Prop 6 plans emerge at hearing

AUSTIN—Thirsty small towns and growing cities vying for low-interest loans through the newly-created $2 billion water bank got a clearer sense Thursday of which projects will get top preference and how the money will be distributed.

Last November, voters overwhelmingly approved Prop 6 to establish the $2 billion water bank, known as the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) and managed by the Texas Water Development Board.  The plan is to leverage $2 billion into $27 billion over the next 50 years to cover projects in the state water plan.

Applications for funding will be ranked based on a point system that places highest priority on the amount of water conserved and the number of people served by the project, the four-member Texas Water Development Board panel said during a House Natural Resources committee hearing.

Funding will be available twice a year and some projects may qualify for interest-rate subsidies, the board said. Ten percent of the money will go to rural projects and at least 20 percent will go to conservation and reuse, as mandated by the authorizing legislation.

House legislators, which are providing oversight, had some priorities of their own, too.

Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, and Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, both called for spending toward water education campaigns, suggesting billboards as one option to highlight the state’s water crisis.

Keffer also asked the board to take new water technologies into consideration, including increased affordability of desalination—the process of converting saltwater to potable water.

“I’m hoping that the emphasis will be on new sources as those things become commercial,” he said. “I think for the future of this state, getting out and getting in front of the new technology will be key to making this successful.”

TWDB Chairman Carlos Rubinstein said the board figures that a third of the state’s future needs will be met through finding new water sources and utilizing technology.