Is Texas Running Out of Water?

The Lone Star State Has Allocated $20 Billion to Solving Its Water Crisis. Some Experts Warn It’s Not Nearly Enough.

Texas is a state built on growth. More people, more businesses, more cities rising from open land. For generations that growth felt almost limitless.

But one resource may ultimately decide how far that growth can go: water.

Across the state, reservoirs, aquifers, and pipelines are under growing pressure from population growth, aging infrastructure, and long-term drought patterns. According to reporting from the Texas Tribune, experts warn that Texas’ municipal water supply may not meet demand by 2030 during a severe drought if major new solutions aren’t implemented.

The good news is that Texas has started taking the problem seriously. The harder question is what comes next.

Texas Has Already Taken a Big Step

In 2025, Texas voters approved a massive long-term investment in water infrastructure through Proposition 4, which dedicates about $1 billion per year in state sales-tax revenue for water projects over the next two decades.

That funding will support projects across the state, including:

• repairing aging water systems
• developing new water supplies
• desalinating salty groundwater
• improving reservoirs and pipelines

Altogether, the investment could total roughly $20 billion over 20 years, one of the largest water infrastructure efforts in Texas history.

In a political era where agreement is often rare, this effort passed with broad bipartisan support. Lawmakers from both parties recognized the same basic reality: without reliable water, Texas’ economy and communities simply cannot function.

The bill provides funding and authorization, but it doesn’t fully solve the problem yet.

Experts and policymakers still say several challenges remain:

1. The funding may not be enough.
   Some estimates suggest Texas could need well over $100 billion in water investments by mid-century, meaning the $20 billion package may only cover a portion of the long-term need.
2. The bill funds projects, but doesn’t choose them.
   The Texas Water Development Board will allocate the money through grants and loans, meaning local utilities and regional water planners still have to design and execute the projects.
3. Some major policy questions remain unresolved.
   For example:

• how groundwater pumping should be regulated
• who gets priority access to water during shortages
• how to balance urban growth, agriculture, and industry
• environmental impacts of desalination or reservoirs
• how to manage the growing water demand from AI data centers and other large digital infrastructure

4. Infrastructure takes decades to build.
   Even when funding is available, major water projects—from desalination plants to pipelines—can take 10–20 years to plan and construct.

A Texas-Sized Challenge — And Opportunity

For most Texans, the water crisis can feel abstract. Something handled by engineers, utilities, or state agencies. But ordinary citizens actually have several concrete ways to influence water policy and conservation, especially at the local level where many decisions are made.

One of the most direct ways citizens can influence water decisions is by attending city council meetings or water utility board meetings, because those bodies often make the decisions that affect water use day-to-day. Things like drought restrictions, infrastructure upgrades, and whether new developments are approved.

Most Texas cities hold city council meetings twice per month, often in the evening so residents can attend after work. For example, many cities schedule meetings on the first and third Tuesday or Thursday of the month, though the exact schedule varies. Visit your cities government website to learn more. 

Water utilities are sometimes run directly by city governments, but in many parts of Texas they are overseen by separate boards such as:

• water utility boards
• municipal utility districts (MUDs)
• groundwater conservation districts
• river authorities

To find out who provides water to your property and how to contact them, visit the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Water policy rarely dominates national headlines. But in Texas, it may become one of the most important issues of the next generation.

The encouraging part is that Texans have already shown they can work together on it. The recent investment in water infrastructure demonstrates that practical problems can still bring people across the political aisle.

The next step is maintaining that momentum.

— Alex Buscemi (abuscemi@buildersmovement.org)

Image by Oleksandr Sushko / Unsplash