Could water re-use solve Texas' impending water shortage?: FOX 7 Focus

AUSTIN, Texas - Droughts are becoming more prevalent in Texas, which is expected to see its population soar in the coming decades.

Due to this, experts and state officials are increasingly sounding the alarm about the possibility that the state could run out of water. This week, state legislators looked at some possible solutions, and specifically ways to reuse the water we have.

Earlier this month, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller expressed his concerns about Texas's water supply.

"I'm sounding the alarm because the largest user of water in the state is agriculture," Miller said.

The University of Texas at Austin scientists are also echoing those concerns, pointing to longer and more intense droughts and the state's growing population.

"That's the billion-dollar question. Are we going to have enough water in the future? That's very possible we could end up without enough water here," said Dr. Zong-Liang Yang, professor at UT's Jackson School of Geosciences.

The House Natural Resources Committee is looking to tackle that problem before it becomes a crisis by looking at options for water reuse.

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"We as a state need to do all we can to support reuse to meet the needs of our community," said Jennifer Walker, director of the Texas Coast and Water program of the National Wildlife Federation.

So how does water reuse work? Reused water can come either directly from treated wastewater from a man-made body of water, stormwater runoff, even air conditioning condensation. It can be either potable, meaning safe to drink, or non-potable, used for things like industrial plants or toilet flushing.

The state water plan shows an almost tenfold increase in use of reuse between now and 2070 - and it's something many cities are already doing.

In San Marcos, reuse is providing 170 million gallons of drinkable water a year.

As for Austin, Shay Rall Roalson, director of Austin Water, said, "We currently provide about 1.6 billion gallons of reclaimed water annually to 185 properties, including several city office buildings and the UT campus."

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But advocates for water reuse say Texas has fallen behind in implementing programs like this, and more funding and incentives are needed to get more businesses on board.

Christina Montoya-Halter, president of Water Reuse Texas, said "Texans are more open to these options than they were two decades ago."

Water engineer Chandler Crouch added, "We are trying to steer folks towards this and educate them that this is an opportunity."

Commissioner Miller is focused on harvesting rain water.

"I'm the only state official that's advocating for rain water harvesting," Miller said. "I sent 90 communities money to replace all their antiquated water systems….that's almost half a billion dollars of water system improvements in rural parts of the state."

The hope is that the ideas presented at this week's hearing will lead to more concrete policies.

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