On March 5, 2025, Director of Infrastructure and Natural Resources Policy Jeremy Mazur testified before the House Natural Resources Committee on the importance of investing in Texas water infrastructure and new water supply this legislative session. The following is a written version of his testimony.
3 Data Points Show Why Texas Lege 2025 is Investing in Water
Mr. Chairman, members, thank you for this opportunity to be before you today.
You have already heard – and will continue to hear – valuable testimony on the water infrastructure challenges facing our state. These challenges boil-down to two separate, but related, categories. The first is the need to expand our water supply portfolio for a drought-prone and growing state. The second challenge involves fixing the aging, deteriorating drinking water and wastewater systems that are becoming liabilities to the communities that they serve.
Texas 2036 is a data-driven policy development and implementation organization.
That said, I’d like to share three numbers that inform why the Legislature is having a needed, timely discussion on making a “Texas-sized,” “generational” investment in water infrastructure.
The first number is $165 billion. If Texas fails to develop the broad, diversified water supply portfolio needed for the next prolonged, severe drought, then by 2050 the state will endure $165 billion in annual GDP losses.
For comparison, these economic losses exceed those endured during the Great Recession and the COVID pandemic.
In this century alone, other countries and regions have experienced significant economic reversals due to a lack of water supplies when faced with severe drought. This happened in Australia, Cape Town, South Africa and more recently in Monterrey, Mexico.
Our research, which includes a report we did with the Baker Institute at Rice University, points to substantial economic declines in key economic sectors if we don’t have enough water for the next big drought. This includes Texas’ agricultural, manufacturing and energy sectors.
Failing to expand our water supply portfolio invites the potential of $165 billion in economic losses per year in just 25 years. This figure underscores the importance of reliable water infrastructure for the continuation of Texas’ economic miracle.
My second data point is $154 billion. Texas 2036 projects that the state’s long-term price tag for addressing our water infrastructure challenges equals nearly $154 billion dollars.
The break-down of this figure is as follows:
The inflation-adjusted cost estimate of what the state needs to spend on water supply projects in the recent water plan equals $59 billion.
Fixing our aging, deteriorating drinking water and wastewater systems will cost $73.7 and $21.1 billion respectively. These estimates are based on inflation-adjusted EPA projections for the next 20 years, however.
When you add all of these estimates together, we see that the state will have to invest nearly $154 billion on water supply and infrastructure upgrade projects in the coming decades.
Now, existing state and federal financial assistance programs will cover a portion of this $154 billion in long-term need. Still, we project a $112 billion water infrastructure funding gap that needs to be addressed.
The magnitude of this funding gap points towards the need for a dedicated revenue stream for our long-term water infrastructure needs.
My third, and final number is 85%. In December, Texas 2036 released the results from our most recent Texas Voter Poll. We polled over 1,000 registered voters on a variety of topics, including water infrastructure.
Learn more: How can Texas address future water challenges?
One question we asked was how concerned are you that Texas may face water shortages due to growth, drought and aging infrastructure. 85% of voters replied that they are concerned about the reliability of their water supplies. More critically, a majority of all voters polled – 50% – indicated that they are very or extremely concerned about their water.
We also asked voters if they would support the state’s investment in a long-term financial strategy to increase water supplies and improve water infrastructure. Here, another 85% of voters said they would support the state’s strategic investment in water infrastructure.
These poll data tell us two things: one, voters are worried about their water, and two, they want to see state leadership involved in solving this problem.
Pulling these three data-points together – the $165 billion in economic losses per year, the $154 billion in infrastructure needs and 85% of voters supporting water infrastructure investment – reliable water infrastructure is essential to continued economic growth and development.
Towards that end, I have one more number to share with you: 98. This is the number of local chambers of commerce, trade groups, and business organizations that have joined together to support the creation of a long-term, dedicated revenue stream for water infrastructure this session.
Read more: Texas Water Coalition includes businesses, organizations in support of state water funding
This coalition recognizes that a Texas-sized investment is needed to both secure Texas’ water future and the continued promise of Texas’ economic miracle.
Thank you for your time, and I welcome any questions you may have.