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DEG: Cool, Clear Water

Far below the dusty, rugged landscape of the Texas Panhandle lies a resource vital to the future growth and prosperity of the Lone Star State.

That valuable resource isn't oil. It isn't natural gas.

It's water.

In recent years a growing number of landowners in Roberts County have recognized the value and importance of the water rights beneath their land and have taken steps to market those rights.

This move has been spearheaded by the most famous rancher in the county, AAPG member T. Boone Pickens.

In 1997 the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority bought 43,000 acres of water rights in Roberts County from the old Southwest Public Service Co. for $349 per acre. Based on that sale many landowners realized their water rights are a substantial commodity, and in the ensuing years they have positioned themselves to sell those rights to a Texas municipality.

Pickens said a sale could come as early as this year.

"There is no question that Texas is going to have a serious water problem in the not too distant future," Pickens said. "The population in Texas is estimated to double by 2050, and that one statistic alone illustrates why steps must be taken now to plan for the water needs of the future population.

"We feel these water rights in the Panhandle represent an excellent source of water for a growing Texas city," he added.

Oilman and entrepreneur Pickens will address Texas' water supply issues and the unique opportunity for Panhandle landowners as the keynote speaker at the Division of Environmental Geosciences luncheon on Tuesday, April 20, at the Dallas Convention Center. His talk is titled "Texas Water: Oil of the 21st Century."

Pickens, who founded Mesa Petroleum in 1956, is today president of Mesa Water in Dallas. In 1996 he founded BP Capital, a fund management company, and one year later launched BP Capital Commodities Fund, which began with $37 million and has generated cumulative profits of over $1 billion.

The DEG luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. DEG awards will be presented prior to Pickens' talk.

-- KATHY SHIRLEY