Two years after voters threw a billion dollars at Texas’ crumbling water system, the state has finally sprinkled about $223 million into rural towns — the ones that usually get told to “pray for rain” instead of getting infrastructure. The Texas Water Development Board says over 40 projects are fixing water tanks, leaky pipes, and sad little wells in towns most people couldn’t find on a map.
But before anyone gets too hydrated, there’s already a new ballot measure — Proposition 4 — asking voters to cough up another $20 billion to keep the dream alive. Lawmakers promise this time it’ll come with “transparency” and “oversight,” which in Texas usually means an Excel sheet someone forgets to update.
Experts admit the first billion barely patched the leaks. Like duct tape on a dam, it stopped some bleeding but didn’t fix decades of neglect, drought, and population growth. Now everyone agrees on one thing: $20 billion might still not be enough to keep Texas from literally drying up.
If water is life, Texas seems determined to keep it on a 30-year payment plan.
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/04/texas-water-supply-proposition-4-election-2025/
