“We have a problem here”: Sen. Charles Perry outlines his plans to save Texas’ water supply

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LUBBOCK — Texas is decades and billions of dollars behind on water funding, Sen. Charles Perry said Thursday, and the legislature must act this year to ensure the state’s future water needs are met.

Perry, a Lubbock Republican, has taken a leadership role at the Capitol to solve the state’s water crisis. He is expected to file priority legislation that would ask voters to create a dedicated source of money to help pay for water supply and infrastructure and build a new water grid that would help manage the state’s water supply.

Perry outlined the legislation during an interview with Texas Tribune editor-in-chief Matthew Watkins.

Texas budget writers have already signaled a willingness to invest at least $2.5 billion in Perry’s plan. Though more money is likely needed to solve the state’s water problems. Perry said it was a start.

“I hope to establish a lump sum to show a commitment to industries that we are serious about fixing water,” Perry said.

The Senate bill would establish a framework for who will oversee the state’s water pipelines. Perry compared it to how the Electric Reliability Council of Texas manages the electricity supply. There is not a state agency that builds pipelines currently, Perry said. The Texas Water Development Board, which funds water initiatives, would continue to be part of the conversation, Perry said.

“They’re not pipeline builders,” Perry said. “We have to set up an authority over who’s going to oversee these contracts. It’s going to be a technical board.”

The pipelines would be part of a statewide water grid. This would include multiple sources of water supply desalinated, brackish and surface water. He compared it to funding a state highway.

“We can build a pipeline that will cover multiple source options,” Perry said. “It will traverse multiple jurisdictions and counties and cities. That’s the best economics of scale, because you share the cost of the pipeline across the entire state.”

Perry then explained what he called the game changer — a constitutional amendment where Texas voters will decide to dedicate $1 billion a year for water needs.

Water has become a big focal point for residents, advocacy organizations, and lawmakers alike. In 2023, voters approved $1 billion to create the Texas Water Fund through a constitutional amendment proposed by Perry. The money created then was a one-time investment from the state’s surplus. This is why Perry is seeking an annual fund that will continuously go towards securing Texas’ water.

Texas has faced problems with water in all corners of the state — from ongoing droughts, contaminated water, declining water supply from major sources, and water outages from failing infrastructure. This has been going on for years, and Texans are worried. About 85% of registered voters are concerned about the risk of future water supply shortages, according to a survey by the policy think tank Texas 2036.

The lawmaker, who has become a steadfast advocate for water issues during his time at the Texas Capitol, said he looked into the state water plan. He found that Texas is extremely behind in addressing water needs. This is in part because funding has been backed by local municipalities and their taxpayers' appetite for devoting money to it.

“There’s not a single taxing jurisdiction that can afford the decade-long projects and the commitment of dollars,” Perry said. “No mayor can tell their constituents ‘I need $30 a month from you for the next 30 years to have a water supply you’ll never drink from.”

Because of this, Perry said it has to be addressed on a state-level with coordinated efforts on local and regional levels. With Texas’ population booming, and estimated to increase by 73% by 2070, Perry said it will be a bigger problem in the future.

“When you take a dive into the plan and look at where Texas is, growth wise, and you look at the industry groups that are coming, we have to raise the flag and say we kind of have a problem here,” Perry said.

Neither the Senate bill nor the constitutional amendment question have been filed yet. Perry said they are close. All bills must be filed by March 14.