For nearly 15 years, the state agency in charge of Louisiana's half of Toledo Bend Reservoir has periodically considered selling water to investors seeking to supply Texas — a move that has gained new traction with recent interest from a Dallas company.

But people who live around the lake and businesses that count on recreation there have opposed the idea, fearing a sale could lower water levels too much, leaving homeowners' docks high and dry and harming the fishing Toledo Bend is famous for.

Seeking to address those concerns, the Sabine River Authority of Louisiana has agreed to hire a firm to analyze how such water sales could affect the lake, which straddles the Louisiana-Texas border.

The authority plans to spend about $50,000 for computer models measuring the impact of withdrawing

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