Texas faces a water-infrastructure funding gap measured in billions of dollars, lawmakers heard this week, as requests for one flood-control program alone reached about $6.9 billion despite the program having $312 million available.
During a seven-hour House Natural Resources Committee hearing in Weslaco this week, representatives of state agencies, local governments, utilities and water-management companies outlined flooding and water-supply challenges facing the Rio Grande Valley and other parts of Texas. Witnesses discussed regional water planning, flood mitigation, Mexico’s water-delivery obligations, and proposals to expand the state’s water supply.
According to the 2027 State Water Plan, Texas must spend about $174 billion before 2080 to address its future water needs. This figure is more than double the estimate given in the 2022 plan.
The plan stated that “approximately one out of four Texans in 2080 would have less than half the municipal water supplies they will require during a [record-breaking drought]” if recommended actions were not taken.
Marvin Cole-Chaney of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) told lawmakers the Flood Infrastructure Fund “grants zero percent interest loans for flood risk reduction solutions identified through the state flood plan.”
While the fund currently allocates $312 million to “eligible activities including flood management evaluations, flood mitigation projects, and implementation of flood management strategies,” Cole-Chaney reported that TWDB has received funding requests totaling approximately $6.9 billion.
State Rep. Trent Ashby (R–Lufkin) noted the gap between available funds and submitted requests. “We continue to see a great need across the state of Texas for these water infrastructure projects, and I know that this committee will continue to lead on pushing for that. But I just want people to understand the magnitude of the challenges we’re facing.”
Flooding and draining issues were a major issue during the hearing, especially in the Rio Grande Valley.
Eric Lykins of the Texas Department of Transportation discussed a regional analysis underway to assess the situation in the Valley and to help find a solution to the flooding problem.
Public Utility Agencies (PUAs) were also discussed as a helpful solution to many water problems in Texas. A PUA is formed by multiple government agencies to help organize and regulate water services.
Hays County Commissioner Walt Smith noted the success of the West Travis County PUA in acquiring water infrastructure that would have been purchased “by an out-of-state, Canadian-owned company.”
“A PUA can provide a framework for these systems to come together, pool resources, and potentially obtain more favorable financing than they could have achieved individually,” said Smith. “We have continued to access the bond market based on the [West Travis County] PUA’s own strength and creditworthiness, not that of our member organizers.”
TWDB Deputy Executive Administrator for Planning Matt Nelson discussed Phase Two of the 2027 State Water Plan, with an emphasis on Region M.
Nelson stated that Region M had “significant unmet needs,” with an estimated total capital cost of $5 billion over the next 50 years needed to implement strategies to address these needs.
Representatives from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality addressed the 865,000 acre-feet water debt incurred by Mexico between the 2020-2025 cycle. This pertains to the water deliveries between Mexico and the U.S. as laid out in the 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty.
While this deficit forced Texas to deduct water from agricultural accounts in 2022, recent years have shown improved stability due to Mexico’s increase of consistent deliveries.
In the discussions surrounding future water planning and strategies, desalination and atmospheric water generation (AWG) were methods proposed to provide new water supplies.
The proponents of the technologies stressed that these strategies should be implemented as soon as possible.
Doug Allison of U.S. Desalination noted that desalination “does not need a pilot program to be in the legislation anymore. We’re not an innovative or new technology anymore.”
“This will give you some idea of scale. [Desalination facilities in Israel] produce 346 million gallons per day … They have one in India, 50 million gallons a day. They have facilities in China, Australia, all around the world.”
Terell Jones of SkyH2O stated that “atmospheric water generation is not experimental. It is operational, deployable, and already funded by the state of Texas, just not by your water programs.”
“We are entering into research and development with Texas A&M University engineering for the Mega Maximus, which is a 50-foot tank, 50 feet high, 50 feet wide, and today it’s supposed to be the world’s largest AWG unit ever,” stated Jones. “You’ve got to put AWG on the lexicon of the statutes, the codes and the funding, because right above us is a ton of water, and we should use it.”
Texas lawmakers are expected to continue discussions surrounding the future of the state’s water supply ahead of the next legislative session, which begins on January 12, 2027.
