By Shapleigh                                          S.C.R. No. 39
         76R7665 JLZ-D                           
                                CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, The Rio Grande/Rio Conchos Basin comprises a region
 1-2     twice the size of California, a significant portion of which lies
 1-3     within Texas' boundaries, and is home to more than 10 million
 1-4     people, all of whom depend on the basin's surface water and
 1-5     groundwater for their support; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, Much of this population is concentrated in some of
 1-7     the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States and is
 1-8     expected to increase more than 60 percent in the next 25 years;
 1-9     this growth, coupled with economic expansion and industrialization
1-10     in the region, simultaneously increases the demand for water and
1-11     threatens both its availability and quality; and
1-12           WHEREAS, From El Paso to Brownsville, communities along the
1-13     Rio Grande Valley face critical water shortages caused by
1-14     unregulated groundwater pumping and compounded by recent droughts
1-15     that have exacerbated the region's already limited annual rainfall;
1-16     and
1-17           WHEREAS, Residents along both sides of the Rio Grande also
1-18     face significant health hazards from deteriorating water quality as
1-19     the river becomes more polluted as a result of inadequate or
1-20     nonexistent wastewater facilities, water treatment plants, sewage
1-21     systems, and municipal water systems; between 1979 and 1995 two
1-22     dozen Texas border communities registered unacceptable levels of
1-23     bacterial contamination in their drinking water, and in some areas
1-24     the water is not safe enough even for swimming; and
 2-1           WHEREAS, In addition to water quality problems caused by
 2-2     industrial and agricultural pollution practices, increasing
 2-3     salinity of the river further reduces the quantity of water that
 2-4     can be used either for drinking or irrigation purposes; and
 2-5           WHEREAS, Although water supply and water quality issues are
 2-6     being addressed by federal, state, and local governments here and
 2-7     in Mexico, the magnitude of the problems means that conventional
 2-8     approaches to them also entail costly solutions such as massive
 2-9     investments in new infrastructure; and
2-10           WHEREAS, While these measures are badly needed remedies and
2-11     must continue, funding constraints provide an imperative to seek
2-12     innovative, affordable solutions to mitigate problems both now and
2-13     in the future; this is an area in which the state's public colleges
2-14     and universities can play a vital role, using the talent,
2-15     facilities, and resources at their command to fulfill an important
2-16     component of their missions as research institutions; and
2-17           WHEREAS, In addition to being directly connected to the
2-18     communities affected by these environmental concerns, colleges and
2-19     universities also are eligible for grant money available from a
2-20     variety of sources, including state and federal funds, for research
2-21     purposes, which would allow experimental studies and projects on
2-22     water issues in the area; now, therefore, be it
2-23           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-24     hereby encourage Texas public colleges and universities to apply
2-25     existing research resources to help find new, affordable solutions
2-26     to the increasing scarcity of water and problems with water
2-27     quality, including ways to address increased salinity and fecal
 3-1     coliform in the Rio Grande; and, be it further
 3-2           RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward official copies
 3-3     of this resolution to the presidents of Texas' public colleges and
 3-4     universities and to the chairmen of the boards of regents of the
 3-5     state's university systems.