A New Proposed Bill Could Bring More Water To Millions of Texans

Texas Senator Charles Perry has filed a bill that would fund water supplies and water  infrastructure for future Texans. Those two new pieces of legislation, Senate Bill 837 and Senate Joint Resolution 43, would create the Water For Texas Fund at the Texas Water Development Board.

The money for the Water for Texas Fund would be coming from the Texas State surplus budget of $33 billion. Only $3 billion would be taken out of that surplus budget and be used to boost water infrastructure projects across the state while dramatically increasing future water supplies. Particularly in drier parts of the state.

KAMC news reports that Senator Perry states that 70 percent of underground pipes have reached, and are over, their estimated life as we lose billions of gallons of water every year. The Water for Texas Fund would tackle the loss in water in areas where groundwater sources are low or completely dry. The solution would be to get water from areas in West Texas near oil and gas production so they can draw out the dirty water and clean it.

There is currently a pilot project that will go hand in hand with the Water for Texas Fund that will test different ways to clean that dirty water. Governor Abbott also stated in January that he was in support of boosting water infrastructure across Texas to better serve the needs of 30 to 50 million. March 10 will be the last day that state lawmakers will be able to file their proposed bills.