AUSTIN, Texas —
The steady stream of people moving to Texas is just one of many reasons why experts are worried about the state's water supply.
Pair the state's explosive growth with continued drought conditions and crumbling water pipes, and the push for action becomes all the more evident.
The water issues are seemingly dire enough that water experts are now encouraging voters to turn out for the Nov. 7 election and pass Proposition 6, a constitutional amendment that would create the new $1 billion "Texas Water Fund."
Conservationists are raising awareness now by dubbing Oct. 19 "Imagine a Day Without Water." It's something many Central Texans don't have to imagine because they experienced it firsthand in February 2021, when half of the state lost water during the winter storm.
The goal is to get Texans to understand the importance of Prop 6.
If voters approve the proposition, the new Texas Water Fund would help create new water supplies and fix aging water systems.
Under the proposed amendment, the Texas Water Development Board would be charged with implementing new water supply strategies, like marine and brackish water desalination, oil and gas-produced water treatment plants and aquifer storage and recovery projects.
Right now, leaky pipes are a major reason the state is losing millions of gallons of water each year.
According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), there have been 2,844 boil water notices issued as of Oct. 19.
"If we don't pass this proposition now, then we are going to get further behind. More and more people are moving here. The state is becoming more arid, and we have got to act urgently....Prop 6 is important...by bringing in new water supplies and funding infrastructure improvements, we're offsetting sort of the pressure that our existing water supplies are experiencing. But we can't ignore investing in the science and the management that is needed to really ensure that our existing water supplies are going to be around for the future," said Vanessa Puig-Williams, the director of the Texas Water Program at the Environmental Defense Fund.
Prior to this year, it has been more than a decade since lawmakers addressed water issues.
The 88th Texas legislative session passed Senate Bill 28 and Senate Joint Resolution 75, which create the Texas Water Fund. Senate Bill 30 provides the new fund a one-time payment of $1 billion.