SCOTUS: TX Not Entitled To OK Water
U.S. Supreme Court sides with Oklahoma in water case
By Chris Casteel Modified: June 13, 2013
WASHINGTON — Texas is not entitled to take water from Oklahoma without the state’s consent, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday.
The decision is a major victory for Oklahoma, which has sought to prevent out-of-state water sales, and ends a long-running legal battle with a Texas state agency that provides water to several communities in north central Texas, including Fort Worth.
The Tarrant Regional Water District claimed a water compact among Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana gave Texas the right to reach into Oklahoma to get its share of allotted water.
The Red River Compact — approved by Congress in 1980 — gives each of the four states an equal share of excess water from the Kiamichi River. But the compact doesn’t explicitly say that one state can reach into another state to get its share.