Governor Greg Abbott was in Lubbock today, where he signed a pair of legislation designed to create a "generational investment" in water. Over the next two decades, Senate Bill 7 and House Joint Resolution 7 will pump billions of dollars into reinforcing old water infrastructure while also developing new water sources for Texas. Abbott says that's more crucial now than ever as the state grows.
“Every day on average in Texas, there's more than a thousand more people who go to a faucet and turn that on. Because of the magnitude of the growth of us adding people to our population.”
While signing the legislation in Lubbock, Abbott also acknowledged the region's agriculture industry — and its concerns about steadily depleting groundwater supplies.
For those in Northeast Texas interested in the fate of the Marvin Nichols Reservoir proposal, the legislation signed today is not a slam-dunk victory for either side. The proposed lake would flood the Sulphur River basin north of Mount Pleasant. Advocates of the project want money spent on new reservoirs. Opponents of the project want existing water resources improved. The legislation signed by the governor today boosts both approaches.
