Many people in Texas regard water as oil because of its long and hot drought seasons that come most of summer and fall. Now more than ever has Texas grown so rapidly. Since the 70s Texas has been at a steady incline in both population growth and resource usage. With the constant growth and usage of open water sites across the lone star state, many cities are trying to grasp rights to the water below them. One city in particular has almost exclusively relied on ground water. Texas and its people, may be at risk due to Texas policies, corporate control, and overall resource management.
San Antonio is a city located at the south-central corner of Texas. It is situated between Austin and The Valley (Border towns). However out of its two neighbors it is the only city that is almost exclusively water reliant (Blanchard-Boehm et al. 292). Austin and many of the central cities rely almost exclusively on the Colorado river and the valley towns rely on the Rio Grande. However, this constant usage of above water resources has made surrounding cities around San Antonio. There were plans to build dams, such as the Applewhite Dam to harness more water for the drought seasons (Blanchard-Boehm et al. 92). Dams such as these, and other projects to heighten the amount of water local San Antonio residents received were shot down.
These projects made organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Conservation movements, and even the general public vote no. The reason being is that Texas had poor planning and failed to fully disclose their plans to the general public. Their lack of proper explanation to the general public and the lack of proper policy led the Texan Government to stop all planning (Blanchard-Boehm et al. 92). The problem with Texas and its manageability of its resources are due to its in-cohesiveness with the general populace’s opinion. The citizens of Texas don’t want to spend more money on taxes, however they want more water (Blanchard-Boehm et al. 292). There are other bills that are passed by the federal government that have helped in Texas water development. This act is called the Clean Water Act of 1970. The Clean Water Act of 1970 forbade corporations and general public from polluting storm water drainage.
This in turn filtered faster through the ground water of San Antonio and actually helped sustain the local populace (Siedenburg 699). As less limestone “clogging” and other pollutants didn’t inhibit the production of more clean groundwater. The Clean Water Act of 1970 is also at risk, due to corporations demanding it to be unconstitutional, as it inhibited their right to dump in public water systems (Siedenburg 699). It also has been obstructed by the Federal Government by receding information to the public.
This is a problem as San Antonio and most Texans are growing increasingly dependent on aquifers and groundwater. With the lack of information and a possible referendum of the bill, there may be a possible water shortage. Business and capitalism may also play a crucial role in the water industry in San Antonio, and Texas as a whole. With the coupled amounts of public misinformation and the inability to successfully garner any money for dams or brackish water plants, Texas legislature has turned to big business.
It’s a tragedy of the commons for most of west Texas as most of its former public taxpayer districts, are now unrestricted regions that may be owned by any company who has land claims in the vicinity (Schoolmaster, Andrew 1984). Outcomes from this would be the overpricing of Texas water by private corporations. Water in the governments perspective, is a public commodity that is prohibited from being used for profit (Schoolmaster, Andrew 1147). The Texas constitution then totally protects the rights of corporations.
So the matter of water being distributed to the people of Texas is then in the hands of the Industry, not the government (Soma, Mark 12). This means that the government has no power to bring water to the people and instead of taxing and protecting Texas water rights, the corporations that are taking the land over underground water wells have total control over water. Water in Texas is already crucial, it is water and A/C that keep Texas palatable for many of its occupants. Then the price of the water being privatized instead of publicized is a problem for Texas.
Not only is water projected to cost more than oil now in Texas, now Texans in the near future are projected to have to pay more in water bills than before. The people of Texas are not fully at fault for this however. The Texas constitution has not been revised for the growing populace (Schoolmaster, Andrew 1147). Cities such as San Antonio have to battle with companies for water rights (Jepson, Wendy 614). The Texas government refuses to seek federal help and finding, does not inform its citizens, bases water resources and prep on the drought of 1954 (Schoolmaster, Andrew 1984).
Then the Texas government are also firm believers of the nonexistence of global climate change, and also do not put plans into place that would be beneficial for the lives and wellbeing of Texas residence. Texas residents have many troubles compared to other states such as California or New York. We struggle with the rampant weather, healthcare procedure and the general policies. Now Texas citizens must also endure the water rights debate that is increasingly becoming a huge concern across the state.
Not only are conservation issue being raised, nor the use of Texas policy for private corporations to monetize groundwater. The state of Texas is growing into a dilemma and losing the battle for resource expenditure of public above ground water. Prime examples of the dilemma are becoming public in cities that rely heavily on ground or above ground water such as Odessa, San Antonio, and Austin. Texas must update its constitution and its citizens must reform for the state to brace itself for any more additions to its population.