Texas has 500 times more water underground than anything you see above the surface. The question is, how much do we pump and how fast?
Late last year I reported on a project called Our Desired Future that focuses on issues surrounding groundwater conservation in Texas. I’m now happy to report that the new ODF website has launched, and one of its first video features is about the “rule of capture” in Texas, using Pecos County and Fort Stockton – my hometown – as examples of the complications that arise when people are allowed to legally pump all the water they can.
If you watched to the end of the video, you may have noticed that yours truly provided some of the photographs featured in the report.
Our Desired Future is an impressive and interesting resource for anyone interested in the potential impact of groundwater depletion in Texas. Most of our state is no longer in the grip of the years-long drought that emptied many of our lakes, but we’re in no position to be complacent with respect to water usage. Education is key to combating complacency.
Regardless of where you come down on the issue of water ownership, the stories and statistics on the new website are worth spending time with.