HomeWater Advocacy

Water Advocacy

Texas Water Advocates

LWV Texas Water Advocates

Sign up for the Texas Water Advocates mailing list here.

The importance of water has been an active issue for the League of Women Voters since they first studied it (1956-1958) and adopted a position on it.

The League's position has two prongs: Environmental Protection and Pollution Control and Water Resources.

• Support the preservation of the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the ecosystem and maximum protection of public health and the environment.
• Water Resources. Support measures to reduce pollution in order to protect surface water, groundwater, and drinking water, and set up a process to evaluate inter-basin water transfers.

Water is an urgent concern to many Texans due to the trend of rapidly depleting lakes and aquifers in the state and a history of extreme drought.

When Every Drop Counts

How Texas Water Works and What Local Leagues Can Do

FINAL_When_Every_Drop_Counts_-_LWV_Texas_Convention_April_17_Page_02.jpg

The 2026 LWV of Texas in Corpus Christi centered around the state's water crisis, education on the topic and actions local leagues can take. The topic was lent greater urgency because the Corpus Christi city government recently projected they could be out of water before the end of the year.

The four presenters of the workshop on "When Every Drop Counts: How Texas Water Works and What Local Leagues Can Do" were Teri Marsh, LWV of Southwest Texas (and Water Advocacy Chair); Roxanna Deane from the LWV of Comal Area; Tonya Kleuskens, LWV of Amarillo; and Annalisa Peace, LWV of San Antonio. The roadmap of topics started with "The Texas Water Crisis: Why water is a priority issue," moved to "Surface Water: TCEQ, river authorities, water rights," through "Groundwater: GCDs, Rule of Capture, legislation" and "Water Planning & Quality: TWDB, planning, contaminants," finishing with a discussion of "What Leagues Can Do: Action steps and resources."

View the slides from the workshop here.

What's Happening in the Legislature

The state will be holding hearings on issues related to water as well as threats to its availability for the future.

The Texas Legislature has added interim charges have been released for both the House and Senate.

Texas House:

https://www.house.texas.gov/pdfs/speaker/F-Interim-Charges-3.25.pdf

p. 14 Energy Resources, including charge related to produced water
p. 30 Land and Resource Mgt., including study of MUDs
p. 33-34, Natural Resources, includes groundwater management, water supply, brackish groundwater, data center water use, Prop 4, regional water planning, Rio Grande compact, more

Texas Senate:

https://www.ltgov.texas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/2026-Interim-Charges.pdf

p. 19 Water, Ag, and Rural Affairs, includes data center water demand, water infrastructure, desal viability

Recording of 4/9/2026 hearing on data centers in House State Affairs Committee: https://house.texas.gov/videos/22659

Upcoming hearings:

5/11/26, 9AM, Senate Water, Ag, and Rural Affairs: water infrastructure maintenance, desalination viability

9/1/26, 9AM, Senate Water, Ag, and Rural Affairs: water demands of energy-intensive industries

Learning Opportunities

Tonya Kleuskens interviews Bryan Hummel on Lone Star Deep Dive re: green infrastructure and groundwater replenishment

https://www.lonestardeepdivepodcast.org/episodes/31

Mary Ann Baker attended the 16th Annual Central Texas Water Symposium. Here are her notes and a link to resources from the conference: https://texaslivingwaters.org/events/2026-central-texas-water-conservation-symposium/

Texas Tribune podcast on Corpus Christi's water woes: https://open.spotify.com/episode/18buSBkeBPX8H3uBnznOub?si=HyU1anUASUKkJfTWeW0yng&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A179QJgS6m0z2zShjfFsEJv

Environment Texas webinar on the Data Center Boom: https://environmentamerica.org/texas/center/resources/the-texas-data-center-boom-webinar-recording/

EDF webinar, Demystifying Brackish Groundwater: https://youtu.be/1UF5RYr9XkI?si=paAkMoCkhtuk-_bv

From Aquifers to Policy: A Citizen's Guide to Texas Groundwater

Groundwater is essential to Texas's future, but how does it actually work? This webinar, presented by the League of Women Voters Rural Caucus, is an engaging conversation with two leading experts: Natalie Ballew, Groundwater Division Director for the Texas Water Development Board, and Adam Foster, Executive Director of the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts. This webinar was held on January 29th, 2026 and covers the role of groundwater conservation districts, how statewide water planning works, and most importantly, how you as a citizen can make your voice heard in water policy decisions.

The Texas Data Center Boom: Energy, Water and Pollution Impacts

Texas is experiencing rapid growth in data centers powering artificial intelligence and cloud computing. What does this expansion mean for the electric grid, water supplies, air quality and open space?
The webinar was held on March 3, 2026 and the video will be posted when it is available.

Teri Marsh, LWV Texas Water Advocacy Chair
tmarshtx@gmail.com

Direct link to the page: https://lwvhaysco.org/wateradvocacy

Follow Us

Support Us

Contact Us