as testament to systems in decline and in need of repair. In fact, Texas’ water infrastructure had degraded to a point where, in early 2025, the Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers released a report card downgrading state drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
The engineers found that drinking water infrastructure declined from a C- to a D+, as wastewater dropped from a near-failing D to a just-about-to-fail D-.
Texas 2036’s report found that Texas needs to invest at least $154 billion over the coming decades to address the state’s water infrastructure challenges. This price tag includes an inflation-adjusted $59 billion in state financial assistance for water supply projects and management strategies identified in the 2022 State Water Plan. Rehabilitating aging, deteriorating drinking-water, and wastewater systems would require at least $95 billion over the next two decades. This includes $74 billion toward addressing drinking water systems, and just over $21 billion for wastewater infrastructure based on inflation-adjusted cost estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. While existing state and federal funding programs would cover a portion of this cost, Texas 2036 estimated that Texas faces a long-term water infrastructure funding gap of just over $112 billion in the coming decades. THE HISTORIC WATER SESSION When the 89th Regular
Session of the Texas Legislature began in
January 2025, the political consensus pointed toward something big for water infrastructure funding. After Abbott’s call for a “Texas-sized” water infrastructure investment
in his State of the State address, he made water infrastructure funding an emergency item for the Legislature’s consideration.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick identified increasing investments in Texas’ water supplies as a key priority, assigning the low bill number Senate Bill 7 toward this objective. House Speaker Dustin Burrows, who was elected by the chamber to the post on the first day of session, also emphasized the need for a historic investment in water infrastructure.
32 | WINTER
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