Federal judge rules in Texarkana cities' water dispute - KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather & Sports

A federal judge arbitrating a nearly decade-long battle between Texarkana, Arkansas and Texarkana, Texas says the cities need to work out a written agreement over the operation of their interconnected water and sewer systems.

In his ruling handed down Friday, U.S. District Court Chief Judge P.K. Holmes III basically sided with the Texas city's leadership against the Arkansas city's leadership.

Holmes said that because the cities had no written agreement, neither side can produce specific terms that can be arbitrated.

The judge also said there is little reason to continue litigating Texarkana Water Utilities (TWU) issues while there is no contract. TWU is regulated by the states of both Texas and Arkansas.

"Both parties have undoubtedly spent countless hours, and countless taxpayer dollars, litigating this issue – in an action to compel arbitration, which will not and cannot fully resolve the real disputes over which the parties are squabbling ...," Holmes wrote.

Holmes ruled in favor of Texarkana, Texas on several issues for which the city first sought arbitration.

.Between 2001 and 2009, Texarkana, Texas overpaid the annual funding allocation between the cities, which was estimated during the trial to approach $3 million.

.Texarkana, Texas also continues to overpay its contracted share of bonds for TWU's Millwood plant by more than $200,000 so far. Millwood is one of two plants run by TWU.

Holmes also granted the request of Texarkana, Texas, to arbitrate the claim that Texarkana, Arkansas is giving up title owned by Texarkana, Texas to water bought under the Millwood contract.

The judge also ordered to arbitration Texarkana, Arkansas' claim that the Texas city does not have authority to sell water it buys to anyone but the citizens of Texarkana, Texas.

Holmes directed the cities to participate in arbitration by a three-judge panel as called for in the Millwood contract.

Holmes strongly encouraged the cities to work together "to amicably and expediently resolve their differences, so that taxpayer money and city revenues might be better spent on actually improving the operation and management of the Cities' water and sewer systems (perhaps through the negotiation of an actual written agreement) instead of on litigation that basically boils down to time-consuming and expensive political posturing."