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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, In 1997, the 75th Texas Legislature adopted Senate |
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Bill 1 and in so doing initiated for Texas what has become a |
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nationally recognized regional and state water planning process; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Subsequently, the Texas Water Development Board |
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prepared and submitted to the legislature two state water plans |
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under the Senate Bill 1 framework, in 2002 and 2007; and |
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WHEREAS, The 2007 state water plan makes the following |
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projections: |
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(1) Texas' population will more than double by 2060, to 46 |
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million people; |
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(2) Texas' annual demand for water over the same period of |
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time will increase by 27 percent, from approximately 17 million |
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acre-feet in 2000 to 21.6 million acre-feet in 2060; |
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(3) the state's existing water supply, however, will |
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decrease by 18 percent from 17.9 million acre-feet to 14.6 million |
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acre-feet, primarily because of the aquifer depletion and sediment |
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accumulation in reservoirs; |
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(4) if Texas does not implement new water supply projects or |
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management strategies, its deficit relative to demand will grow |
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from 3.7 million acre-feet in 2010 to 5.9 million acre-feet in 2030 |
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to 8.8 million acre-feet in 2060, by which time more than 85 percent |
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of the population will experience water shortages; and |
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(5) the state's failure to implement, on a timely basis, |
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economically feasible and diverse water management will adversely |
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impact Texans' health, safety, and prosperity, and could cost the |
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Texas economy approximately $9.1 billion by 2010 and $98.4 billion |
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by 2060; and |
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WHEREAS, Despite these alarming projections, Texas has |
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abundant water resources within its borders, and the challenge is |
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to develop and deliver those resources to the right places so that |
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all citizens of the state can share in the abundance; and |
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WHEREAS, The amount of water available to the state should |
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compel Texas to concentrate all its efforts within the state and not |
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to divert resources to unrealistic proposals for importing water |
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from neighboring states; and |
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WHEREAS, Such an effort will require input from both the |
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public sector and the private sector to meet the substantial |
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planning and financial demands of ensuring adequate and diverse |
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water supplies for all Texans; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby request the Texas Water Development Board to identify, based |
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on its 2007 state water plan, critical water communities served by |
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retail public utilities, as that term is defined by Section |
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13.002(9), Water Code, that the board projects may see their water |
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demand exceed their water supply in the next 5, 10, 20, and 50 |
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years; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the board, in making its projections, define |
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and categorize critical water communities as follows: |
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(1) a Stage I critical water community is an |
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area that the board projects may experience a water |
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supply shortage in the next five years; |
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(2) a Stage II critical water community is an |
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area that the board projects may experience a water |
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supply shortage in the next 10 years; |
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(3) a Stage III critical water community is an |
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area that the board projects may experience a water |
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supply shortage in the next 20 years; and |
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(4) a Stage IV critical water community is an |
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area that the board projects may experience a water |
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supply shortage in the next 50 years; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That the board, in determining the reliable water |
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supply available to any community, disregard supplies that are |
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interruptible or that are subject to senior claims in times of |
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drought if the senior claims in the aggregate constitute more than |
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the reliable supply available from the water source; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That the board, in considering whether an area |
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served by a retail public utility may be a critical water community, |
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use only water supply projections that are based on firm yield, |
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including a binding contract for service or supply, from a |
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permitted water source; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the board, in considering whether an area |
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served by a retail public utility may be a critical water community, |
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also consider whether the retail public utility water supply is |
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sufficiently diverse and comes from one or more of the following: |
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the firm yield of a proprietary source, a competitive bidding |
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process, reservoir construction, or desalination; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That the legislature request the board to complete |
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its identification and forward copies of its list of critical water |
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communities no later than September 1, 2007, to the governor, the |
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governor's office of economic development and tourism, the |
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lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, |
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the senate committee on natural resources, the house committee on |
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natural resources, all municipalities, counties, and special |
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districts located wholly or partly within a critical water |
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community, and all retail public utilities that serve all or part of |
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a critical water community and to post the list on its official |
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website; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official |
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copy of this resolution to the executive administrator of the Texas |
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Water Development Board. |