This November, Texas voters will most likely decide the fate of a ballot measure affecting the state’s water infrastructure. The proposed amendment to the state constitution would allocate $1 billion annually to the state’s water projects for the next 20 years.
Today, the Texas Senate approved House Joint Resolution 7, thus all but ensuring the proposal’s presence on this November’s ballots. Just two years ago, Texas voters approved another water-related amendment to the state constitution. In 2023, a proposition to create a state water fund passed by a roughly 3-to-1 margin.
The Texas Tribune reports bipartisan support for this year’s legislation, though opinions differed on whether the Texas Water Development Board should have broad discretion on how to spend the funds. The Tribune reports the resolution as it stands would allocate half of funds to new water sources, with the other half to maintaining existing infrastructure.
The fate of the long-proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir remains ambiguous. Texas State Representative Gary VanDeaver of New Boston authored a bill that would have eliminated any proposed reservoir that’s been in the state plan more than 50 years without having been started. House Bill 2109 would have effectively killed the Marvin Nichols Reservoir proposal, with is now 57 years old. However, the bill did not make it out of committee.
The North Texas and Northeast Texas regional water planning groups have been in an effective stalemate over the project for decades. Region C, based in Arlington, supports building the reservoir. Region D, based in Mount Pleasant, opposes the project. If built, the lake would flood about 66,000 acres in the Sulphur River Basin in Titus, Red River, and Franklin counties. Supporters say it’s needed to provide for the future water needs of the Dallas metro area. Opponents have cited environmental, land rights, and economic concerns.
