WATER SECURITYTexas Senate Moves to Set Aside Billions for Future Water Needs
The Texas Senate on Monday passed a bill that would create a new state fund tailored for large or long-shot water supply projects, including marine desalination. The bill will advance to the House.
Texas senators on Monday unanimously approved a legislative package that could set aside billions of dollars to acquire new water sources and — if approved by voters — pay for upgrades to the state’s aging water infrastructure.
Senate Bill 28 and Senate Joint Resolution 75, authored by Lubbock Republican Charles Perry, would create a new water supply fund administered by the Texas Water Development Board. That fund would pay for new water supply projects, including desalination projects and imports of water from other states. The bill would also set aside dollars to upgrade water infrastructure, especially in rural communities.
“Senate Bill 28 creates a pathway to funding water projects that our grandkids will be around for,” Perry said Monday on the floor of the Senate.
The goals of the funds, he said, are to fix the state’s leaking and breaking water infrastructure as well as accelerate new, large water supply projects.
Perry has suggested billions would be devoted to the fund if signed into law, but he did not specify how much of that money would go toward new water supply projects versus infrastructure improvements. Together, the dollars would target upgrades for small rural water supply systems at risk of failing and provide a boost to what Perry calls “bold” water supply projects that rely on new technology and may cost more upfront than traditional methods.
Water advocacy groups have estimated that the fund needs to include an initial investment of at least $3 billion to $5 billion to address the state’s crumbling infrastructure and projected water shortage.
Last summer, extreme heat coupled with an intense drought, the worst in a decade, and pushed the state’s water supplies to the brink. Water levels in reservoirs across the state fell to a fraction of their capacity, prompting hundreds of mandatory water restrictions for residents. Although the drought has eased since the fall, 65% of the state remains in a drought.
Surface water — mainly rivers and reservoirs — accounts for roughly half of Texas’ existing water supply, and is increasingly susceptible to the effects of climate change as temperatures rise, accelerating evaporation.
“The voters need to know we are thinking long-term about water supply,” Perry said during a Senate Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee hearing on March 20. “I would be shocked if it’s not supported in a big way.”
