The projected cost of the proposed Cedar Ridge Reservoir has risen to $290 million in the regional water plan for the Brazos River basin approved earlier in November.
“Abilene does not need Cedar Ridge to fulfill water needs” said Janice Bezanson, TCA executive director, shortly before the Abilene City Council approved an increase in water rates for the city’s water customers. The projected cost of the proposed Cedar Ridge Reservoir has risen to $290 million.
“Abilene does not need Cedar Ridge to fulfill water needs,” says Janice Bezanson, TCA executive director, "and it would have a huge negative impact on the local environment and on water resources downstream."
The City of Abilene is proposing to build Cedar Ridge Reservoir on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River. Abilene has no need for additional water supply. If some other entity does, there are lower-cost alternatives. Some key points about the proposed lake:
Abilene’s current water supply is already 67% more than the city’s projected municipal demand for Abilene in 2070, demonstrating clearly that the reservoir isn’t needed;
Cedar Ridge Reservoir would lose so much water to evaporation that the total water supply for the upper Brazos River would be reduced, not increased;
If some entity in West Texas needs more water, there are lower-cost, lower-impact alternatives for obtaining new water supply, notably obtaining water from Possum Kingdom Reservoir and piping water from the Clear Fork of the Brazos River to increase the amount obtained from the existing Hubbard Creek Reservoir.