Texas lawmakers took steps big and small to help save the state’s water supply.
A big one: investing $20 billion in water projects over the next two decades. A small one: banning homeowners’ associations from punishing residents who don’t have bright green lawns.
The state’s water supply is in peril. Legislators saw this year as their last chance to invest before the state faces calamity. Rapid population growth, aging infrastructure and extreme climate events like drought and flood have put pressure on the state’s lakes and rivers. A Texas Tribune analysis found that cities and towns could be on a path toward a severe water shortage by 2030 if there is recurring, record-breaking drought conditions across the state, and if water entities and state leaders fail to put in place key strategies to secure water supplies.
