85R1557 KSM-F
By: Davis of Dallas H.C.R. No. 43
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Among the most urgent issues facing Texas is
recurrent prolonged drought that results in a diminished water
supply, and new strategies need to be developed and implemented to
ensure that Texas can meet its future water demands; and
WHEREAS, Purifying and recycling treated effluent has been a
successful approach for providing additional clean, safe drinking
water supplies; Big Spring has implemented such a project, and
others are planned for El Paso and San Angelo, as well as for the
Laguna Madre Water District; and
WHEREAS, Of the 16 water planning districts in Texas, Region
C, which includes the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and serves more
than 25 percent of the state's population, has one of the largest
projected demands for new water supplies, and several cities in the
region have the ability to develop a model project that would purify
and recycle significant amounts of treated effluent into water for
drinking and other household uses; and
WHEREAS, An advanced purification plant could provide a
crucial new supply of water to a number of water planning regions in
Texas; and
WHEREAS, The development of a direct potable-water model
project in conjunction with the use of renewable energy
technologies could provide an excellent opportunity for public
education on direct water reuse and renewable energy; and
WHEREAS, The creation of a direct potable-water project in
Region C has the potential to yield a sufficient water supply to
area residents while alleviating the depletion of already scarce
resources, and the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality should provide funding,
authorizations, and technical assistance to aid in that endeavor;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby direct the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality to assist the Region C Water
Planning Group in the creation of a large-scale direct
potable-water recycling and reuse project as a model for the state;
and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the board and the commission seek federal
funds or use available state funds or loan programs to assist with
the creation of a direct potable-water recycling facility in Region
C; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the board and the commission encourage the use
of renewable energy sources and the development of educational
programs along with the potable-water recycling and reuse project;
and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the board include the creation of a direct
potable-water recycling facility in Region C as a priority for
support pursuant to Section 16.1311, Water Code; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the chair and the executive
administrator of the Texas Water Development Board and to the chair
and the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality.