Shortlist for where the Texas Water Fund's $1 billion could go first

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Voters went to the polls last November and overwhelmingly supported creation of the Texas Water Fund, a pot of money totaling $1 billion meant for water infrastructure improvements across the state. In the months since then, the state's water agency has worked to narrow down who could dip into it first.

Last month the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) agreed on a shortlist of 66 projects in smaller, more rural systems that could get the initial awards for projects aimed at shoring up water conservation and cutting down water loss. Jeremy Mazur, a senior policy advisor on infrastructure and natural resources for the nonprofit Texas 2036, said it's especially important for the state to focus on those efforts.

"When we look at the data about water loss from our water and wastewater systems in Texas, it's astounding," Mazur said. "Texas loses about 570,000 acre feet per year due to leaking pipes. Now, for comparison, this is about enough water to fill up Lake Buchanan here in Central Texas once every year, so we know if we want to solve the water supply solution in the long run, we really need to focus on fixing those leaks and stopping that water loss."

One proposal on that initial shortlist is located about an hour east of Austin in the small community of Lexington in Lee County. According to state records, the town is seeking more than $1.3 million for a smart metering system. The TWDB reported in August that top-ranked projects would get invitations to submit full applications for funding, so it's unclear right now whether the state would award Lexington either a grant or loans to help.

Mazur said the billion allocated to the Texas Water Fund is a "drop in the bucket" of what state lawmakers need to invest moving forward, estimating that Texas has a long-term water infrastructure funding need exceeding $150 billion over the next 50 years.

"We're hopeful that the creation of the Texas Water fund last year was the the opening step in a bit of bigger conversation about what the state of Texas needs to do towards water infrastructure needs," Mazur said. "We need to think long term and strategically about the financial strategy we need in order to provide over $150 billion in financial assistance. If we do not do this, we're putting our economic growth trajectory at risk. We think when we talk about economic growth and economic development in Texas, not to mention quality of life — I mean, everyone needs to have water in order to stay sane, especially during the summer months here in Texas, we need to have reliable water infrastructure in order to make that work. And so we're hopeful that the next Texas legislature in January will focus again on the need for dedicated, reliable funding for our water infrastructure."

Discussions will happen Tuesday morning that could help set the stage for what lawmakers may take up during next year's regular legislative session. The Texas Senate committee on water, agriculture and rural affairs begins at 10 a.m., and the agenda specifies the members are supposed to talk about the law that created the Texas Water Fund along with efforts to secure the state's water supply. A live stream of the proceedings will be available on the Texas Senate's website.

The 89th regular session is set to start on Jan. 14, which will bring lawmakers back to the Capitol to work on passing new state laws over a period of 140 days.