The Texas Land Commissioner recently announced that the Red River Boundary Commission has redrawn the Texas-Oklahoma boundary to safeguard the water supply for over 2 million Texans. This redrawn boundary will secure approximately 30% of the drinking water supply for the surrounding area.
Commissioner Dawn Buckingham expressed her commitment to benefiting the state of Texas through this initiative, ensuring that millions of north Texans have access to water from a secure source within Texas.
The decision to redraw the boundary was prompted by the discovery in 2009 of a pump station that needed to cease operations to prevent the introduction of Zebra mussels into Texas. These mussels have been causing issues for power plants, requiring significant resources for their removal from clogged water intakes.
It was revealed that the pump station was inadvertently built on the state lines of Texas and Oklahoma, raising concerns about potential violations of federal laws regarding the transport of Zebra mussels across state borders.
On October 30, 2024, the Red River Boundary Commission, comprising representatives from both Texas and Oklahoma, executed the Amended and Restated Texoma Area Boundary Agreement to rectify the boundary issue. This agreement ensures that the pump station is now entirely located within Texas, resolving the interstate boundary concerns.
Commissioner Buckingham commended the GLO's surveying team for their crucial role in settling the boundary issue through their mapping expertise. Surveying has been a fundamental aspect of the GLO since its establishment in 1836.
