Two bills that would have created dedicated funding sources for large water supply projects across Texas died last week in a House committee due to lack of support.
Officials said it will take 26 new reservoirs and more water transmission pipelines to serve an estimated 46 million Texans by 2060. The total cost of the water infrastructure is estimated at $53 billion.
One of the two bills proposed by Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, would have imposed a 15-year monthly fee on all water customers to support debt for the plan. The other measure authorized a $500 million one-time draw from a fund set up to help poor Texans pay utility bills but that is now being tapped to cover a gap in the fiscal 2012-13 budget.
Ritter said the measures would have generated up to $27 billion for water supply projects over 15 years.
“This is a vote on fees and taxes, and I can’t get the votes,” he said. “But we’re going to need to make it a higher priority because it’s a serious, serious problem.”
Texas voters will be asked next year to authorize another $6 billion of bonds for the Texas Water Development Board’s revolving loan program for cities, counties, and public water districts. A $2 billion authorization from 2001 will expire soon.
The state chapter of the Sierra Club supported Ritter’s proposals. The group wants more conservation and fewer dams, and the legislation would have set aside 20% of state funding for conservation and water reuse projects.
The water board’s debt is rated triple-A by Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, and AA-plus by Standard & Poor’s.
