Photo courtesy of Al Braden. Mansfield Dam, Lake Travis, Austin, TX.
By Cyrus Reed
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) is in the midst of taking public comments through April 30th on its rules and process for spending $1 billion dollars approved by voters last November through a constitutional amendment referred to as Proposition 6. Proposition 6 (and the underlying legislation that created it, SB 28) authorized up to $750 million for the Texas Water Fund and at least $250 million for the New Water Supply for Texas. As part of the legislation it also commits the Board to launching a new statewide water awareness campaign.
Over the last few months, the TWDB has held several open meetings of its Board of Directors and made several announcements on their timeline for public input and for implementation of the rules that will govern spending the money. The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club made brief comments on how the money could be used in a way that benefits people and wildlife at the board meeting on January 18th, as did the Hill Country Alliance. Both organizations are a part of the Texas Living Waters, a collaboration of conservation groups working together to ensure that Texas has the water it needs for thriving communities and healthy fish and wildlife. A video recording of the meeting can be viewed here. Comments on the water fund occur around minute 50 of the meeting. A copy of our comments can be viewed here.
The Texas Water Fund will be directed towards enhancing existing Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) programs like the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (DWSRF and CWSRF), the Rural Water Assistance Fund, DFund, SWIFT, and others. The bill requires water infrastructure investments in rural communities and strategies that will help better utilize the water that we already have such as water loss mitigation and water conservation projects. Investment in a statewide water awareness campaign will help Texans understand the value of water and promote a water conservation ethic in the state.
Proposition 6 also authorized at least $250 million for the New Water Supply for Texas Fund, which is less well defined. As an organization, the Sierra Club has expressed concern about some of the enumerated new water supply projects eligible for funding under the New Water Supply for Texas Fund. Among the types of projects that could be authorized are seawater desalination, water imported from other states, aquifer injection and recovery projects, and so-called “produced water” that results from hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells. These projects could have numerous environmental, social, and economic concerns associated with their development and lack the proper regulatory framework to mitigate those concerns. For example, produced water can contain salts, metals, radioactive materials, and chemical additives that can be harmful to human health and the environment. Further, marine and seawater desalination projects can pose harms to the environment and people along the Texas Coast and will need to be carefully planned and constructed to ensure those harms are minimized.
On March 20th, the TWDB held a special public input meeting to receive comments and questions. A copy of that meeting presentation can be found at this link here. Interestingly, the author of the legislation, Senator Charles Perry did submit a letter (which can be found at the same link) to the TWDB clarifying two important issues. First, he said that water reuse and conservation programs should not be eligible for funding under the New Water Supply for Texas Fund (but would be eligible for money in the Texas Water Fund). Second, Senator Perry made clear that new water supply projects should not be required to have been approved as part of the regional water process.
TWDB also announced they had put out a Request for Proposal for $2 million per year for a third party to run the new statewide water awareness campaign. TWDB also announced that they would be holding a special work session and board meeting to discuss the rules on April 10th and April 11th in Lubbock, Texas.
Finally and most importantly, TWDB is asking folks to turn in written comments and respond to three surveys they have developed to implement the Texas Water Fund, the New Water Supply for Texas Fund, and the Statewide Water Awareness Campaign.
The TWDB is seeking stakeholder input via three survey instruments:
• Texas Water Fund Survey 1: Financial Assistance for Water Infrastructure Projects
• Texas Water Fund Survey 2: New Water Supply for Texas Fund
• Texas Water Fund Survey 3: Statewide Water Public Awareness Program
Written feedback may also be submitted to TexasWaterFund@twdb.texas.gov. Information provided in the surveys or submitted via email is requested by April 30, 2024.
Want some suggestions from us and our allies about key comments to make in the surveys? Feel free to borrow language from this letter The Lone Star Chapter signed onto as part of the Texas Living Waters collaboration.
For more information, contact cyrus.reed@sierraclub.org.