Texas Faces Critical Water Supply Crisis — Action Needed Now to Secure State’s Future

Austin, Texas — New reporting from The Texas Tribune highlights that Texas is confronting a mounting water supply crisis that threatens its population, economy, and environment. Rapid population growth, aging infrastructure, climate change, and severe drought are combining to put the state’s water resources under stress. Without significant investment and policy reforms, the gap between supply and demand may become unmanageable.

Key Findings

• Threats across the state: From the Rio Grande to Lake Travis, and from underground resources like the Ogallala Aquifer to surface rivers, multiple sources of Texas’ water supply are nearing critical levels.

• Growth & demand: The state’s population continues to grow swiftly, increasing municipal, industrial, agricultural, and residential demand for water.

• Infrastructure challenges: Much of Texas’ water infrastructure—storage, treatment, delivery—is old or failing. Leaks, losses, and inefficiencies exacerbate the supply shortfall.

• Climate & drought: More frequent, intense droughts, warmer temperatures, and changing precipitation patterns are reducing available water and increasing strain on existing supplies.

• Projected deficits: Without action, experts estimate that during a severe drought Texas’ municipal water supply may not keep up with demand by 2030.

Legislative & Policy Responses

• $20 billion plan: Earlier this year, Texas lawmakers approved a multi-decade investment plan worth approximately $20 billion, focused on both repairing water infrastructure (pipes, treatment, delivery) and developing new sources of water, including reuse and desalination. This plan will be subject to voter approval.

• Conservation & regulation: Some recent legislation aims to reduce water loss among large utilities, improve auditing of water use, and restrict punitive restrictions by homeowners’ associations during droughts (for example, limiting how they penalize brown lawns).

Implications

• Without sufficient supply, Texans could face more frequent water restrictions, higher costs, or reduced availability in both urban and rural areas.

• Industrial sectors, agriculture, and energy generation are also at risk, since many operations depend on reliable water access.

• Environmental impacts could worsen, affecting freshwater ecosystems, wildlife, and the resilience of natural systems.

• Social equity issues may deepen: lower-income areas often have more fragile infrastructure and fewer resources to cope with shortages.