Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst says there’s no choice about funding the state’s water plan, but he’s less specific on how much to spend. Yesterday State Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Abilene, supported a proposal to spend $2 billion from the Rainy Day Fund.
Today, Dewhurst told KUT News’ political reporting partner the Texas Tribune that he doesn’t know how much to invest.
“We’re going to provide the funds necessary,” Dewhurst said. “We have no other option. The state of Texas will stop. It will stop in its growth unless we provide suitable water resources. There are a lot of things we can do that don’t cost that much money, like in conservation, like in re-use, things of that nature.”
A fresh reading of the Texas drought released today shows 90 percent of the state in some stage of drought. That’s better than a year ago, when it was 99 percent, but it’s actually drier than it was three months ago.