Water Wednesday – Houston Chronicle Editorial
texas water conservation for texas fly fishing
The Al Gore winter in Texas has put Texas’ water woes on the back burner to simmer temporarily, but an editorial in the Tuesday, Jan.7, Houston Chronicle, Luke Metzger (Director Environment Texas) doesn’t let the predicament out of his sights.
Headlined “Texas air, water a focus in 2014,” Metzger states the problems with Texas water policy clear enough:
“Years of drought and wasteful water use have strained our water supplies, threatened our rivers and wildlife and disrupted outdoor recreational activities.
Unfortunately, the state’s proposed plan for satisfying future eater demand favors increased water withdrawals that could further harm our rivers. In many cases, the state has given permission for more water to be withdrawn from rivers than is actually available.
Meanwhile, major water users waste billions of gallons each year, even though we have the technology and know-how to use water more efficiently …
It’s critical that regional and state water planners prioritize water conservation and avoid projects that imperil our rivers … I am optimistic that 2014 will be a good year for our environment.” – Luke Metzger, Houston Chronicle, P.B11, Jan.7, 2014
So far, here at Texas Fly Caster, we’ve laid out the problem, documented the legislation, shown the environmental impacts (from the water shortage) further down the chain in the Texas Gulf Coast estuaries, and now we’ll continue to watch as … nothing apparent happens. But then, who wants a dog that never stops barking? We will keep our powder dry, and wait until we see the them come out of hibernation. It’s going to be a long year for the Texas environment.
Category: Science and Environmental
