Gov. Abbott looking at plan to send Houston water to West Texas

Texas has had a 'water problem,' that has been acknowledged by the Texas Water Development board since the 1960's. That is about when they started developing water plans for the state, with various ideas to get much needed water to places like West Texas, which do not see much rainfall in a given year.

In those plans was one proposal from 1961, in which the state would address some of the issue with new reservoirs in 1980, and a pipeline that would help transfer water from near Shreveport, Louisiana, out to the west near Lubbock. That plan never came to fruition, minus some reservoirs, and West Texas continues to deal with abnormally dry stretches.

Now, Governor Greg Abbott is looking into a similar line of thinking. He is exploring a new plan which would take leftover storm water from Houston and send it out to areas that need it in the Panhandle, and far West Texas. The idea is the same: use the reservoirs as storage along the route and filter it eventually to where those out West can access it.

But Texas Tech professor Dr. Theodore Cleveland says this plan has tons of challenges. Engineer is one of them, but the bigger concern is the actual transfer of the water.

"The main issue is going to be energy consumption to move it uphill...and the water is not always available," he says. "If it is excess storm water, it is only available now and then through the year."

Houston has also had its fair share of droughts in the past, so there is no guarantee the water will be freely flowing out. But the city does generate about 183 billion gallons annually and sends most of it to Southeast Texas or the Ship Channel.

This was also previously examined in a day and age where most areas along the route were less developed, and there was not as much red tape. Now, trying to get that project done would not just cost billions, it would take forever.

"If we needed it next week, it is impossible. If we needed it next year, it still would not be possible...this is a minimum two decade look into the future," he says.

As we know in Texas too, no construction moves quickly. It took well over a decade just to expand Highway 290 in Houston. This would involve running a pipeline across the entire state. Factor in construction delays, you may be looking at 30 years before this is possible.

Again, though, this has been studied as a possibility before in 1961. But just because they were not able to follow through back then, does not mean it is magically going to be more feasible this time.

"At that time in the 1960s, there were reservoirs under construction, and there was insufficient energy then," says Dr. Cleveland. "It is going to come down to energy, and long-term commitment on behalf of multiple administrations."

So, in short, it will come down to multiple governors to carry out Abbott's plan in full. Assuming Texas stays Red for the next three decades, that is very possible.

But until the logistics are hashed out, West Texas will stay tapped out.