In Texas, the Environment Now Has a Seat at the Water Allocation Table
In fact, it’s now a central stakeholder — making Texas a model for the United States.
River basins are foundational elements of any well-functioning ecosystem and economy. And for Texas, a state that has eight designated coastal basins, effective basin management — especially in a time when floods and droughts are getting more frequent and intense — is a major responsibility and challenge. For instance, the 2011–15 drought in the Brazos basin was the worst there in recorded history.
But it’s becoming clear Texas is serious about taking on the challenge — and even more serious about doing it in a way that considers the environment as a central stakeholder.
In May, Texas issued three new RFPs that all focus on assisting the state with science and tools to improve their ability to sustain water supplies while delivering state-mandated environmental flows.
The driving force behind these projects? The environment has a legal seat at the table for water allocation in Texas under the state’s Senate Bill 3 (SB3).
Even better: Texas is now taking the step to truly allocate water for the environment in some of the state’s largest and most compromised basins — Brazos, Trinity, and Neches.
It’s great that Texas has taken the lead here. But it shouldn’t be an outlier. Other states need to step up and designate environmental flow targets for their key ecosystems.
— John Sabo
Through these RFPs, Texas is demonstrating unprecedented leadership. The state has become the first U.S. player to consider environmental flows as part of the regulatory and planning process. For the first time, a major government is not only thinking about water allocation with the environment as a user, but taking serious steps on how to best implement this paradigm.
Right now, Texas is focused on data-driven implementation. Future H2O is helping: we’re focused on building flexible analytical tools that bring data to the fingertips of decision makers. Machine learning will become an increasingly important part of making data-driven decisions quickly.
And one of the most exciting aspects of this data-driven approach is the opportunity for corporate water stewardship. Through this process, we’ll have the ability to identify shovel-ready projects that the private sector might be able to participate in to catalyze bigger outcomes through collective action.
It’s great that Texas has taken the lead here. But it shouldn’t be an outlier. Other states need to step up and designate environmental flow targets for their key ecosystems. If not, increasing human efficiency of allocation and use will leave fewer and fewer drops in key river and estuarine ecosystems.
For more information about ASU Future H2O’s work and research on creating opportunities for global water abundance, visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter.
