State and regional water planning in Texas

Abstract

The state water plan is an important guide for state policy‐makers, as well as regional and local water planners and managers.Because of an extreme drought during the 1950s, Texas made statewide water supply planning a policy priority. The Texas Water Development Board was created to provide organizational and financial assistance to local and regional water suppliers. Over the past 40 years this planning effort has evolved in response to a variety of changing conditions. The comprehensive Texas Water Plan, based on a consistent framework of planning data and forecasts, was developed with significant regional and local participation. The plan challenges state leaders, water managers, and the general public to take the necessary and often controversial or innovative actions to meet the state's water needs for the next 50 years in a timely, cost‐effective, and environmentally sensitive manner.