Cost For Future Water Needs Could Reach $174 Billion

Texas will need to invest $174 billion over the next 50 years to keep up with water demand, according to a draft 2027 state water plan approved last week, the Austin American-Statesman reported. That is more than twice the projected cost in the previous state water plan published in 2022.

The draft report, released by the Texas Water Development Board, says the increased costs are due to a number of factors: inflation in construction costs, more frequent droughts, and a decline in existing water supplies as the state’s aquifers become depleted.

The state last year earmarked spending $20 billion over the next two decades for water infrastructure and supply projects — an amount that falls far short of what will be needed, according to some experts.

“This figure validates concerns that $1 billion a year is not going to be sufficient to meet the infrastructure needs to ensure our water supply,” said Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network, a construction trade coalition for water projects.

The state water plan is created with input from 16 regional planning groups that identify future water needs in their regions and how to meet them. The draft plan is open for public comment and can be accessed here: https://tinyurl.

com/3ktz5fpm.

Talarico Raises Record $27 Million; Cornyn Leads Paxton in Fundraising State Rep. James Talarico raised a record $27 million in this first quarter of this year, the largest-ever sum for any Senate candidate in any state in the first quarter of an election year, The Texas Tribune reported.

“Winning in Texas will require unprecedented resources,” said Seth Krasne, Talarico’s campaign manager. “This grassroots fundraising haul puts our movement in a strong position to spread our message in some of the most expensive media markets in the country. But we can’t take our foot off of the gas.”

Talarico has raised more than $40 million since entering the race last September from more than 540,000 individual contributors.

On the Republican side, where incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is heading to a May 26 runoff against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Cornyn outraised his opponent by fourfold, pulling in $9 million in the first quarter. Paxton raised $2.2 million “The Cornyn campaign continues performing at a high level, building off the over performance in the March 3 primary to announcing a massive fundraising haul in the first quarter of 2026,” Cornyn campaign manager Andy Hemming said.

Judge Orders Camp Mystic to Preserve Cabins Where Girls Died An Austin state district judge ordered Camp Mystic’s owners not to alter, repair or demolish cabins that housed campers and counselors who died in last year’s July 4 flood along the Guadalupe River, southwest of Kerrville. The flood killed 25 girls, two counselors and one of the owners of the camp.

The camp’s owners are being sued by the parents of 8-year-old Cile Steward, the only victim whose body has not been recovered. Other parents of children who died in the floods also have lawsuits pending.

“This finding is supported by facts tending to show that defendants owed a duty of care to Cile Steward and other minor campers, which they breached by operating Camp Mystic in a high-risk zone without adequate flood protections,” Judge Guerra Gamble wrote.

The injunction remains in place until the