Brownwood's Mayor Blasts "False" KTXS News Report

Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes said the subject of an on-air and website news report by an Abilene television news station that reported the mayor was planning to sell water from the abundant water volume in Lake Brownwood is false.

Haynes did not name the TV station, but we found the report on Abilene’s KTXS ABC affiliate’s website.

KTXS reporter Joshua Peguero reported Wednesday morning on ktxs.com that the mayor was lamenting a loss of $300,000 from drought restrictions last year and is looking at selling water this year from the lake to make up the shortfall.

In an on-camera interview, Haynes is seen mentioning that water sales will pick up and make up for the recent losses due to drought conditions. It is unclear from the video clip whether the mayor is talking about water revenue in general from Brownwood’s water enterprise for residents and in-city businesses, or piping or trucking water from Brownwood to customers outside the area.

Peguero interviewed Dennis Spinks, the general manager of the Brown County Water Improvement District. Spinks is shown on-camera explaining that the City of Brownwood has the right to sell water that it purchases through his district.

“The city of Brownwood has the right to sell the water they purchase through us,” he said in the report.

The mayor blasted the news report in a statement Friday afternoon, stressing that it is not his intention to turn the City of Brownwood into a water vendor for outside-the-city customers.

Apparently, some residents in the area are upset, as KTXS also reported.

“The story created the impression that the City will be selling water outside of Brownwood,” said Mayor Haynes.  “This simply is not true.”

The mayor said that the City of Brownwood lifted water restrictions in June of 2015, when Lake Brownwood reached capacity.  Otherwise, there has been no change in Brownwood’s water policy.

“Certainly, we have no intention of selling water outside of our community,” said Haynes. “[The broadcast] is false on multiple levels. First, I have no unilateral plan for water sales.  In fact, I have no control over the water in Lake Brownwood.  Any decision regarding whether to sell water belongs exclusively to the Brown County Water Improvement District. Additionally, it is simply untrue to claim that water has not been sold from the lake in years.”

The mayor said Lake Brownwood is the sole water source for all of Brown County. The City of Brownwood, the City of Early, Brookesmith Special Utility District, and Zephyr Water Supply all sell water to their residential and brick-and-mortar business customers from Lake Brownwood.

The water is supplied to these entities from the Brown County Water Improvement District.

The Brown County Water Improvement District also sells water to lake residents and irrigators, the mayor said.

“Even in the height of the drought, all of these entities were selling water from the lake to their customers,” said Mayor Haynes.  “We all restricted outdoor watering, but it was never eliminated."

In June 2015, Brownwood City Council voted unanimously to remove watering restrictions.  Other entities in the region, including the Brown County Water Improvement District, the City of Bangs and the City of Early, also eliminated outdoor watering restrictions near the same time.

Lake Brownwood experienced heavy rainfall along its watershed during late spring and early summer, with water levels reaching several feet over the spillway in mid-July that caused flooding throughout Brown County and the City of Brownwood.

Mayor Haynes said he was not sure why the television station chose to air a story on the topic at this time since there has been no change in policy.

“I made the remark in the State of the City address that we expected the City to have a good financial year because sales tax revenues are rising, new businesses are being created or expanded, and we expect water sales to increase due to the lifting of drought restrictions,” said Haynes.  “Somehow, this has been misinterpreted. We simply expect water sales will return to normal pre-drought levels. There is nothing more to this issue.”

Mayor Haynes said he has received numerous messages from Brownwood citizens outraged by the television story and social media publication.

“I do not blame them,” said Haynes. "If I thought someone was going to sell water from Lake Brownwood outside of our community, I would be outraged too.”

Mayor Haynes said he felt it was important to address the rumors that were spreading. Haynes concluded, “People need to know that we are not selling water from Lake Brownwood to anyone other than our residents.”

The reporter, Joshua Peguero, did not respond to our email.