Rep. Tracy O. King formed part of the Connecting H2Opportunities meeting at the Texas…
Water issues have plagued locals for some time now, and the fact that there is an ongoing drought does not help the situation.
Earlier this week, various leaders, including experts and politicians, gathered in Austin to discuss ideas and views in the state of Texas.
Webb County’s Texas State Rep. Tracy O. King formed part of the Connecting H2Opportunities meeting at the Texas Water Development Board’s Water for Texas conference. The meeting gathered together more than 600 attendees, speakers, sponsors and legislators who attended the sold-out conference hosted by the Texas Water Development Board.
King focused on the aspects of the drought affecting the South Texas area, which encompasses his district as he represents part of the border between the United States and Mexico, as his district includes part of Webb County. The recent decrease of water in the Rio Grande was a major concern last year for environmentalists and the local government, as the area depends heavily on the international river for its water supply.
The state representative also acknowledged the fact that weather patterns are changing as well, which are causing droughts to become a bigger challenge for many areas. This is especially true in areas like South Texas and throughout the state which are seeing a population increase.
“We have a long-term drought going on. Everybody knows that the weather patterns on the face of the earth are changing, and they’ve always been changing,” King said after the conference. “So that’s nothing new, that’s no surprise. But you’ve got an increasing population in the state of Texas, you’ve got increasing water needs and you have aging infrastructure throughout the state of Texas and throughout the nation.”
One thing King did point out is the fact more resources can be brought to the area as the state does have a good budget to allocate more funds for much-needed equipment and resources. He hopes to use what he learned in the conference to bring legislation that allows for him to vote on plans to help the water sustainability issue in his district and throughout the state.
“And we happen to have a fairly good budget situation this time,” King said. “So I think it’s time to bring all those things together and direct a significant amount of funding toward the aging infrastructure in the state of Texas.”
The chairperson of the TWDB expressed that the conference was a success and that it was a very inspiring one, as many people from different facets of life gathered and expressed their views and ideas.
“Our packed house was extremely inspiring and demonstrates that the great minds in the water industry and our state leaders value coming together to collaborate on the water issues facing Texas,” said TWDB Chairwoman Brooke Paup. “The discussions that take place at our biennial Water for Texas conference are instrumental in exploring solutions to ensure a secure water future for our state.”