This column originally appeared in The Dallas Morning News where Glenn Rogers is a contributing columnist.
When my two oldest children were young, there was no “city water” or well water on our ranch south of Graford. Most of Palo Pinto County has marginal ground water resources, and our property is in an area void of this luxury. Water was derived from an old cistern that captured rain off a barn roof, and during the frequent droughts this precious commodity was often in short supply.
Looking back, my two older girls learned some good life lessons about the value and scarcity of water. We still laugh about the required “ranch showers” that were a necessity with a limited supply. Their strict instructions were to get in the shower, turn on the water for only a few seconds, just long enough to get wet, then turn it off. Next, suds up, without water running, until ready to rinse quickly.
If every Texan shortened their shower time by one minute, 14 billion gallons of water could be saved each year. It is amazing how much less water is used with this modified “ranch shower” technique. But oh how we love long, hot showers!
Water conservation is both an individual and collective responsibility. On an individual basis, the average homeowner in Texas uses an average of 92 gallons of water daily for home use, according to the National Environmental Education Foundation, with 68% going to outdoor use during summer months.
Texas water systems are losing at least 572,000 acre feet of water per year, according to a report from the Texas Living Waters Project, mostly due to leaky pipes. That translates to over 186 billion gallons annually.
Conservation of water requires not only individual responsibilities to avoid wasteful practices, but efforts to improve efficiency and replace aging and deteriorating water and wastewater infrastructure, some of which is over 100 years old.
In addition to the obvious major uses of water for consumption and crop irrigation, stable water resources are required for thermal electricity generation through natural gas, nuclear, and coal-fired plants. It is a limited, high-demand commodity that will increase in price as we move forward.
Complicating matters further, Texas is experiencing explosive growth of its population, estimated currently to be about 31 million, and expected to reach 51.5 million by 2070. Texas gained 1,500 people per day in 2023-24, including births, according to state demographer Lloyd Potter. On an average day, 864 documented Texan wannabes are relocating to our great state. Unfortunately, none of these new citizens are bringing more water.
In a recent survey of community water systems conducted by the Texas Rural Water Association, 20.9% reported that they expect to run out of water within 10 years and 51.9% expect to run out of water within 20 years. Cities and towns across the state are limiting, if not altogether withholding, development permits over water concerns.
The 1968 Texas Water Plan produced by the Texas Water Development Board included a Texas-size recommendation to move water from the Mississippi River to Texas. This and other grandiose plans to water thirsty lands west of the 98th meridian never came to fruition. Turf battles, environmental concerns, and exorbitant costs precluded them. More than 55 years later, we acknowledge the infrastructure costs then were a small fraction of what they would be today and wonder what if the bold investment had been made at that time.
The data shows that by 2050, Texas will suffer a water shortfall of up to 5.74 million acre-feet per year if faced with drought conditions like those the state has experienced over the last few years. According to the State Water Plan, the economic losses for the Dallas-Fort Worth area for not implementing the plan would be approximately $38,000 per acre foot in 2070.
Texas 2036, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research and advocacy organization, has made the following key recommendations regarding water infrastructure and funding needs. The 89th Legislature would do well to follow them.
Water infrastructure development and maintenance require a stable, dedicated funding stream to alleviate erratic decisions created by changing political dynamics and complacency created by short periods of above-average rainfall.
Texas voters passed Proposition 6 in November 2023 that created the Texas Water Fund with $1 billion supplemental appropriation of general revenue. According to the most recent Texas State Water Plan, Texas will need to invest at least $154 billion over the next 50 years on new water supplies and infrastructure upgrades. The $5 billion interim endowment, followed by consistent $1 billion investments, will help get us there.
One of the major reasons for taxpayer reluctance to dedicate large dollar amounts to critical infrastructure is the lack of transparency and accountability. Strict measures of timely and efficient completion of funded projects are essential.
Water policy rarely makes it to the top of the priority list in Texas legislative sessions. Unfortunately, it is not listed as a legislative priority of the Republican Party of Texas, which sees more value in banning Democrats from committee chairmanships. But this time might be different.
Gov. Greg Abbott’ s recent announcement of a Texas-size investment in water as an emergency item in his recent State of the State address should be music to the ears of all who live in this great drought-prone and water deficient state.
Sen. Charles Perry, legislators in the Water Caucus and advocates from around the state are leading the charge to prioritize increasing the availability and improving the quality of state water resources.
As of this writing, 30 water management bills have been filed and, with water now one of the governor’s emergency items, more are likely to follow. Plans include developing new water supply sources such as marine desalination along the coast, brackish water desalination across the state, produced water treatment in the West Texas oil and gas fields, and surface water acquisitions where available, both in Texas and elsewhere.
The 89th Texas Legislature should be poised for major water investment for the future of Texas. Abbott’s emergency item designation, the second largest budget surplus in Texas history, burgeoning population growth and Texans’ recent memories of drought conditions should line up the stars and generate sound legislative action.
If not, we might all be taking ranch showers soon.
Glenn Rogers is a rancher from Graford, Texas.
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