Texas Almanac, 1954-1955 Page: 157
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Texas Water Resources-Problems
During 1952 and 1953 the problem of a
water supply became critical in many parts
of Texas. It became a problem for future
concern throughout the state. There were
two reasons for it. First, the prolonged
drouth had cut into surface supplies and even
diminished underground water resources in
some areas. (See p. 145.) Second, and be-
hind this immediate cause, there was the
long-term upward trend of water consumption
by Texas' growing population, and its agri-
culture and manufacturing industries. Even
with normal precipitation Texas had been ap-
proaching a period of urgent need of more
effective water conservation than has been
necessary in the past.
The obvious approach of the time of a water
supply problem in Texas brought the issue
before both the Fifty-first and Fifty-second
Legislatures, 1949 and 1951, but no legislation
was enacted. However, the Fifty-third Legis-
lature, 1953. set up a Water Resources Com-
mittee, to make a four-year study of the
Texas water problem. (See p. 330 for per-
sonnel.)
This committee is empowered to hold hear-
ings and subpoena witnesses. It is directed
to bring together the water studies previously
made by the Texas Water Code Committee,
the Texas section of the American Society of
Civil Engineers, the Texas Legislative Council,
the Texas Water Conservation Association,
the University of Texas, the Texas Agricul-
tural and Mechanical College, the State Board
of Water Engineers, the public health authori-
ties, the U.S. Geodetic Survey, the U.S. Corps
of Army Engineers and the U.S. Soil Conser-
vation Administration.
Under state laws, administration in all mat-
ters of water rights and control is in the
hands of the State Board of Water Engineers,
Austin. (See p. 330.) As parts of the state
administrative system, also, the boards of di-
rectors of the various river basin organiza-
tions administer laws relative to their indi-
vidual projects. A number of the larger res-
ervoirs in Texas have been constructed by the
U.S. Army Engineers, and several are also
under control of the U.S. Bureau of Reclama-
tion.
Ghe state had no water policy, as of the
close of 1953. This should be the first objec-
tive, in the opinion of officials of the Texas
Water Conservation Association, Austin, and
other interested organizations. The formula-
tion of such a policy was the principal pur-
pose of the act creating the Water Resources
Committee.
Texas Water Consumption.
The annual water consumption of Texas
was calculated at 8,465,330 acre-feet for the
year 1951, by the State Board of Water Engi-
neers. This consumption was classed as fol-
lows: Irrigation, 4,343,080 acre-feet; manu-
facturing and industrial, 2,560,014; municipal
and domestic consumption, 573,476; loss in
storage, 988,760, plus some small losses in
generating electric power and in flood control.
Ground Water Resources.
Most of Texas' water supply comes from
underground resources. These great under-
ground reservoirs furnish more than half
the water for both municipal and industrial
consumption and for irrigation. They have
been the greatest material factor in the state's
economic development, not excluding oil.
In nearly all of these great underground
reservoirs the water table in recent years has
been falling. In most instances, the fall has
not been alarming. In fact, there are insuf-
ficient data in most instances to determine
the extent of decline in the larger reservoirs,
but all authorities agree that Texas under-
ground resources have reached, or passed, thepoint of maximum utilization without draw-
ing upon future supplies. The impounding
of surface supplies is the only answer to the
question of obtaining water for the future
growth of the state.
Among the larger Texas cities that obtain
all, or large part, of their water supply from
underground are Houston, San Antonio, El
Paso, Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange, Gal-
veston, Amarillo and Lubbock. More than
three fourths of the smaller cities and towns
of Texas use ground water.
Water for Irrigation.
Ground waters also furnish more than half
the great amount of water used for irriga-
tion. Irrigated land in Texas in 1952 was
calculated at 4,238,665 acres, by the Depart-
ment of Agricultural Economics and Sociology
at the Agricultural and Mechanical College.
Irrigation takes about 4,343,080 acre-feet a
year of water. There was no exact division
between the amount of land irrigated from
ground and from surface waters, because both
sources are utilized in some areas. However,
more than 75 per cent of the area and con-
siderably more than half the water consumed
should be credited to the underground
sources. (See 'Irrigaton" In index for refer-
ence to table in chapter on agriculture.)
The development of t he chemical industries
has made especially urgent an increase in the
available water supply. These industries have
increased in Texas during recent years, con-
stituting probably the greatest single factor
in Texas' economic development. The great
attraction to them has been the ample sup-
plies of natural gas and petroleum. Most of
these chemical industries are big consumers
of water. The lack of water has been the
obstacle to their development in some com-
munities.
Natural Reservoirs
The great underground reservoirs of Texas
lie in three general classifications (1) those
impounded between the sand and clay, down-
ward sloping strata beneath the Gulf Coastal
Plains, (2) the Edwards limestone of South-
west Texas and its bordering Balcones Fault
zone, (3) the Ogallala formation of the High
Plains, and (4) the alluvial and intermountain
deposits of the Trans-Pecos.
Coastal Plain Group.-The Carrizo Sand and
Wilcox Clay group underlie a strip of land
from Nacogdoches and Lufkin in East Texas
to the Winter Garden ar ea southwest of San
Antonio. A good many cities and towns re-
ceive their municipal water from it in addi-
tion to irrigation waters for a large area in
the Crystal City, Carrizo Springs area. Cata-
houla Tuff and Sand, Oakville Sandstone and
Lagarto Clay underground reservoirs supply
water to a good many smaller cities and
towns below the area mentioned above. Also
there is some rice irrigation from it. Below
and parallel to the above is the Goliad-Willis-
Lissie Group, which is one of the three larg-
est underground reservoirs in Texas. Hous-
tbn and numerous other places get their
water from it, and there is irrigation of
a large rice acreage. The Beaumont Clay
formations are sources of water for Galveston,
Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange and other
communities, also furnishing irrigation water
for some areas near the coast. The Travis
Peak Formation, Trinity Group and Wood-
bine and Paluxy Sands are relative minor
sources of water lying in the upper coastal
plain. They furnish municipal supplies to
many smaller places and were sources for
Dallas, Fort Worth and Waco in ea'ly days.
Edwards Limestone Area.-The spongy Ed.
wards and associated limestones that lie just
beneath the surface of much of Southwest
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Texas Almanac, 1954-1955, book, 1953; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117168/m1/159/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.