MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — If passed, Proposition 6 would allocate $1 billion to create the Texas Water Fund.
The money will be used to help pay for water projects across the state. Some of the money will go towards finding new water supplies and conservation efforts.
The fund would be managed by the water development board and go towards fixing the state’s aging pipes.
“Our water infrastructure is probably now about 60 to 70 years old and is in dire need of replacement. You couple that with the fact that the Valley is growing in population, and the state of Texas is growing in population. So anytime the population increases, the demand for water increases,” said Mark Vega, McAllen Public Utility General Manager.
The money will come from the state’s economic stabilization fund, which simply put, is the state’s “rainy day fund.”
A portion of the money must go towards water infrastructure projects in rural areas.
As the Rio Grande Valley continues to grow, the demand for water increases, and funding is needed to ensure there is enough of a water supply available.
“The benefit would be replacing our aging infrastructure that a lot of the Valley has, which is in dire need of replacement, and also go to the redundancy part. A lot of folks may just have one water plant, and they could use two because if something happens to one you are done, you’re out of water. So, redundancy is another huge component,” said Vega.
If voters approve Proposition 6, the fund would be created on Jan. 1.
