Today, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) reached a milestone in the implementation of SWIFT funding for water management strategies and projects in the State Water Plan with its approval of the first round of funding. The SWIFT program was created by the Texas Legislature and ratified by voters in 2013.
Ken Kramer, Water Resources Chair of the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter, issued the following statement in response to TWDB reaching the milestone:
“The Sierra Club commends the Water Development Board for the efficient and expeditious way in which it is implementing the SWIFT program. The projects being funded are diverse, both geographically and in types of projects.
“The Sierra Club is especially supportive of SWIFT funding for the water conservation projects of the Cities of Bedford and Fort Worth, and the Hidalgo County Irrigation District #1. While we would hope for more water conservation projects to be funded through SWIFT, we recognize that the initiative for bringing such projects to the Board must come first at the regional water planning level and then in decisions by water utilities to pursue SWIFT funding for water conservation. We believe that the Water Development Board is committed to encouraging more water conservation projects to meet the Legislature’s directive for funding conservation or reuse over each five-year period of funding. The Board’s action today on funding agricultural water conservation through programs other than SWIFT is an example of its commitment to conservation. The Sierra Club continues to work at the local and regional level to support more water conservation projects, some of which may need SWIFT funding.”