Thirty-seven percent of our state is now in an extreme to exceptional drought, increasing the risk of wildfires and affecting our quality of life. Dozens of communities in Texas may be out of water in 45 days or less. Wichita Falls, along with other drought-stricken cities in Texas, will be recycling more than half of its drinking water from waste water ( toilets, sinks, washing machines, bathtubs).
We need consistent restrictions and conservation efforts across our state as well as strict enforcement in our cities. This is every Texan’s problem, not just those living in West or South Texas.
One issue is that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s drought response varies by city. Some water districts have extreme conservation measures, others have none.
Every town that buys water from the North Texas Municipal Water District has different plans for conservation as well as penalties for violations. Some, like McKinney, water once per week and issue modest penalties that are tacked onto offenders’ water bills. In other cities, like Allen, which is also following Stage Three of the water district’s drought contingency plan, residents are permitted to water only once every two weeks, and fines are steep and issued through courts. For multiple violations or ignoring citations, penalties can run up to $2,000 plus court costs.
Some may think that water conservation is a partisan issue — the concern of Democrats or liberals. It is not. Bill Whitfield, McKinney’s previous mayor, is a Republican but is strongly committed to conserving water and energy. He had the insight to push for conservation efforts a decade ago, along with sustainable landscaping and a new variant of grass that used 40 percent less water than traditional turf grasses.
It is this kind of leadership that we need on a state level to implement strong, consistent conservation plans across every town in Texas. There are many things we can do to reduce water consumption, but in our state, the quickest and biggest bang for our buck will come from reducing the amount we use on our yards. During the summer, 50 percent of our water is used on landscaping, and much of that is lost through watering sidewalks, roads and driveways.
The drought appears to be here to stay. We really can’t afford to waste water on concrete and aesthetics anymore, especially with cities that continue to grow and place increased demands on supply. Sure, water is cheap. Like many other services we receive, it’s subsidized. Most of us pay less for the water that sustains us than we do for our family’s cellphone plan. But we can live without cellphones; we cannot live without water.
Our state, you might remember, will be spending billions of dollars over the next 50 years to increase our water infrastructure. That means you and I will be paying higher taxes and water bills to fund these projects. But the Texas Center for Policy Studies found that Texas has overestimated how much water it will need over the next five decades. One of its findings suggested that North Texas could eliminate the need for the proposed $3.3 billion Marvin Nichols Reservoir through stricter consumption standards. Why not turn to water conservation as the quickest and least costly solution?
It is not only incumbent on our lawmakers and local governments to make and enforce rules that will protect all of us, now and in the future, it is also important that our neighborhoods and citizens be responsible stewards of the resources we have available to us now. Continuing on the same path will only create more problems for all of us. At the very least, every city and every citizen should follow consistent conservation standards with the intent of significantly reducing consumption.
Deborah Mitchell of McKinney is a frequent contributor of Voices columns. She is also the author of the book “Growing Up Godless.” Her email address is deborah_mitchell @tx.rr.com.