Statement by Environment Texas Director Luke Metzger on Today’s Announcement by Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst Regarding Funding for Water Infrastructure

Environment Texas

AUSTIN – According to the Associated Press, at a speech to the Dallas Regional Chamber, Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst said today that Texas should consider using $1 billion in the state’s Rainy Day Fund to fund the State Water Plan. The following response may be attributed to Environment Texas Director Luke Metzger.

“We appreciate Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst’s call for action in response to the water crisis Texas is facing and will continue to face in the coming decades.  Water is a precious commodity in Texas, yet the state’s rate of water consumption is outstripping our natural supply. Rapid population growth, excessive water consumption, and years of drought have depleted our natural water reserves and put Texas at greater risk of a water crisis. Without a dramatic change from business as usual, Texas’ water scarcity problem will only get worse.

The 2011 drought was the worst in Texas history, with rivers and lakes running dry, more than 300 million trees dying and fish species and whooping cranes impacted. Tourism and recreation businesses suffered from low lake levels and river flows. Some communities even ran out of water and had to have it trucked in.  Today, 80 percent of the state remains in drought and twenty four reservoirs are more than 75% empty. Texas must act quickly to ensure sufficient water for people and the environment.

According to the state water plan, about one third of all future water needs will be met by conservation and reuse. Conservation is the cheapest, fastest, most environmentally responsible way to meet future water needs and should be the priority for any new investments. According to an analysis by the Lower Colorado River Authority of new supply options, conservation programs such as education and incentives to install low-flow toilets would cost just $400 an acre-foot, while a pipeline to bring water from other parts of the state would cost $1900 an acre-foot, a new reservoir $2150 an acre-foot and desalination $2890 an acre-foot.

If Texas is looking to spend a billion dollars to address our water crisis, which we need to do, the conservative approach would be to exhaust the cheapest options first before building expensive new reservoirs and pipelines.”