The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) unanimously voted to adopt the 2017 State Water Plan at its May 19 meeting.
“The new state water plan projects that Texas’ population will increase more than 70 percent by the year 2070,” said TWDB Board Chairman Bech Bruun. “And the 2017 State Water Plan is our most comprehensive effort to date to ensure we adequately address the water needs of our growing population. The plan contains more than 5,500 strategies that help us conserve the water we have while also creating additional water supplies.”
Conservation strategies are the most frequently recommended strategy in the plan, accounting for over one quarter of strategy supplies in 2070, according to TWDB.
“In addition to conservation, communities across Texas developed other innovative solutions to ensure they have adequate water supplies in the future,” said TWDB Board Member Kathleen Jackson. “Aquifer storage and recovery and direct potable reuse, in particular, increased significantly in this plan compared to the 2012 State Water Plan. These increases demonstrate the state’s commitment to exploring a variety of strategies to meet the state’s long-term water demands, including those that rely on the advancements of innovative technology.”
The capital costs associated with implementing the 2017 State Water Plan are $62.6 billion, with water providers estimating they will need about $36.1 billion in state assistance, according to TWDB. Projects included in the 2017 State Water Plan are eligible to apply for the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT), TWDB’s loan program specifically created for projects in the state water plan.
Read the full TWDB news release and the 2017 State Water Plan for more information.