This report focuses on remarks made by legislators during the Texas Water Roundtable meeting on March 10, 2016.
Opening Remarks
- Roundtable includes movie screening, “Written on Water”
- Roughly 50 organizations participating, roundtable wants to “push the envelope” by bringing experts together
- Focusing on legislative, marketplace, and state agency/regulatory remedies, goal is to offer solutions to water issues and get legislature involved in the conversation
- Water is a huge issue, tends to be forgotten in session years if non-session years receive large amounts of rainfall
Rep. Eddie Lucio III
- In the next 24 years, Texas population will grow by 24 million
- Rio Grande Valley is largely surface water and water rights are mostly allocated, new technologies and previously cost prohibitive technologies will need to be utilized to meet demands of growing population
- Conservation programs are difficult to reconcile with capital improvement projects for water infrastructure
- Key issue from 84th legislature was the intersection between water utilization and property rights, will continue to be a challenge in the future
- Property rights need to be protected and water availability needs to be planned for
Rep. Doug Miller
- Only path to solve water problems is through communication between stakeholders, agencies, and legislature
- Water supply stability is crucial for continued economic and job growth
- Water must be properly appropriated in order to ensure supply for all
Rep. Lyle Larson
- Important to look at periods of high drought and plan for similar periods in the future
- Brackish desalination is a priority, groundwork is being laid for large scale operations that do not deprive locals of essential water supply, will get more “aggressive” in 2017
- Evaporation is a huge threat to continued water supply, new plans need to be developed to prevent losses
- Storage methods should be developed to ensure capacity for emergencies
- Partnerships with other states can help to can stabilize water supply and promote economic growth in Texas, state should help facilitate partnerships