{"id":20459,"date":"2012-10-31T07:00:44","date_gmt":"2012-10-31T12:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=20459"},"modified":"2013-11-15T14:54:30","modified_gmt":"2013-11-15T20:54:30","slug":"will-texas-lawmakers-fund-the-state-water-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/10\/31\/will-texas-lawmakers-fund-the-state-water-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Texas Lawmakers Fund the State Water Plan?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo courtesy of JeffGunn via flickr's creative commons. http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/jeffgunn\/<\/p>

Lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session will be debating ways to fund a water plan that some think is not enough.<\/p><\/div>\n

When it comes to the cost of the looming water crisis in Texas, the State Water Development Board<\/a> is ready with some helpful numbers. They are generally big ones.<\/p>\n

If the state does nothing to cope with its booming population and dwindling water supply, Texas businesses will lose $116 billion over the next 50 years. The state as a whole will lose more than 1 million jobs.<\/p>\n

$53 billion is the price tag of the plan<\/a> that the Board thinks will avert those losses and assure water security into this century. But the state has never funded the plan.<\/p>\n

Now, in the aftermath of the worst single-year drought in Texas history, water issues are getting more attention than they have in years. And lawmakers preparing for the upcoming legislative session are debating ways to fund the plan. But with many of those same lawmakers committed to cutting budgets and not raising taxes, their options are few and far between.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>

State Senator Glenn Hegar advocates using the state's rainy day fund to partially fund the water plan. He sits on the senates Natural Resources Committee.<\/p><\/div>\n

That leaves them trying to figure out what, if anything, they may be able to do in 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to solve the whole problem today,\u201d Republican State Senator Glenn Hegar<\/a> told StateImpact Texas at a recent conference on state water issues hosted by the Texas Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He sits on the Senate’s Natural Resources Committee. He believes it could be sufficient to fund a fraction of the total cost of the plan next year by dipping into the state\u2019s rainy day fund. Even a relatively modest initial investment, he says, could kick-start local water projects and pay large dividends down the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cInvest [the funds] with an incentive. An incentive to not tell those local people what are the best projects for them, but to work in cooperation because they can also put dollars into the pot,” Hegar said.<\/p>\n

It wouldn’t be the first time the state has written a one-time-only check for the water plan.\u00a0 Last session lawmakers appropriated about $100 million to state water projects. It barely put a dent in the projected need and came a far cry<\/a> from funding the plan in the long run. That has other lawmakers looking at other, longer-term funding strategies.<\/p>\n

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