Several states, particularly in the southwest, have dealt with water concerns following droughts, population growth, and rising agricultural demands. Many would love to have the water that Texas has lost.
Texas already has a variety of water challenges:
Landowners west of Austin claim there isn’t enough water for a planned development. Watch that story from KXAN-TV in Austin here.
Some north Texas landowners hope to stop a reservoir that Wichita Falls city leaders want. Read that story from The Texas Tribune here.
Central Texas landowners dealt with water restrictions earlier this year due to severe drought. Here is the notice from the Lower Colorado River Authority.
The most populous cities in the state lost roughly 88 billion gallons of water last year, according to an investigation by The Texas Tribune. The report blames the losses primarily on the aging water infrastructure and extreme heat.
The information came from self-reported water loss audits, according to the report.
Leaks and main breaks are the primary culprits in the water losses.
These are the top water losses, according to the self-reported information:
Houston: 31.8 billion
San Antonio: 19.5 billion
Dallas: 17.6 billion
Austin: 7.1 billion
Fort Worth: 5.9 billion
El Paso: 4.8 billion
Texas 2036 is a nonpartisan public policy think tank based in Dallas. The organization’s name reflects the year in which Texas turns 200.
The organization laid out what it considers an opportunity but also a major challenge: “By 2036, our state will be home to millions more Texans. That growth represents significant opportunity, but also is expected to strain our infrastructure, water supplies, schools, health care system and economy and increase current inequities in our state.”
The focus on water included a substantial cost: Texas needs to spend $150 billion over the next half-century on water infrastructure.
RELATED: Read the plans from Texas 2036 about the state’s future water needs, according to the organization.
Drought dries out the Texas clay and shrinks it. When that happens, it challenges water lines – especially the older ones – which can make them more prone to breaking.
The depth of the drought is the reason that some people in south Texas were looking forward to help from Hurricane Beryl. While no landowner was rooting for hurricane-level winds and the damage those would bring, some did look forward to the possible heavier precipitation that the region could desperately use.
The south Texas region has some reservoirs that have never seen lower levels, springs not flowing, and water restrictions placed on landowners because of continued drought.
Texas leaders are implementing the largest water infrastructure appropriation by state lawmakers in more than a decade. Leaders will spend $1 billion on projects to try to reduce water loss and find new sources.
But the Texas Tribune investigation found skeptics who say that will not be nearly enough. Read that full report here, along with additional reporting on water loss in the state’s largest cities.
