Don't get him wrong.
Dan Glaser would love to have a golf course on a lake.
But, as the owner of Legacy Ridge Country Club in Bonham, Glaser is starting to wonder if he will be looking at a dried up, shallow end of Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir during low water conditions and a flooded golf course once the proposed lake fills up and Bois d'Arc Creek swells after a torrential downpour.
"Without a doubt, it will back up," Glaser says. There has never been an impoundment that improves drainage upstream. "Flood control improvements will be limited to below the proposed reservoir."
In addition to the golf course, Glaser is concerned about how higher water levels could affect US 82, Hwy 56, FM 271 and Hwy 78 where those roads cross over Bois d'Arc Creek. He also worries that higher water levels could impact Bonham Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The point of contention between management at Legacy Ridge Country Club and North Texas Municipal Water District, the organization building the lake, is a discrepancy in the 100-year flood plain elevation. Glaser says that after conducting studies with Army Corps of Engineers and Texas Department of Transportation, construction at the golf course was based on a flood plain elevation of 537.5 mean sea level.
North Texas Municipal Water District has established the 100-year flood plain level at 541 feet MSL and will buy everyone out with affected property below the 541-foot level. NTMWD is then turning around and leasing the property back to the original owners willing to pay the taxes.
Seems like a sweet deal for both parties involved, but the Glaser family has invested a small fortune to develop one of the premier golf courses in North Texas and the golf course is bordered by Bois d'Arc Creek on the east and Lower Bois d'Arc Reservoir will be situated just north of the Legacy Ridge Country Club golf course.
"If it's underwater," Glaser says with a bit of dismay, "it's not worth anything."
Legacy Ridge Golf Course was built to withstand surging flood waters of Bois d'Arc Creek and the Bermuda grass in the fairways can be submerged up to seven days with minimal damage. But, once the reservoir is full, if flood waters back up and cover the sensitive bent grass on the greens with muddy water for more than a day, it could spell the end for the unique golf course.
And, for Glaser, the problem is really much larger that the golf course. A housing development was planned for prime real estate on the west side of the golf course and country club. A lot of the infrastructure - water, electricity and sewer - is already in place. But now that the golf course has been identified as potential condemnation property because it is below the flood plain level of 541 feet, by law all potential buyers must be advised. No one would want to purchase an expensive lot next to a golf course, only to wake up after a big rain and find the golf course destroyed.
"This devalues every lot we've been selling," remarked Glaser."
For the past eight years that Legacy Ridge Golf Course has been in existence, no one had studied the rise and fall of Bois d'Arc any closer than the management team at the golf course. Environmental Protection Agency rules even require the golf course to keep a detailed report of rainfall due to the fact that the agency is responsible for tracking the amount of fertilizer that could end up in streams and water sources.
"We live with it," Legacy Ridge Golf Club owner Dan Glaser says of Bois d'Arc Creek. "We record it."
He also records where his customers come from: 80% of the revenue comes from out-of-town golfers.
"We're a destination golf course," Glaser explains. "We couldn't make it as a nine-hole course.
Concerned are residents will have until January 9 to voice concerns about Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir.
Written comments to the Corps must arrive by
Mr. Andrew Commer, Project Manager
CESWT-RO
US Army Corps of Engineers
1645 So. 101st
Any questions about the comments process can be addressed by calling Andrew Commer at 918-669-7400.
