Texas is facing a water wastage crisis, with self-reported water loss audits revealing a troubling spillage of nearly 88 billion gallons in the last year across its most populous cities. This massive loss, as recounted by the Texas Tribune, is making a dent in municipal budgets and putting increasing pressure on an already strained water supply system. Houston, leading the pack, accounted for a staggering 31.8 billion gallons of the spillage.
Leaky infrastructure and relentless heat seem to form an unholy alliance against Texas' water reserves, and no amount of size or resource seems to buffer Texan cities from the scourge of water loss. Dallas and Austin, like Houston, are grappling with the twin challenges of aging pipes and extreme weather conditions. Dallas reported a water loss of 17.6 billion gallons, while Austin's tally was at 7.1 billion gallons. This upward trend was observed in all major cities except El Paso, which managed to reduce its water loss by 475 million gallons, likely due to its long-established focus on watertight infrastructure.
Texas cities are mandated to submit these eye-opening audits to the Texas Water Development Board, providing a stark illustration of the infrastructure challenges they face. For instance, Houston Public Works has blamed a prolonged drought spanning from June 2022 to December last year for exacerbating the strain on their old water lines, which led to a significant uptick in water leakages. Indeed, as "HPW will continue to pursue all funding options available to help replace aging infrastructure," a Houston spokesperson conveyed.
In an effort to curb these losses, cities are investing in modernizing their approaches. Fort Worth, for instance, implemented the "MyH2O program" to swap out manual read meters with more accurate remote read alternatives. And despite these efforts, the city still saw its water losses increase slightly from 5.6 billion gallons to 5.9 billion gallons in the past year. This loss ended up costing "more than $8 million," according to the same Texas Tribune report. Meanwhile, San Antonio isn't holding its breath for state intervention; its Water System has rolled out a new five-year water conservation plan, as it dealt with 19 billion gallons of water loss.
Last year's passage of a proposition creating a state fund for water infrastructure projects brought a glimmer of hope, with a billion dollars earmarked for essential upgrades and repairs. Yet, experts argue that this is barely a starting point given the over $150 billion that will be necessary over the next 50 years—a view echoed by Jennifer Walker, the National Wildlife Federation’s Texas Coast and Water Program director, who calls the fund a drop in the bucket. Austin, not one to lag in proactive measures has hired a consultant to review its water loss practices and metrics, city officials reported, and is actively replacing old water mains across the city.
The El Paso desert location driving a stronger philosophy around water conservation. "That makes us a little bit different from the rest of Texas in that sense," Aide Fuentes, El Paso Wastewater Treatment Manager, told the Texas Tribune, highlighting the city's commitment to reducing water loss by 10%.
