The consensus in Austin is clear: the state is running out of water to keep up with a growing population. Recognizing the problem is one thing, solving it is another.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) pegged it as one of his seven emergency items in his State of the State address earlier in the month.

“We’re going to put Texas on a path to have plenty of water for the next five decades. We will make the largest investment in water in the history of the State of Texas,” said Abbott.

State leaders said the water supply is one of their top priorities this spring in the legislative session. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) signaled Senate Bill 7 will be one of that chamber’s solutions. Every session, he puts out his top 20 priorities.

This will all build on what the state government has already done. In 2023, voters approved the creation of the Texas Water Fund and diverted a billion dollars to upgrade water pipes and start new projects. That is a drop in the bucket to what’s needed. The business group Texas 2036 predicts the state will need more than $100 billion in the coming decades to keep up with demand.

The water supply has been a basic component in building the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, where there is a scramble to find more water to keep up with the growing suburbs.

When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed up Lake Lavon in 1953, they planned for it to be the water supply feeding the growing suburbs around Dallas. Plano, Allen, Richardson, Garland, and a collection of other cities formed the North Texas Municipal Water District, taking water from its Wylie Water Treatment Plant and pumping it to homes and businesses in member communities.

Executive Director of the North Texas Municipal Water District, Jenna Covington, told NBC 5 their story is about growth and trying to keep up.

“The largest challenge that we work through on a daily basis is keeping up with the growth here in the North Texas area,” she said.

The water in Lake Lavon is no longer enough. Since its founding, the district has tapped into reservoirs in the east, including Lake Tawakoni and Jim Chapman Lake, and to the north, in Lake Texoma and the newest reservoir, Bois d’Arc Lake. The district is currently expanding that pipe route through an expansion of the Leonard Water Treatment Plant northeast of DFW.

Those projects are all aimed at pumping out 400 million gallons per day to keep up with an estimated 70,000-80,000 new people arriving in their district in every recent year.

“Water development is something that takes decades to accomplish. A lot of the investment that is being made on the front end of these projects is being paid by the existing ratepayers for the people who are yet to come,” said Covington.

According to the district, all that may still not be enough. Their planning documents show demand may far outpace supply if people do not conserve water during dry years. Covington said not watering lawns so much is the low-hanging fruit. The entire state is in a similar situation.

Lone Star Politics speaks with Jenna Covington, executive director of the North Texas Municipal Water District about the demand for new supplies of water. State Senator Kelly Hancock tells NBC 5 what state lawmakers are working on this year in Austin now that East Texas plans are in limbo. 

The Texas Water Development Board predicts Texas will have to invest much more to keep up with what’s needed. Its leaders spoke to the Texas Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs earlier this month and told them the grant money they have set aside has a lengthy waiting list.

Senator Charles Perry, R – Lubbock, and committee chair will spearhead Senate Bill 7. A prominent idea is getting a dedicated funding stream from state sales taxes for water projects.

“It’s in conversation with members to get the full bye in. We feel pretty good about that,” said Perry in the committee.

Those changes will eventually need to be approved by voters amending the state constitution.

Until then, Covington told NBC 5 they plan to put $1.1 billion into new projects and maintain current pipes in North Texas. She said they will need five times more than that in the next 10 years.

According to planning documents, some possible long-term plans include buying more water from Lake Texoma, buying more water from a new reservoir in Toledo Bend along the Louisiana border, or converting more from Lake Wright Patman from flood control to water supply.

“There’s a tremendous need for water infrastructure, not only in our local organization here in the North Texas area but for utilities across the state,” said Covington.

As of February, one major solution looks less likely. Earlier, the Texas Water Development Board moved the creation of the Marvin Nichols reservoir in East Texas up from 2070 to 2050. The $4 billion creation of a 66,000-acre reservoir lake seems to be in jeopardy after intense pushback from East Texans trying to protect their land.

In January, the TWDB reported that it was still feasible to build the project, but bills have been filed in the legislature to kill the idea.

A backup plan is also getting pushback from East Texas. Five of the seven communities around Lake O’ The Pines must approve a deal to sell water to the North Texas Municipal Water District. Last week, hundreds also voiced opposition to that plan, organized by Longview Republican Jay Dean.

“If they got the type of water volume that they’d like to get, this lake would drop seven to eight feet, which would be catastrophic to a lot of homeowners,” said Dean. “Not only that, but it’d be catastrophic to the bayous and Caddo Lake downstream.”

A petition to stop the sale of water already has more than a thousand signatures.

In an interview with NBC 5, Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs, Sen. Kelly Hancock, R – North Richland Hills, said the state needs a “Texas-sized solution.”

“We have revenues,” said Hancock, pointing to the multi-billion dollar state surplus.

“I think we have to be sending consistent money but we need a large influx this time. We need a Texas-sized plan,” he said. “The less we move into that fund, the longer it’s going to take, the more expensive it’s going to be.”

Hancock said new state money could go to maintenance, new agreements with neighboring states, and more reservoirs.

“We aren’t just looking to get reelected. We’re looking out for Texas and for Texans yet to be born,” said Hancock.