AUSTIN, Texas — Lawmakers are figuring out how to spend $4 billion effectively to improve access to water.

What You Need To Know

  • State Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, has a bill, HJR7, that gives the Texas Water Development Board the authority to allocate the billion dollars to different projects

  • This has passed the House, but Harris is still in negotiations with Sen. Charles Perry. His SJR66, requires that the board spend 80% of the $1 billion on a new water supply and 20% on fixing existing infrastructure

  • A Texas 2036 report estimates Texas needs to invest $154 billion by 2050 to address the water challenges

The state’s water crisis is expected to get worse without more funding from the Legislature. Jed Murray with the Texas International Produce Association said that a burst pipe can lose over 9 million gallons of water in one month and even more if it isn’t patched quickly.

“People don’t understand what it looks like when a pipe is broken for us. We’re moving a massive amount of water at one time,” said Murray.

This is a problem because crops in South Texas need to be watered often.

“I just had a text this morning from a citrus grower that says, if we don’t get water going steady, we’ll be out of business,” he said.

The governor wants lawmakers to invest $1 billion a year for 10 years to address the water crisis caused by extreme drought and aging water infrastructure, like leaky pipes.

State Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, has a bill—House Joint Resolution 7—that gives the Texas Water Development Board the authority to allocate the $1 billion to different projects. It has passed the House, but Harris is still in negotiations with Sen. Charles Perry, R- Lubbock, who did not respond to Capital Tonight’s interview request.

Perry’s bill, Senate Joint Resolution 66, requires that the board spend 80% of the $1 billion on a new water supply and 20% on fixing existing infrastructure.

“We both agree that we do need to fund a lot of new water supply projects, particularly developing brackish groundwater throughout the state of Texas, which is kind of an untapped area,” said Harris.

Texans have different water needs depending on where they live, but time is a major factor, which is why many industry stakeholders support the plan to fix infrastructure and conserve water already in circulation.

“We don’t get a chance to wait for desalination plants to be built and take 10 years or 20 years to come on board. We need that water today,” said Murray.

A Texas 2036 report estimates the state needs to invest $154 billion by 2050 to address the water challenges. Texas Tech University water law professor Amy Hardberger says lawmakers must stretch the first $1 billion allocation are far as possible.

“Before you start raising the capital cost and moving that to customers, you really need to make sure that they’re using water that they have the best way possible. So one way to improve that is through updated infrastructure,” she said.

The final bill is expected to include vague buckets, and with those, it will give the Texas Water Development Board some flexibility based on the requests that come in.

“We want 1,600 people a day to continue to move here. We have to address the water crisis that is coming. It’s not a question of whether or not it’s coming. It will, because those people aren’t bringing pipes,” said Harris.