THE PROPOSED FASTRILL RESERVOIR IN EAST TEXAS: A STUDY USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS Michael Ray Wilson, B.S. Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2009 APPROVED: Paul Hudak, Major Professor and Chair of the Department of Geography Samuel F. Atkinson, Minor Professor Pinliang Dong, Committee Member Michael Monticino, Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies Wilson, Michael Ray. The Proposed Fastrill Reservoir in East Texas: A Study Using Geographic Information Systems. Master of Science (Applied Geography), December 2009, 116 pp., 26 tables, 14 illustrations, references, 34 titles. Geographic information systems and remote sensing software were used to analyze data to determine the area and volume of the proposed Fastrill Reservoir, and to examine seven alternatives. The controversial reservoir site is in the same location as a nascent wildlife refuge. Six general land cover types impacted by the reservoir were also quantified using Landsat imagery. The study found that water consumption in Dallas is high, but if consumption rates are reduced to that of similar Texas cities, the reservoir is likely unnecessary. The reservoir and its alternatives were modeled in a GIS by selecting sites and intersecting horizontal water surfaces with terrain data to create a series of reservoir footprints and volumetric measurements. These were then compared with a classified satellite imagery to quantify land cover types. The reservoir impacted the most ecologically sensitive land cover type the most. Only one alternative site appeared slightly less environmentally damaging. Copyright 2009 by Michael Ray Wilson ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge my thesis committee members, Dr. Paul Hudak, Dr. Samuel Atkinson, and Dr. Pinliang Dong, for their guidance on this project. I would also like to provide special thanks to my colleague Joaquin Torrans for his assistance conducting field research along the Neches River. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...............................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................ v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.............................................................................................vii INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................... 3 Geographic Overview ........................................................................................... 3 Need for the Fastrill Reservoir.............................................................................. 7 Opposition to the Fastrill Reservoir..................................................................... 13 Environmental Concerns .................................................................................... 24 History ................................................................................................................ 30 Summary ............................................................................................................ 34 METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................................... 35 Objectives........................................................................................................... 35 Data Collection and Preparation......................................................................... 37 Pool Elevations................................................................................................... 47 Alternate Dam Sites............................................................................................ 52 RESULTS...................................................................................................................... 55 CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................ 62 REFERENCES............................................................................................................ 112 iv LIST OF TABLES Page 1. Endangered species........................................................................................... 64 2. Fastrill Reservoir partial water balances (mean annual values) ......................... 67 3. Stills Creek alternate site reservoir metrics ........................................................ 68 4. Tailes Creek alternate site reservoir metrics....................................................... 69 5. Ioni Creek alternate site reservoir metrics .......................................................... 70 6. Fastrill Dam site reservoir metrics ...................................................................... 71 7. Weches Dam site reservoir metrics .................................................................... 72 8. San Pedro Creek alternate site reservoir metrics ............................................... 73 9. Box Creek alternate site reservoir metrics.......................................................... 74 10. Bowles Creek alternate site reservoir metrics..................................................... 75 11. Stills Creek alternate site image classification metrics ....................................... 76 12. Tailes Creek alternate site image classification metrics ..................................... 77 13. Ioni Creek alternate site image classification metrics ......................................... 78 14. Fastrill Dam site image classification metrics ..................................................... 80 15. Weches Dam site image classification metrics................................................... 82 16. San Pedro Creek alternate site image classification metrics .............................. 84 17. Box Creek alternate site image classification metrics......................................... 86 18. Bowles Creek alternate site image classification metrics ................................... 88 19. Stills Creek alternate site roadway metrics......................................................... 90 20. Tailes Creek alternate site roadway metrics....................................................... 91 21. Ioni Creek alternate site roadway metrics........................................................... 92 v 22. Fastrill Dam site roadway metrics....................................................................... 93 23. Weches Dam site roadway metrics .................................................................... 94 24. San Pedro Creek alternate site roadway metrics................................................ 95 25. Box Creek alternate site roadway metrics .......................................................... 96 26. Bowles Creek alternate site roadway metrics..................................................... 97 vi LIST OF FIGURES Page 1. Regional setting map.......................................................................................... 98 2. Texas counties greater than 250,000 population map........................................ 99 3. Water supply reservoirs map............................................................................ 100 4. Parks and forests map...................................................................................... 101 5. Wildlife refuge boundaries map ........................................................................ 102 6. Dam locations map........................................................................................... 103 7. Elevation map................................................................................................... 104 8. Watersheds map .............................................................................................. 105 9. Landsat image classification map..................................................................... 106 10. Weather stations map....................................................................................... 107 11. Neches River daily mean discharge graph ....................................................... 108 12. Neches River mean daily mean discharge graph ............................................. 109 13. Fastrill Reservoir map....................................................................................... 110 14. Equivalent reservoir configurations map........................................................... 111 vii INTRODUCTION Fastrill Reservoir is a proposed reservoir located in east Texas along the upper portion of the Neches River downstream of Lake Palestine. The purpose of the reservoir is to provide a future source of drinking water and municipal use water for the rapidly growing population of the city of Dallas and its suburbs, located to the northwest. Current estimates predict the population of the City of Dallas will double by the year 2060, and will be approximately triple for the entire Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The portion of the Neches River where the proposed reservoir would be located is an area of riparian habitat characterized by mixed hardwood bottomland forests subject to periodic inundation, and is thus a wetland habitat. It is one of the few remaining natural habitats in a region where wild land has been continuously consumed for development for over a century. The area is considered critical to many species of animals,