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CANTON, Texas (KETK)– The City of Canton has applied to flood thousands of acres of land for a reservoir to combat city growth.

“That’s your castle, that’s where your dreams are made, that’s where you build life and you set your kids on a foundation,” homeowner Cody Swain said.

For nearly 100 years, the Swain Family has lived and passed down 600 acres of land in the Antioch community between Grand Saline and Canton.

“We don’t have a lot of money, but our land is our money. That is our 401k, that is our retirement. They’re taking that. We’ve been fighting this since 2009. It won’t go away. We need this to go away. Go away forever,” Swain said.

The city of Canton has applied through TCEQ to flood the Grand Saline Creek and an additional 5,000 acres of land into a reservoir.

In the letter the city said, ” The construction of this reservoir is a critical need for Canton’s drinking water supply to meet future water demands associated with future growth.”

Van Zandt County Commissioner Mitch Curtis said the city of Canton grew by 700 people in the last 20 years.

He added that the city is not in a water crisis.

Canton Mayor Lou Ann Everett did not comment on the project. According to the application, the reservoir would supply up to 3,950 acre-feet/ year.

That amount of water is equivalent to nearly 1.3 billion gallons of water, equaling up to four football fields at a foot deep.

The construction would displace more than 140 homes in the Antioch, Oakland, and the East Center communities.

“It’s un-American, unbelievable and unrighteous,” Van Zandt Co. commissioner, Mitch Curtis said.

Residents fought against this very proposal in 2008-09. Over time, they said their appraisals have gone down significantly. Curtis said a neighbor reached out to him about her appraisal dropping $400,000.

“They need to be concerned about it because that land may not be theirs anymore, you know, at some point,” Curtis said.

John Borgstedt is a Ben Wheeler resident but is concerned about homeowners not getting paid the right amount if eminent domain is implemented.

“They’re trying to come in and they’re trying to just not give these people anything. If they’re going to take their land, they’re trying to just pay them nothing,” advocate against the project, John Borgstedt said.

Residents believe the reservoir is not for water usage, but for a lake to attract tourism.

“It’s a land grab so they can turn in and turn it into a recreational spot to attract more people, that’s all it is,” Borgstedt said.

Homeowners add that there are plenty of other ways to bring more water into the city, if that is the case, but they should not give up their precious land.

“You could watch this is happening up in Minnesota or Michigan and we’d say, wow, that’s bad, I’m glad I live in Texas, but it’s happening here,” Swain said.