Texas water future uncertain, difficult

New sources needed

David Crossley, Nov 15, 11.

Texas has a powerful thirst, one that won’t be quenched any time soon given projections that the state’s population will double to 46 million over the next half-century, according to a series in the Houston Chronicle:

In the past, Texans - particularly those in the most populated areas - found water for all those extra showers, sprinklers and toilets by heading to where the water was and grabbing it. They did this with big reservoirs, deep wells and long pipelines. Whatever it took.

But the days of cheap and abundant water are coming to an end, and where the additional supply will come from is not clear.

The devastating drought of the 1950s, the marker for the worst-case dry spell in Texas history, prompted a massive investment in the state’s water infrastructure designed to ensure there would be enough water to meet the demand in decades to come.

Sixty years later, with the state gripped once again by a record-setting drought, lawmakers are balking at the price tag of a plan designed to meet demand for the next 50 years - a staggering $53 billion for more reservoirs, desalination plants and pipelines, among other projects.

The Texas House failed to take action during its last session on two bills intended to create the first permanent funding source for the state’s water plan. Instead, lawmakers placed two propositions on last week’s ballot, with mixed results. Voters authorized a revolving $6 billion bond program to pay for water supply projects, but rejected another that would provide tax breaks for conservation on ranch lands.

The central dilemma - not enough water to meet competing demands - can be seen along the Trinity River, which runs for 715 miles from the Oklahoma line to Galveston Bay. The rain-fed stream carries the heavy burden of supplying water for Texas’ two largest metropolitan areas, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, and the demands will only grow with an ever-booming, increasingly urban population. MORE

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