The answer is no, unless we plan for the future, says the Lower Colorado Regional Water Planning Group, called Region K. Region K is one of 16 regional planning groups in Texas that identify future water shortages and strategies to meet them.

Region K’s largest source of water is the lower Colorado River, including the Highland Lakes. LCRA manages the lakes and river from San Saba County to Matagorda Bay and is a member of the Region K planning group.

The Region K planning group says we won’t have enough water to meet all needs in the future. Consider these facts:

• Region K’s population will double. (1) Most of the growth will be in Austin and surrounding counties.
• Cities and industries in Region K will need twice as much water. (2)
• Far less water from the Highland Lakes will be available for irrigated agriculture, especially rice farms. (3) Why is this a problem? As growing urban cities and rural communities need more water, less will be available for other uses.
• Less water for rice farmers could devastate the industry, which supports 4,000 jobs and contributes $234 million annually to the region’s economy. (4)
• As municipal demands grow, less water will flow into Matagorda Bay. Fishing and tourism industries could be harmed if the flow of water to the bay or estuaries significantly declines over time.
• Average lake levels will be lower in lakes Buchanan and Travis. Lake-related recreation that draws millions of dollars to the basin each year could be affected.

Region K Planning Group
The Lower Colorado Regional Water Planning Group has 22 voting members and 4 nonvoting members. Visit www.regionk.org for more information.

Region K Executive Committee

• Chair: John E. Burke, Aqua Water Supply Corporation
• Vice Chair: Haskell Simon, Rice Industry Farmer
• Secretary: Teresa Lutes, City of Austin
• Members-at-large:
  • Jim Barho, Protect Lakes Inks-Buchanan Association
  • Barbara Johnson, Austin Area Research Organization, Inc.
  • Roy L. Varley, City of Goldthwaite

REFERENCES
1. Executive Summary, “2006 Region ‘K’ Water Plan for the Lower Colorado Regional Water Planning Group,”
January 2006.
2. Chapter 2, Page 1, 2006 Region “K” Water Plan.
3. Chapter 4, Page 107, 2006 Region “K” Water Plan.
4. Page 1, “Consideration of Economic and Other Factors Related to a Change in Irrigation Water Pricing,” HDR Engineering, August 2004.