‘Texas-sized’ water package es legislature making $20B investment closer to reality

A sweeping Texas bill designed to avert the looming possibility of a water crisis ed a final legislative hurdle Friday and now heads to the governor’s desk.

Senate Bill 7, authored by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, works in concert with House t Resolution 7, which proposes a constitutional amendment that would allot $1 billion a year from 2027 to 2047 to secure the state’s water supply. Among other things, it would fund the repair of aging infrastructure, desalination and conservation.

The proposed amendment moved forward late last week, but voters will have final approval in November.

Half of the funding would be designated for creating new water supplies, while the other half would be left up to the Texas Water Development Board’s discretion to be used on a full range of infrastructure needs.

Before the House voted on the bill Wednesday, Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, acknowledged efforts Perry, Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, and others “put into this historic document.”

“I think it would be an understatement to say just how transformational I think that most of you feel this bill would be for meeting our over $120 billion shortfall that we have to meet our state’s water infrastructure needs,” Ashby said.

A Texas 2036 analysis found that as the population booms and the economy grows, the state will need to invest at least $154 billion over the next 50 years on new water supplies and infrastructure upgrades. The majority is needed to fix deteriorating drinking and wastewater systems.

Ahead of the 89th legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott called for a “generational investment” in water supply and infrastructure projects, deeming it an emergency item, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick prioritized water infrastructure bills.

In a Monday statement, Abbott applauded the legislature for ing the “Texas-sized water package” that he said is “critical” to fixing broken and leaking pipes while also ensuring agricultural producers have the water they need.

“I look forward to swiftly g Senate Bill 7 into law, and I encourage Texans to the constitutional amendment this November to put Texas on a path to have plenty of water for the next 50 years,” Abbott wrote in the statement.

Additional funding may come from House Bill 500, known as the “supplemental budget bill,” which advanced Tuesday in the Senate. It proposes a one-time investment of $2.6 billion to the Texas Water Development Board for infrastructure projects and to draw down federal funds.

This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative ed by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.