Opinion: Texas' population is booming, but the consequences are dire
Texas has gained about four million new residents in the last 10 years, bringing our total population to just over 30 million. We're the third-fastest growing state in the nation. And while the influx of people from other states like California, as well as from countries around the world, has been great for real estate developers, it has come with major drawbacks for ordinary Texans.
For starters, consider the environmental impact. To accommodate this increasing population, Texas construction firms build thousands of new housing units and nearly 50 miles of new road every week, on average. Our state loses 2,500 acres of open space per week.
In addition to paving over previously pristine natural areas, our population boom is also exacerbating our increasingly dire water shortages. Just under 50% of Texas is experiencing some level of drought, as of early January.
Reservoirs are at record low water levels. Down in Zapata County, the Lake Falcon Reservoir is only 13.8% full. Two hundred miles northwest, the Amistad Reservoir is only 47.2% full. These are two of the largest reservoirs in the state.
Back in August, the situation was so bad in South Texas that water experts were "praying for a hurricane" to counteract the effects of record temperatures and widespread drought along the Rio Grande. It shows just how dire our water crisis is that experts were hoping for a deadly storm, even as the devastation of Harvey a few years ago looms fresh in our minds.
Losing water while gaining population is not sustainable. At best, it'll lead to rationing efforts that diminish Texans' quality of life — and at worst, chronically overtaxing rivers and aquifers will cause irreparable damage to fragile ecosystems.The influx of people doesn't just take a toll on the environment though — it hits Texans right in the pocketbook too. Over half a million people move to Texas each year, driving up rent all over the state. Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio have all recently seen rent spikes in the double digits. No city has it worse than our state's capital — rent almost doubled in Austin between August 2021 and August 2022.
In the suburbs, we can see the effects of sprawl in the classroom. Thousands upon thousands of children are enrolling in public schools outside of the major metro areas of the Texas Triangle, and schools are simply running out of space to seat all of their students.
Of course, Texas' leaders can't exactly prohibit Californians from moving to the state, even if that might prove incredibly popular with some folks. But they can hold population growth in check by doing everything in their power to discourage illegal immigration — and also humanely scale back future legal immigration to a more sustainable level. After all, immigration accounts for over half of all the population growth in Texas.
Arrests along the southern border are at an all-time high, exceeding 2.3 million in the last fiscal year. Currently, there are more Mexican nationals living illegally in Texas than there are residents in Austin. If we want to avoid environmental, economic, and educational crises, that has to change.
Sprawl isn't just a strip mall popping up in a rural town — it's a threat to the quality of life for Texans of all backgrounds. From major cities to the surrounding suburbs to the small towns across our state, sprawl will affect everyone if we don't take action soon.
Cathie Adams is the First Vice President of the Eagle Forum. The Rockport resident formerly served as Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas and President of Texas Eagle Forum.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Opinion: Texas' population is booming, but the consequences are dire
