Dive Brief:
- Both chambers of the Texas legislature passed bills last week to advance a total of $20 billion for the fight against a looming water crisis, the Texas Tribune reported.
- The Senate approved House Joint Resolution 7, an amendment to the Texas constitution that gives voters the chance to decide this fall on a proposal to send $1 billion toward water projects in the state each year until 2047. The cash also will be used to fund desalination projects, water infrastructure repairs and conservation and flood mitigation projects, the Tribune reported.
- Additional legislation includes Senate Bill 7, which the House approved on May 28. It will help create the administrative framework for funding water projects via the Texas Water Development Board, the Tribune reported. Lawmakers also invested an additional $2.5 billion in the state’s water fund, which comes from the state’s supplemental budget, per the Tribune.
Dive Insight:
More than 6 million Texas residents live in areas of drought, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. NIDIS, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, notes that Texas, along with Oklahoma and Kansas, are areas of weather extremes, where one part may experience drought while another deals with floods.
“The region is one of the world’s leading agricultural producers; even a very short dry period during a sensitive time in the crop cycle can have impacts on the global economy,” the service wrote of the region.
Texas’ peril comes amid a broader trend across U.S. water infrastructure, which the American Society of Civil Engineers panned in its 2025 Infrastructure Report Card. Drinking water infrastructure earned a “C-”, wastewater received a “D+” and stormwater earned the distinction of a “D,” the lowest possible grade.
However, Texas may need to act within the next decade. The state could be forced to deal with a water shortage by 2030 if a historic drought hits, the Tribune reported. The issues are exacerbated by a growing population, which creates an imbalance between water needs and reserves.
With that in mind, projects are underway to lessen the blow that a drought would bring. El Paso Water, for example, broke ground on a $295 million water reuse facility in El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 27. The project is expected to be completed in 2028.
