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For many regions of Texas, 1996 was a particularly severe drought year. Overall, conservation
storage levels in Texas's largest 77 reservoirs dipped to about 23 million acre-feet in the summer of 1996-the lowest levels since the record drought of 1984 and a fall of nearly 8 million
acre-feet in just a year.* The lack of rain and surface water also affected many of the state's main aquifers, such as the Bolson Deposits in El Paso and the Edwards Aquifer in San Antonio, as people turned increasingly to groundwater resources to water their rain-depleted lawns and crops.*
All told, nearly 350 public water systems reported drought-related shortages to state agencies, and 200 Texas
towns and cities limited residential water by enacting drought ordinances or short-term emergency measures.* Industrial production facilities in some cases closed when streamflows were so low that the facilities could not legally discharge their wastewater because pollutants would be too concentrated. Agricultural losses approached approximately $5 billion as the result of damaged crops and cattle losses.* The effect on wildlife species-the plants, animals, and microorganisms dependent upon water and rivers, wetlands, bays, and estuaries-is more difficult to quantify. Still, to many state residents and leaders the lesson was clear-with a booming population and economy, better water planning and management are necessary to ensure future growth-and to protect water levels in the rivers, reservoirs, and bays for aquatic life and recreational uses.
The following year brought above-normal precipitation throughout the state, and most reservoirs, people, and
businesses rebounded.* In 1997, the Texas legislature-in part reacting to the drought-passed Senate Bill 1, more popularly known as the "Water Bill," which, among other features, changes the way the state conducts water planning, water-availability modeling, financing, and drought management. SB 1 shifts the emphasis from water development to better management of existing water resources through conservation, drought management, reallocation, and reuse of treated wastewater. This is being accomplished at the regional level through regional citizen planning groups. The state was divided into 16 planning regions, and each region has a Planning Group consisting of representatives of different interest groups, including public interest and environmental interests, as well as traditional water "players" like irrigators, municipalities, industries and livestock operators. In addition to these "voting" members, representatives from the Texas Water Development Board, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department oversee and guide the activities of the Planning Groups.
In 2001, all 16 Planning Groups submitted their first water plans to the Texas Water Development Board, which
then incorporated them into the State Water Plan, called Water for Texas -- 2002.* . The regional water plans
identified nearly $18 billion needed to meet water management strategy recommendations, while total capital costs of water supply, water infrastructure, wastewater treatment and flood control
topped $108 billion. However, many of these proposed strategies and capital costs may not be ultimately needed and require further study. Currently, the regional planning groups are involved
in the second phase of water planning, with the next statewide water plan due in 2006. Texans have ample opportunity to become involved in the regional water planning process, both in their
regions, and at the state level.
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