Water Sense
Texas
Water Fact Sheet
As residents of the second most populous state in
the country, Texans have a large and continually
growing demand for water. According to the
Texas Water Development Board, by 2060 the state's
demand for water is likely to increase by 27 percent
compared to its demand in 2000.
To help counteract this projected increasing in
demand, the nearly 100 WaterSense partners in
Texas are working hard to bring water-efficient
products to market and to spread the word
about the need for smart water use. All Texans
can help preserve water for future generations
by incorporating water efficiency into their
everyday lives.
Water Sources Dwindle
The majority of water used in Texas (59 percent
in 2003, according to the state's 2007 water plan)
is supplied by ground water. Texas is home to
nine major aquifers that supply much of this
groundwater, including the Ogallala-High Plains
Aquifer that stretches beneath eight states. With
increased development and the growth of irri-
gated agriculture, the water withdrawal rate
from the aquifer has greatly increased. In some
areas, water levels have declined more than 100
feet and continue to drop.
The Gulf Coast Aquifer, stretching from Florida
to Mexico, supplies 54 Texas counties with all or
part of their water supply. It is also in danger of
being overdrawn; its supply is expected to be
reduced 12 percent between 2010 and 2060.
Urbanization exacerbates this trend by increas-
ing the demand for water and blocking the nat-
ural replenishment by paving over ground that
previously was permeable to water, allowing it
to percolate down to recharge the aquifer. So
much water has been removed from the Gulf
Coast Aquifer without being replenished that
sinking of the ground—or subsidence—of as
much as 13 feet deep has occurred in some
parts of Harris and Galveston counties.
To counteract this trend, the counties, including
the City of Houston, are gradually increasing
water supplies from surface water sources.
Surface water will cost customers two to four
times the cost of groundwater, largely due to the
infrastructure needed to make the switch; sur-
face water generally requires more purification
than groundwater and longer pipes for trans-
portation.
In other areas of Texas, the majority of water
used already comes from surface sources. The
City of Dallas, for example, withdraws only one
percent of its water from the ground. While this
helps alleviate demand on aquifers, it can place
a heavy burden on lakes, rivers, and streams,
especially during droughts.
March 2010
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Growing Meed for Savings
Municipal needs such as residential water use
account for about 25 percent of Texas'water sup-
ply, but that share is expected to grow dramati-
cally over the coming decades as population
increases. The U.S. Census Bureau has predicted
that Texas will increase its population by 56 per-
cent between 2000 and 2030. Providing water
for such substantial growth will require a combi-
nation of additional water supplies and
increased conservation. By 2060, Texas'total sup-
ply of water from existing sources will be 18 per-
cent smaller than it is today.
To meet growing water needs, Texas will need to
develop 3.85 million acre-feet of additional
water supplies by 2060. Regional water planning
groups estimate the total cost of implementing
strategies to keep water flowing will be approxi-
mately $30.7 billion over the next 50 years.
The state has already taken actions to prepare for
future shortages, recently approving the con-
struction of 19 new reservoirs, as well as the
launch of an advertising and awareness campaign
to emphasize the importance of conservation.
How Texans Can Help
An April 2007 report by the National Wildlife
Federation shows how reasonable water-saving
measures could preserve more than 1 million
acre-feet of water per year statewide—an amount
equal to that supplied by all 16 new dams recom-
mended in the 2007 State Water Plan.
There are many measures that Texans can take
to contribute to saving water for future genera-
tions. By watering lawns and gardens more effi-
ciently, Texas residents can potentially save
more than 300 million gallons each day—twice
the amount needed to supply Fort Worth's
Tarrant County for a day.
If just 20 percent of households in Texas retrofit
with water-efficient fixtures and appliances, they
could save more than 50 billion gallons per
year—enough to fill the new Dallas Cowboys sta-
dium, the largest domed structure in the world,
more than 60 times. And if just one in five house-
holds in Texas replaced their older, inefficient toi-
lets with WaterSense labeled models, the savings
would be about 19 billion gallons per
year—enough water for every Texas resident to
take a shower every day for more than six weeks!
San Antonio has demonstrated just how success-
ful water efficiency can be. Thanks to a variety of
programs, total water use in the region has
remained fairly constant since the early 1980s,
even though nearly 300,000 customers were
added to the city's water utility. San Antonio
reported that for every $1 spent on conservation,
the city avoided $7 in new water supply costs.
The City of Dallas, in addition to print, radio, and
outdoor advertising about WaterSense and water
efficiency, offers vouchers and rebates on high-
efficiency toilets and provides free installation of
faucets and showerheads that save water. The
city has already encouraged the purchase of
more than 15,000 WaterSense labeled toilets,
through the New Throne for Your Home program.
Fix a Leak Week in Dallas
EPA estimates that easy-to-fix leaks can waste
more than 1 trillion gallons of water across the
country each year—that's more than enough to
supply every home in Texas with its annual water
needs! Household leaks occurring in Texas alone
could waste more than 90 billion gallons annually.
The City of Dallas'Minor Plumbing Repair Program
fixes minor plumbing problems and fixtures for
qualified low-income residents and provides
WaterSense labeled products to the customers
receiving repairs. The program is in such high
demand that the city had a backlog of more than
100 service requests. As part of the WaterSense Fix
a Leak Week, March 15 to 21,2010, the City of
Dallas and local groups organized the"Great
Dallas Fix a Leak Roundup" to complete all the
projects on the program's wait list. Dallas antici-
pates saving more than 2 million gallons of water
per year through this effort, and it showed con-
sumers how finding and fixing leaks can save
more than 10,000 gallons per year per household.
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