Texas Comptroller visits Amarillo as part of Good for Texas Tour

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar made a stop Tuesday at the Tradewinds Airport as part of his Good for Texas Tour: Water Edition, visiting the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District (PGCD).

This the second stop of his tour focused on water planning and future management and the creation of resources to help provide the state with the water resources it needs to keep its economy vibrant and meet the needs of its citizens.

The PGCD is one of five districts that have implemented a process known as cloud seeding in the state to enhance precipitation. Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification used to stimulate clouds to produce rain.

“Water planning and management in Texas are necessary to prepare for future weather events that affect water resources and to ensure enough water is available for future generations of families and businesses,” said Hegar, a member of the board of advisers for the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas, a critical financial assistance tool for high-cost projects.

Hegar is touring a handful of key water facilities across the state, focusing on water topics such as desalination, aquifers, cloud seeding, surface water, canal systems, groundwater, flood mitigation and water reuse.

George Peyton, director of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), spoke about the need for the state of Texas to have its eye toward the future to be able to meet its great need for water with depleted sources and the increased population it supports.

“With a population growing substantially over the next 50 years, while at the same time we have declining water supplies, our job is to make sure that our districts have the science, planning and funding abilities to meet their water needs," Peyton said.

The TWDB estimates that implementing new water infrastructure will require $80 billion in capital costs over the next 50 years, and $47 billion of that is expected to come from state financial programs. This funding is essential: TWDB says Texas’ water demands are projected to increase by about 9 percent over the next 50 years, while its existing water supplies are projected to decline by about 18 percent during that same time.

Peyton spoke about some of the plans that his board is approaching to supply the demand for water, such as being able to treat brackish water to make it usable for the state and the cloud seeding program.

“The access and the need for water throughout the state is going to continue to be a challenge; the onus is (on) our board and customers throughout the state to conserve water to the best of their ability,” Peyton added. “This a concerted team effort to meet our needs through conservation and good water planning.”

“The future of water in Texas is the future of the Texas economy,” Hegar said at the Amarillo event. “Whether in times of drought or flood, responsible water management ensures Texans see water as a resource — not a crisis. Texans around the state are employing innovative strategies to turn our water challenges into opportunities. And that’s good for Texas.”

Britney Britten, general manager of the PGCD, spoke about the needed focus on the Texas water supply that was brought by the Hegar’s visit to the district to highlight the efforts made to meet the area water supply. She said that the recognition for her district’s cloud seeding program and its enhancement to the Texas Panhandles’ water supply shows that the efforts in the region are not going unnoticed statewide.

“A lot of the stats that you hear (are) about the Texas population growing while water supplies are declining, and our precipitation enhancement program known as cloud seeding, that has been in effect for the past two decades to help meet the needs of our region,” Britten said. “We believe that these efforts help our agricultural population with their efforts in growing their crops without having to supplement as much groundwater with this enhanced rainfall.”

Hegar said that through his Good for Texas tours, he tries to highlight one important issue in the state of Texas. His previous tour was about the need for broadband across the state, especially in rural issues.

Strategies to combat and address this need, Hegar said, is a major focus of his office.

“While not as glamorous as other issues, we need to make sure that we do our part to ensure the future of the Texas water supply for generations to come,” Hegar said.

Hegar stressed the importance of local private and public partnerships to help address future water need issues.

“The future of water in Texas is the future of the Texas economy,” Hegar said. “Whether in times of drought or flood, responsible water management ensures Texans see water as a resource — not a crisis. Texans around the state are employing innovative strategies to turn our water challenges into opportunities. And that’s good for Texas.”

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Texas Comptroller visits Amarillo as part of Good for Texas Tour