Texas
has water problems. Like many other
places in the country, agriculture
in the state
was damaged by severe droughts. Within six months, 18 public water systems
could be out of water. By 2060, the
state could be short of its water needs by 8.3 million acre-feet (more than 2.7
trillion gallons).
To address this issue, the Texas Legislature is considering using $2
billion from the state rainy day fund to pay for several water
resources project that are part of its 50-year plan. Twenty percent of the funds would be set
aside for water conservation
and reuse
projects.
Texas’ concern about water resources has extended into an interstate
conflict. The state has asked the Supreme Court to hear its claim that New Mexico
is not meeting its obligations under the Rio Grande
Compact.
The Rio Grande Compact is an agreement that allocates water from its
eponymous river to Colorado,
New Mexico, and Texas. Texas claims that
wells drilled in New Mexico since the signing of the compact are depleting flow
in the river. New Mexico officials claim
that it is not violating the compact because it is delivering the required
amount of water; so long as that happens, it believes state water laws should
prevail.
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