Water in Texas rivers and lakes belongs to all Texans and is regulated by the state. Water in the Colorado River is a state resource that belongs equally to the people in our river basin and in neighboring basins.
Problem is, because of the state’s population growth, there won’t be enough water in Texas for the future – unless we plan now.
- Texas will have 25 million more people in 2060 – double the 2000 population. (1)
- Texas will need 27 percent more water between 2000 and 2060. Cities will need twice as much water, while agriculture will need slightly less. (2)
- Texas will have 7 percent less surface water supplies between 2010 and 2060 as silt builds up in reservoirs. (3)
- Without planning for future water shortages, Texas won’t have enough water to meet demands by 2060. (4)
With these statewide shortages in mind, it’s important to take an honest, realistic look at the lower Colorado River basin’s situation.
- Growth will affect future water supplies. In the past five years, there were 37 new residents in river-dependent Travis, Burnet and Llano counties for each new resident in Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda counties. (5)
- As cities and industries grow, their need for water will grow, too. As this happens, water rights now designated for agricultural use likely will be shifted to municipal and
industrial use.
- Agriculture in Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda counties will lack up to one-third of the surface water it needs by 2060. Rural communities in the basin also face future
water shortages.
There’s no easy answer. Cities won’t stop growing, seawater can’t yet be transformed into affordable drinking water, and water supplies for agriculture are likely to decrease. The bottom line is: water shortages are a reality for our basin. It’s up to us to prepare for them – the future of our basin depends on it.
REFERENCES
1. Page 3, Volume 1, draft “Water for Texas 2007,” Texas Water Development Board.
2. Page 4, Volume 1, draft “Water for Texas 2007.”
3. Page 4, Volume 1, draft “Water for Texas 2007.”
4. Page 6-7, Volume 1, “Water for Texas 2007.”
5. Texas State Data Center and Office of the State Demographer.
