Texas judge overturns reservoir permit that could flood over 16,000 farm acres

A reservoir plan rejected by voters in the water district serving Wichita Falls in 1958 is facing another major setback nearly seven decades later. On October 9, 2026, a judge overturned the state permit for Lake Ringgold, a proposed reservoir that could flood more than 16,000 acres of agricultural land and wildlife habitat in Clay County, Texas. The project was proposed by the city of Wichita Falls to help secure water supplies for North Texas during future droughts. But ranchers and conservation groups challenged the plan, arguing that it would damage productive grazing land, affect wildlife and force families to give up properties they had owned for generations.As reported by American media portal News Channel 6, Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble overturned the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s decision to issue the permit after hearing arguments in Austin.