Water Resource Restoration Program – Bill Memo

Why Nature-Based Infrastructure?

Flooding occurs in Texas because so much of our stormwater is forced to flow over roads and parking lots, picking up toxic chemicals and gaining speed before rushing into our waterways. Increasingly, experts say that nature-based infrastructure features, like rain gardens and constructed wetlands are essential to our fight to reduce flooding because they are the only  water infrastructure tool that efficiently lets stormwater soak into the soil.

Opportunities In Texas

Adoption of nature-based infrastructure has lagged in Texas because of a lack of good funding programs. Texas’ Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) has financed only two “green infrastructure” projects, both of which were water reclamation projects that did not incorporate the benefits of natural features. We have the opportunity now to a Water Resource Restoration Program within the CWSRF to finance nature-based projects.