BURLESON COUNTY, Texas (KRHD) — State legislators passed multiple bills during the 89th Legislative Session focused on securing Texas' water future, as groundwater conservation districts work to balance growing demand with long-term sustainability.
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Local leaders gathered at the Caldwell Civic Center in Burleson County in August during the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District's annual summit to learn about new state investments in water infrastructure, highlighting the challenges facing rural communities as urban areas increasingly look to groundwater sources.
"Texas is, you know, probably 20-30 years behind the curve when it comes to funding infrastructure projects," said Adam Foster, executive director of the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts.
15 ABC suggested to Foster that everyone realizes there is a big demand and it's going to continue to grow, to which he agreed.
"That's why you're seeing this big push in the legislature to come up with new funding sources, new water sources to meet that demand," Foster said.
House Bill 2078, authored by Brazos Valley State Representative Stan Gerdes of Texas House District 17, aims to improve monitoring of desired future conditions, which deals with aquifer levels.
"As we see these large scale production projects going in around the state, what we're seeing is a lot of impacts to domestic and irrigation wells, right? And that's caused a lot of the concern in y'all's area," Foster said.
The Vista Ridge Pipeline currently moves water from Burleson County to San Antonio, but similar projects could become less common moving forward.
"So as local needs and demands increase over the next several decades, it's probably going to be a little bit more difficult to maintain large projects moving water outside the district because you have to meet in district uses and needs," said Gary Westbrook, general manager of the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District.
Foster tells 15 ABC that rural areas and municipalities rely heavily on groundwater.
"As we're growing, the more urban areas are starting to look for alternative water supplies or additional water supplies, and so the next, you know, cheapest option is groundwater," Foster said.
As efforts continue from many involved, conservation for regulators can be a tug of war.
"So there's that balance and that's, that's really the challenge — how do you regulate reasonably and extend the life of the aquifer far into the future for future generations," Westbrook said.
Legislators also passed Senate Bill 7, which sets aside $1 billion in funding for state water projects if approved by voters through Proposition 4 on November's ballot.
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