses much of the footprint of the proposed reservoir, had originally proposed the study as an amendment to the Sunset Bill for the Texas Water Development Board. He later ensured that the study was added to the budget.
“Roughly 66,000 of private land would be used to build this reservoir, but at least an additional 130,000 acres of land [would be] taken out of production and out of private hands,” he said at the time. “This would make the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir one of the most expensive public works projects and one of the largest land grabs by eminent domain in Texas history.”
