After years of dispute over where the line between Texas and Oklahoma should be drawn at the Red River, the two states have recently come to an agreement to alter the border slightly.
The problem stems all the way back to 2009, when the North Texas Municipal Water District learned that invasive zebra mussels were invading Lake Texoma, where it was operating a water pump station that provided water to millions of Texans.
Officials were concerned about the location of this station, as federal law prohibits transporting mussels across state lines. If mussels in Oklahoma were indirectly transported to Texas through our water supply, that could have raised issues with federal wildlife agents.
Though the pump was initially within Texas' borders when it was built in 1989, a new border was established in 2000 that placed part of the station in Oklahoma. Texas sent Oklahoma a proposal for a new border in 2021, and it was finally ratified last month.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said, "This redrawn boundary line will ensure that millions of north Texans' water comes from a secure source in Texas."
The North Texas Water Municipal District agreed to pay Oklahoma $10 million for water projects that benefit North Texas, and up to $800,000 to cover the University of Oklahoma's legal, engineering and surveying fees related to the boundary.
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