Texas Water Day at the Capitol Brings Together Industry, Policy Leaders, and Water Champions from Across Texas to Highlight State Water Infrastructure Challenges and Opportunities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Haley Durbin
February 28, 2023 713-476-1172, hdurbin@mwcllc.com
AUSTIN – Nearly 300 water champions from across Texas gathered yesterday at the Texas State Capitol to celebrate Texas Water Day at the Capitol, an educational event highlighting the importance of water security, state water infrastructure, and funding needs.
The program opened with comments from Texas State Representative Tracy O. King, Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and elected Chair of the Texas House Water Caucus, a new, bi-partisan collaborative of seventy-three legislators focused on understanding water issues.
“We have been working to put an emphasis on water this legislative session for a variety of reasons,” said Representative King. “Water security is one of the big issues. It is critically important to our economy. Resilient infrastructure is another, to guarantee access to clean, reliable, and affordable water. We need to prioritize investing in water, and we have a unique opportunity to do that.”
The state of water infrastructure is in critical focus nationally, and has increasingly become a policy priority in Texas. Comptroller Glenn Hegar focused on water as part of his “Good for Texas Tour”, and Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker of the House Dade Phelan have referenced water issues in their priorities laid out for the 88th Legislative Session.
Sarah Schlessinger, CEO of Texas Water Foundation, moderated the program’s two panels focused on water infrastructure needs and funding with unique perspectives from industry, regulatory agencies, statewide water associations, and nonprofits.
“Water security is critically important to all Texans, and your presence today signals its importance this legislative session,” Schlessinger said. “Texas is fortunate to have a sophisticated state water plan and water infrastructure funding mechanisms, but the state of Texas water infrastructure is that it needs more investment. Our built water infrastructure is aging and fragile, our funding mechanisms are oversubscribed, our water workforce is aging and struggling with retention, and our nature-based infrastructure is under increased stress.”
Texas Senator Charles Perry, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Water, and Rural Affairs, served as the Keynote Speaker, providing remarks about the importance of prioritizing water supply, as well as Texas’ water loss challenges.
“We can no longer ignore opportunities to develop our future supply,” said Senator Charles Perry. “We work on many quality-of-life issues at the Capitol, but the one thing we haven’t committed to is developing new water supplies. Nothing is less discussed but more important than water supply.”
The program concluded with a group photo of members of the Texas Water Caucus and Texas Water Foundation Board of Directors, followed by a reception.
Water Infrastructure Needs panelists included:
Michael Bloom, American Society of Civil Engineers
Alexander Eaves, Communities Unlimited
Sarah Kirkle, Texas Water Conservation Association
Hillary Lilly, The Nature Conservancy
Jennifer Walker, National Wildlife Federation
Lara Zent, Texas Rural Water Association
Water Infrastructure Funding panelists included:
Suzanne Barnard, Texas Department of Agriculture
Michael Canales, US Department of Agriculture
Hank Habicht, Water Finance Exchange
Jeremy Mazur, Texas 2036
Rebecca Trevino, Texas Water Development Board
Dorothy Young, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Sponsors and Partners of Texas Water Day at the Capitol included:
American Society of Civil Engineers
Anser Advisory
Central States Water Resources - Texas
Communities Unlimited
Edwards Aquifer Authority
Environmental Defense Fund
Freese and Nichols
Garver
Halff Associates
Invenergy
Ken Kramer
North Plains Groundwater Conservation District
North Texas Municipal Water District
San Antonio Water System
San Jacinto River Authority
Texas 2036
Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts
Texas Association of Water Companies
Texas American Water Works Association
Texas Living Waters Project
Texas River Authority
Texas Rural Water Association
Texas Water Conservation Association
Texas Water Infrastructure Network
Trinity River Authority
Water Environment Association of Texas
Water Finance Exchange
Water Reuse Texas
For more information on Texas Water Foundation, visit www.texaswater.org.
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