NEW DIRECTION IN TEXAS WATER-MANAGEMENT PLANNING

By John Ashworth, Sr. Consultant,
LBG-Guyton Associates, Austin, TX

  More than any other natural resource, water holds the key to our future. Yet scarcity and competition for water, heightened environmental concerns, and the expense of new water-supply development make sound water management increasingly difficult to achieve.
   Nowhere is this challenge more recognized than in Texas. The state’s population is projected to double in the next 50 years. A corresponding increase in the water needs of communities, agriculture, and industries have made the need for careful water-management decision-making ever more important.
   Historically, state water planning was conducted by the Texas Water Development Board which periodically compared available water supplies throughout the state with projected 50-year water-supply needs. In previous state plans, the Board made recommendations pertaining to needed legislative actions in the form of changes in statutes or rules and in needed infrastructure financial assistance. However, in 1996, a severe drought left several communities at the brink of exhausting their water supply, causing legislators to rethink how water management planning should be accomplished. In the spring of 1997, the 75th Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 1 which completely rewrote water planning for the state.

A New Approach
  Senate Bill1 places the responsibility for water management planning with local water users grouped together in 16 designated planning regions. The regional water plans are to provide for the orderly development, management, and conservation of water resources and preparation for and response to drought conditions.
   Individuals representing specific water interests were selected to be on a regional planning group in each region and were given the responsibility to develop a consensus-based water management plan that does not conflict with neighboring regions by September 1, 2000. The Texas Water Development Board will then incorporate the 16 regional plans into a statewide plan a year later. Management strategies are to encompass near-term (0 to 30 years) and long-term (30 to 50 years) planning periods, and drought of record conditions.
   Each region initially was granted $20,000 to develop a scope of work and budget for the planning work. Currently, all scopes have been completed and the State has authorized $7 million to begin the planning process. Authorization of additional funding to complete the planning work is expected to be granted during the next legislative season in the spring of 1999.
   Although each region has its own particular water issues, all regional plans will basically involve the same three general tasks. In their simplified form, these tasks include: (1) the development of accurate and sufficient information concerning water-supply sources and needs; (2) the comparison of future water-supply needs to the availability of supplies to meet those needs; (3) the establishment of plans and strategies that effectively address the current and future water needs. In the process, existing water rights and agreements are to be honored.

Scoping then Implementation
  LBG -Guyton Associates was awarded the lead contracts both to develop the scope of work for regions E and J and to perform the tasks involved in the planning effort itself, and subcontracted to develop both the scope and plans for seven other regions. Region E represents seven counties in the far western part of Texas, extending from El Paso to the Big Bend area. Region J is a smaller area representing six counties from central Texas westward to the Rio Grande. Altogether, the geographic area occupied by these nine regions represents approximately half the state of Texas.
   The initial scoping process, which entailed development of a work outline that recognizes specific regional water management issues, has been completed. This is a significant step in Texas, where the range in water availability is extreme -- from plentiful in the eastern regions of the state to very scarce in the western regions. Work involved in the planning effort itself will include the development of information about water supply sources and needs, comparison of future needs to availability, and establishment of effective strategies to meet future needs. A number of issues will need to be addressed in developing water management plans for regions E and J. Both regions are in the water-poor western area of the state. Because there is limited surface-water supplies available in these regions, both are dependent primarily on ground water. An additional challenge comes from the fact that ground water is considered a private property right in Texas, that is, property owners retain the right of capture. Therefore regions E and J, in particular, sought consultants with significant expertise in ground water management.
   These plans must be completed by September 1, 2000 for incorporation into the Texas Water Development Board’s statewide plan in 2001. Major changes have taken place in Texas with respect to water management planning. For the first time, Texans have the opportunity to take part in identifying their specific water resource and management challenges and, even more important, in developing strategies to meet these challenges. LBG-Guyton is excited to be a major player in this process.