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Conroe resident urges council not to settle San Jacinto River Authority lawsuit, warns of long-term costs
Summary
At the Conroe City Council continuation workshop March 13, resident John Sellers urged the council to continue litigation against the San Jacinto River Authority, saying a settlement would cost Conroe millions over decades and asking the council to secure rate controls and limits on subsidizing water sent outside the city.
John Sellers, a Conroe resident, urged the Conroe City Council on March 13 to continue litigation against the San Jacinto River Authority rather than accept a proposed settlement. Sellers told the council he believes a settlement would lock the city into “decades of overpaying” for surface water and would divert benefits away from Conroe residents.
Sellers spoke during the citizens inquiries portion of the continuation workshop meeting at Conroe City Hall. He said an article he read indicated city administrators were inclined to settle the case and that, in his view, the settlement would exchange the city’s legal claims for the retention of roughly $20 million in escrow while leaving Conroe to subsidize water sales into South Montgomery County.
“If you settle without demanding any real reforms, you sign away our legal claims and lock us into decades of overpaying for water with no control over future rates,” Sellers said. He told the council Conroe could save “over $180,000,000 over the next 20 years” by pursuing legal remedies rather than settling, and asked the council to require reforms if it negotiates: the power to approve or reject future rate increases, an end to subsidizing water leaving the city, caps on future fees and the ability to determine how much surface water Conroe will receive going forward.
Sellers also told the council that, in his view, the city was not in urgent need of more surface water because a new well and an elevated storage tank are expected to come online in the coming months. He framed the San Jacinto River Authority, which he repeatedly referenced in the remarks, as the party under pressure from the state to settle and said that creates leverage for Conroe to press for reforms.
The council did not take action on the lawsuit during the meeting; Sellers’ remarks were part of public comment. No city staff presentation or council response that committed the council to a particular course of action on the litigation was recorded in the meeting transcript.
Sellers’ comments reflect public concern about long-term water costs and local control over water rates. The San Jacinto River Authority is an external utility authority; any change to contracts or rates could require negotiation or litigation and potentially involve state or regional regulators.
