{"id":107501,"date":"2026-01-01T15:08:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T15:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/107501\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T15:08:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T15:08:08","slug":"texas-lawmakers-voters-approved-historic-water-investments-this-year-what-happens-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/107501\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas lawmakers, voters approved historic water investments this year. What happens now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas is poised to make historic investments in water supplies<\/a> and infrastructure these next couple decades, but some of the funding won\u2019t be immediate.<\/p>\n

During the November election, more than 70% of Texas voters approved Proposition 4, creating a constitutional amendment to dedicate up to the first $1 billion in sales tax revenue \u2014 exceeding $46.5 billion annually \u2014 to the Texas Water Fund from 2027 to 2047.<\/p>\n

This potential $20 billion marks the largest investment in water supply in Texas history, and comes as the state\u2019s booming economy sees a massive influx in new businesses and residents. <\/p>\n

The growth is putting new strains on Texas\u2019 natural resources, and challenges an already fragile power grid.<\/p>\n

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Related<\/p>\n

\"As<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an exciting time for Texas,\u201d Bryan McMath, executive administrator of the Texas Water Development Board, said in a news release after the election. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve now seen two sessions where the Texas Legislature recognized the growing need to address water issues facing the state and took action with historic investment for these critical initiatives so that Texas can continue to thrive for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, what happens now?<\/p>\n

The constitutional dedication of funds begins when the fiscal year starts on Sept. 1, 2027. <\/p>\n

The legislature has to appropriate the funds from the Texas Water Fund to the state\u2019s Water Development Board in order for them to be used. <\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Cuthand<\/p>\n

Because of this timing, the 91st Texas Legislature, which convenes in January 2029, is the first scheduled session for the lawmakers to appropriate the funds dedicated to the Texas Water Fund because of the Proportion 4 passage.<\/p>\n

After the legislative session concludes, the water board will receive the funding, evaluate applications, and award project funds in accordance with statutory and legislative guidelines.<\/p>\n

Money from the Texas Water Fund must be used on water, wastewater and flood infrastructure projects and strategies, and at least half of this newly dedicated funding is required by law to be directed to the State Water Implementation Fund of Texas and New Water Supply for Texas Fund.<\/p>\n

This cycle will repeat until the constitutional dedication of funds ends in August 2047.<\/p>\n

While this funding won\u2019t be available for a little while longer, the legislature also approved more than $2.5 billion for water infrastructure funding. <\/p>\n

The interim endowment is the largest one-time appropriation for a water project in state history.<\/p>\n

Alan Leonard, Texas Water Foundation\u2019s policy director, said 2029 may seem distant, but several significant milestones will need to be hit<\/a> in preparation.<\/p>\n

In a news release, Leonard said the legislature, state agencies, water utilities and districts, trade associations, nonprofits \u2014 and the public \u2014 will lay the groundwork for this 20-year dedication in various ways.<\/p>\n

Actions that need to be taken include updating the state\u2019s long-term water supply and flood plans, adjusting rules and processes to implement laws passed this year related to water planning, financial assistance and permitting, and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe passage of the amendment signals a transformational investment in Texas\u2019 water infrastructure and confirms its importance to Texans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Texas is poised to make historic investments in water supplies and infrastructure these next couple decades, but some…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2327,411,412,27591,27,29,28,410],"class_list":["post-107501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-environment","tag-future-of-north-texas","tag-future-of-north-texas-energy-environment","tag-natural-resources","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-water"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}