Bois D’Arc Lake,
northeast of the city of
Bonham in Fannin County,
will be the first major
reservoir built in Texas in
30 years and has received nearly
$1.5 billion in funding
commitments from the State Water
Implementation Fund
for Texas,
one of the largest commitments of any
project under the
program.
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Water is good for Texas
Surface Water
Surface water (water that is located above ground) includes rivers, lakes, bays, ponds, wetlands, marshes, canals, estuaries and reservoirs.
Texas currently has 7.2 million acre-feet of surface water available annually from the following sources:
| 187 | major reservoirs |
| 191,000 | miles of streams |
| 15 | major river basins |
| 8 | coastal basins |
- Nueces-Rio Grande
- San Antonio-Nueces
- Lavaca-Guadalupe
- Colorado-Lavaca
- Brazos-Colorado
- San Jacinto-Brazos
- Trinity-San Jacinto
- Neches-Trinity
Surface Water Uses
Uses of Surface Water by Use Category, Texas, 2019
| Use | Share |
|---|---|
| Municipal | 47.1% |
| Livestock | 2.2% |
| Irrigation | 29.3% |
| Steam Power Generation | 6.0% |
| Mining | 0.5% |
| Manufacturing | 14.8% |
Surface water accounted for 42 percent of the state’s total water use in 2019, while groundwater provided 55 percent and water reuse the remaining three percent.
Surface water is a critical resource for the state’s municipalities. In 2019, about half of surface water used in Texas was for municipal purposes (ranging from single-family residences to commercial establishments), followed by nearly 30 percent for irrigation (field crops, vineyards, orchards) and 15 percent for manufacturing needs.
Municipal water needs (or, potential shortages) are projected to rise dramatically in the coming decades, from about 215,000 acre-feet in 2020 to 3.1 million acre-feet in 2070. Municipal water needs as a share of total water needs are projected to increase from seven percent in 2020 to 46 percent in 2070.
Water Management Strategies
Given increasing municipal water demands, the 2022 State Water Plan projects the highest percentage of new water supplies in 2070 will come from strategies based on surface water.
- The plan recommends 1,829 new surface water projects—including 23 new major reservoirs.
- This will provide an additional 2.8 million acre-feet of water per year by 2070.
- Surface water projects will account for 37 percent of the proposed new water supplies in 2070, up from 24 percent in 2020.
Volume of recommended water management strategies by water resource
| Water Resource | 2020 (acre-feet) | 2020 share | 2070 (acre-feet) | 2070 share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demand Reduction | 864,303 | 50.9% | 2,376,880 | 30.9% |
| Groundwater | 279,229 | 16.5% | 921,799 | 12.0% |
| Reuse | 121,395 | 7.2% | 1,159,626 | 15.1% |
| Seawater | 3,000 | 0.2% | 194,615 | 2.5% |
| Surface Water | 410,183 | 24.2% | 2,845,199 | 37.0% |
| Aquifer Storage & Recovery | 18,868 | 1.1% | 193,106 | 2.5% |
Sources: Texas Water Development Board; Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
This is one in a series of reports the Comptroller has prepared on water in Texas.
Questions?
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the material on this page, please contact the Comptroller’s Data Analysis and Transparency Division.