The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has adopted the 2027 State Water Plan, a long-range blueprint that identifies the projects and strategies needed to secure the state’s water supply through 2080 as population growth, aging infrastructure and increasing demand place mounting pressure on available resources.
The plan outlines an estimated $174 billion in recommended water management investments over the next 50 years and will help guide state financing priorities for water supply and infrastructure projects.
The board unanimously voted in support of the plan during its July 23 meeting. Every five years, the TWDB must agree on a new state water plan that aligns with 16 regional water plans across the state. Hundreds of stakeholders work to identify water supply needs, actionable strategies, projected costs and funding opportunities to build a roadmap.
This framework guides water policy and financial decisions, including projects eligible for state assistance. The latest State Water Plan is the sixth to follow this collaborative process over the past 25 years.
The plan underscores the critical need for enhanced water supply strategies, with a 53% population increase projected over the next 50 years while existing water supplies decline 10%. Officials say $174 billion is needed to implement the framework’s 6,700 water management strategies and 3,000 projects. These strategies are intended to supply 7.6 million acre-feet per year in additional water supplies in 2080.
To close the gap, the roadmap lays out recommendations that rely on a mix of conservation, water reuse, new reservoirs, aquifer storage and recovery, desalination, groundwater development and improvements to water delivery systems.
Conservation and reuse remain the foundation of the plan, accounting for 43% of recommended water supplies by 2080. Conservation alone represents about 30% of all recommended strategy volumes, while continued development of surface water—including reservoirs—accounts for another 36% of future supplies.
The plan leans more heavily on new supply than on repairing existing systems. Recommended strategies include conservation, aquifer storage and recovery, brackish groundwater development, seawater desalination and produced water recycling to diversify Texas’ water portfolio.
Although projected costs more than double those of the 2022 State Water Plan, officials warn that without this commitment, a severe drought could cause $91 billion in damage in 2030 and $177 billion per year by 2080.
The TWDB accelerated this plan to support financial commitments from the 2026 State Water Plan Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT). An amendment to the plan with more expansive content is expected in the fall ahead of the Jan. 5, 2027, deadline.
Photo by Get Lost Mike from Pexels
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