Inequity persists in Texas water resource management and will worsen if changes are not made, says a recent Texas Water Journal (TWJ) article co-authored by Rosario Sanchez, Ph.D., Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) senior research scientist.
The article, titled “Addressing Challenges to Ensuring Justice and Sustainability in Policy and Infrastructure for Texas Water Resources in the 21st Century,” outlines challenges and solutions related to justice and sustainability in Texas water management.
With water scarcity worsening, underserved communities are being left without equal access to clean water. Thus, justice and sustainability are integral to proper water management, the article said. Although discussion of water management changes has increased, the authors said there is still much work to be done.
“Water management has to include all stakeholders. Not just societies and different sectors of the society, but also those biological systems that depend on the same system as we do,” Sanchez said.
According to the article, aging infrastructure, water contamination, and flooding are a few challenges that contribute to environmental injustice in Texas. These issues disproportionately affect underserved communities, as they often have less funding for infrastructure and rely on well water, which is unregulated.
Many Texans are unaware of these issues. Sanchez said education and spreading awareness are necessary to address this problem, but spreading awareness is difficult when most Texans haven’t experienced water scarcity firsthand.
“There’s a responsibility to start teaching our children that the water is not a given. It should not be taken for granted,” Sanchez said.
The authors suggest focusing on creating equity in government spending, raising community voices and participation, and identifying and dismantling the causes of inequities.
They also propose the use of strategies such as nature-based infrastructure and the One Water plan, an approach that treats all water as one connected system. This plan requires all water to be used sustainably and inclusively.
Sanchez also highlights the current fragmentation of the water system.
“Without looking at the whole system, it's hard for management to be effective and efficient in the long term because you're always going to have that puzzle wrong because you're only looking at one piece without looking at the whole system,” Sanchez said.
In the article, part of the solution is to improve transboundary water management. Sanchez said there are many justice and sustainability challenges in the 1944 Water Treaty, which regulates water allocation between the United States and Mexico.
The increasing scarcity of water has made Mexico unable to fulfill their end of the treaty. For example, the Rio Grande only has 20% of its natural flow remaining. Sanchez said management needs to pivot from seeking a fixed amount of water.
She also believes the environment must be included as a player and that ideally, all changes would be sustainable and balanced with respect to all parties.
“Changes need to be done, important changes. As nature has shown us, band-aid solutions are not enough,” Sanchez said.