State leaders propose using rainy day fund for water plan

State Water Plan

The State Water Plan is redrawn every five years using a "bottom-up" planning process with local stakeholders representing areas such as agriculture, the environment, industry, river authorities, water districts and others in 16 regional groups.

Those groups anticipate what their water needs will be during the next 50 years and create a plan, which they then submit to the state to create the State Water Plan.

The State Water Plan is different from a statewide water plan, which is what leaders are working on to help fund those projects—currently 562 of them.

Funding is a problem—local municipalities or governments sometimes have to delay projects when they need to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars, with some individual projects reaching into hundreds of millions of dollars and costing the state tens of billions during the next few decades.

State Water Implementation Fund

The proposed legislation creates a State Water Implementation Fund that would help local governments pay for the projects.

"Our projections show that $2 billion would fully implement the State Water Plan as it exists today," said Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, House Natural Resources Committee chairman. "With that one-time capital investment, we could provide adequate, meaningful funding to the plan and achieve the state's goals of supporting local entities in the implementation of projects."

In addition to traditional water supply projects, the bills would set aside at least 20 percent of the new revolving fund for conservation and reuse efforts.

The bills would also allow funds to be used throughout the various water-financing programs offered by the Water Development Board to ensure that as the state's water demands and plans change, the funding support can adapt.

"It is vital for the future of Texas that a dedicated source of revenue be established for funding the State Water Plan," Ritter said. "Our economy depends on it, our communities depend on it, and ultimately, our daily lives depend on it."