|
|
SURFACE WATER SUPPLY
|
|
|
|
Source: Texas Water Development Board, Water for Texas -- 2002
(January 2002), p. 48, and Historical County Water Use (2003).
|
|
The management of water resources in Texas is a daunting task. Consider just a few factors:
- Geographical variations cause large disparities in available water supplies, from water
shortages in arid West Texas to abundant supplies in the eastern portion of the state.
- A growing population and industrial base will continue to increase pressure on existing supplies and generate demand for
development of additional water delivery facilities, such as reservoirs.
- Reliance on groundwater is facing serious limitations in many areas of the state because
of overpumping and water quality problems.
- The Texas institutional structure for managing water quantity and protecting water quality is divided among several state and local government agencies. These agencies are charged with implementing a convoluted set of statutes and court decisions, even though all
water forms part of the same hydrological cycle.
The regulation of water resources in Texas dates back to Spanish sttlers in the eighteenth century. Currently, a variety
of water districts and authorities as well as several state agencies have been involved in water use planning in Texas.
At the state government level, Texas has moved from three agencies in 1957, to a single agency in the late 1970s, to a
current structure of two state agencies, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) -- formerly called the
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) -- and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB).*
|
GROUNDWATER SUPPLY
|
|
|
|
Source: Texas Water Development Board, Water for Texas -- 2002
(January 2002), p. 44 and Historical County Water Use (2003).
|
|
The TWDB is charged with developing a state water
plan to ensure that "sufficient water will be available at a reasonable cost to further the economic development of the entire state."* The first plan was developed in 1967. This plan, which until recently was updated every
two years, estimates the supply and demand for water for the next generation. The TWDB then administers state and federal funds to build water supply and
wastewater treatment facilities in acordance with those demands.
In 1997, the TWDB, the TCEQ, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) came together to jointly
produce "a consensus-based update"-the 1997 Texas Water Plan. The plan used supply and demand projections that have been agreed on by all three
agencies. The TCEQ issues water rights permits and wastewater discharge permits and attempts to balance economic and environmental needs by considering the
effects of consumptive water use on various in-stream and estuarine habitats.
The TCEQ also oversees drinking water quality under the Safe Drinking Water Act. In addition, the TCEQ measures the
water quality of all state rivers, streams, reservoirs, and bays to determine if they meet their designated uses, such as
drinking water, water for aquatic life, or fishing. Under the federal Clean Water Act, the TCEQ reports this information
through the Texas Water Quality Inventory, which is produced every two years.*
The TPWD participates in the water rights permit process by automatically reviewing water rights permits and
recommending whatever changes in permits it deems necessary to protect aquatic habitat and wildlife in state parks or
wetlands, endangered and threatened species, the aquatic ecosystems of streams, or the estuaries. If the agency's
concerns are not met, it may request that the TCEQ hold a public hearing on the water rights application. TPWD,
jointly with the TCEQ and the TWDB, has initiated a series of studies for more accurate quantification of the amount of water needed to preserve aquatic life in the bays and estuaries.
With legislative approval of SB 1 in 1997, water planning in Texas shifted from the state to the regional level. The
TWDB -- with significant public input -- divided the state into 16 regional planning areas, each of which selected -- with
TWDB approval -- a regional planning committee -- and submitted a regional plan in 2000. Both the TNRCC and the
TPWD were involved in the review process of these plans. The regional plans -- after being amended -- were then incorporated into a State Water Plan, called Water for Texas -- 2002. The regional plans identified water supply issues
and identified supply and demand strategies to meet future water supply needs. While the regional water planning
areas are in some cases attempting to secure financing for these water management strategies, in the meantime they
have begun a second round of planning. The 2006 State Water Plan will be based upon this next round of planning.
Several state environmental organizations have become involved in the regional water planning efforts, including
Environmental Defense, the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, and National Wildlife Federation. These organizations
felt that during the first round of planning there was insufficient attention in many areas to the advantages of water
conservation strategies over building new supplies, as well as little emphasis upon water for environmental flows and
preservation of natural habitats. Much of their perspective on the regional water planning in Texas can be found at a new website, called Texas Water Mattters (http://www.texaswatermatters.org).
|
