Business Groups Back Texas Water Ballot Measure
To meet the needs of its growing population, drought-stricken Texas urgently needs more water infrastructure totaling $231 billion to augment water supplies and treatment, wastewater processing and flood control by 2060, according to a draft of the state water plan that was released last month.
Next month, Texans will go to the polls to decide whether to help the state get part of the way there. If Proposition 2 on the ballot passes, the Texas Water Development Board, the state's water-planning agency, will be authorized to lend $6 billion via a bond fund dedicated to building and fixing water ...
Comments (8)
gypsy314 ne
I think they should lay out the plan so all can see it before we invest in it.
Michael B Openshaw
Protecting a credit rating and NOT generating excess debt for the future are two different things. And all the infrastructure in the world cannot CREATE water that doesn't exist. It doesn't help that the farmers- encouraged by federal ethanol subsidies- have been pumping down the aquifer to grow corn on cotton land for a lot of years. Perfectly their right as land owners- and perfectly their right to suffer the horrible consequences the creation of a dust bowl in the Panhandle would bring.
BiffTannen
Why shouldn't it cost businesses money? The business organizations supporting this measure are part of the cause why it is needed. Realtors and builders? Encouraging growth in areas that cannot support it, water-wise.
namoyer
This is a bogus grab bag, allowing various govts. to fund blue sky projects with little or no planning (inclu ding future operational funding), no environmental evaluation before funding is committed; generally allowing credit/risk shifted to TX; expect very low turn out election with less than 10% of eligible voters participating, as expected by the TX Lege...typical special interest measure...
Glen Hill
Funds are not the problem. Water is the problem. Where will the water come from? Where will the water be transferred to? Am not in favor of a blank check for billions with no apparent plan for securing and distributing water in the future. For example will there be any effort to divert flood waters to areas in need of water? Will there be a reduction in aquifer drainage?
T Rey
If engineers, general contractors, cement, and steel interests are all for this Proposition, think about what that means. Last big development bubble, perhaps deduct meters, establishment and enforcement of high water X energy efficiency designs, then execution with reasonable, beneficial budgets...this all should have been mandatory. It is conceivable the reserviors would be fuller today.
Maybe better just to put all that taxpayer money to work providing on-demand water to farmers and ranchers. This way, farmers just hook up to the hydrants with their own high precision water distribution, spoon-feeding fertigation the Farm Bill provides cost-sharing. That may be a very cost-effective way to create massive water supplies. Incentivize producers to adopt scientific irrigation scheduling. Bam!
gypsy314 ne
Pipe line from the floods
Dion Miller
While water supply is crucial in Texas, funding for improving old, warn out, and antiquated water systems is indeed necessary if only to reduce the loss of water within the municipality system or water district system. Debt for this purpose is "good debt". Unfortunately, many local governing bodies ignore preventive maintenance and system updates because they don't want to pay for it by increasing user rates. Water will become more of a commodity in the future rather than just a resource. It will behoove us in Texas to make certain all citizens have an adequate, dependable, and safe water supply delivered to their faucets. Making water affordable for all citizens will be the other challenge