Faimon Roberts: Selling water to Texas may be a good idea at some point. But not yet.

It’s not often that Louisiana balks at an offer to sell its natural resources for cash.

That’s why it’s a pleasant surprise to see two state legislators warn the Sabine River Authority that any attempt to sell water from the Toledo Bend Reservoir is a nonstarter. It’s even better that the two legislators, Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles, and Sen. Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville, chair committees that would need to bless any such sale.

For those who have not spent time on the bucolic, 186,000-acre, 65-mile-long reservoir located on Louisiana’s western border, let me explain. Toledo Bend was created when the Sabine River was dammed in the 1960s. It’s become extremely popular as a recreation and fishing spot for thousands from both Louisiana and Texas.

It’s governed jointly by Louisiana and Texas, through two different authorities, one on each side of the border. Water that flows through the dam on the reservoir’s southern end is used to generate hydroelectric power; each side has the authority to sell some of the water, though the proceeds must be split.

But for several years, there have been discussions about selling a portion of Louisiana’s share of the water to a company called Aqueduct Partners, which would pipe it to water-starved cities in Texas. Proponents argue that this sale could be done with little to no impact on lake levels and generate far more revenue than hydroelectric generation.

But the idea has drawn opposition from many locals, who argue that such a sale could cause water levels to drop and make the reservoir less amenable to recreation. 

Earlier this week, Geymann and Hensgens sent a letter to Louisiana’s Sabine River Authority, urging them to reject any proposed sale. 

“We urge you to abandon these plans and safeguard the long-term interests of our people, economy and environment,” Geymann and Hensgens wrote. “Toledo Bend is vital to Louisiana residents, businesses and wildlife.”

They are right about that. But more important is something Hensgens told this newspaper’s David Mitchell.

“I just believe that in the next century, water is going to be the most important natural resource we’ve got, and it is Louisiana’s water. It belongs to the state taxpayers, and I just don’t believe we should be selling it,” Hensgens said.

Hensgens is absolutely right about this. Water is an increasingly valuable natural resource. Fortunately for Louisiana, the state is blessed with plenty of it both on the surface and under it. But there is little statewide impetus to take an accounting of just how much, despite increasing demands from industry, agriculture and, potentially, more data centers, which use a lot of water.

In other words, Louisiana is obviously water rich, but we have no idea exactly how rich we are. And until we know how much we have, we shouldn’t be selling what we do have, no matter how tempting the dollar signs dangled by rich Texans.

Thankfully, Geymann and Hensgens’ letter seems to indicate, at least for now, that no such deal will go forward. 

It may be, at some point in the future, that selling Toledo Bend water is an idea that makes sense from a financial and resource-management perspective.

But that time has not yet come.