Texas Water & Green-Industry Roundup
Published on September 4, 2025
Corpus Christi
Status & Restrictions
Austin
New Irrigation/Plumbing Requirements (new one- and two-family homes permitted after July 10, 2025)
Pressure Regulation
Houston
What Council Approved
Why It’s Happening
What Customers May Notice
Central Texas (Highland Lakes)
San Antonio (SAWS)
East Texas
Groundwater Fight (Special Session)
Why it matters:
This signals a larger groundwater debate ahead—potentially export guardrails, stronger ties to available water in aquifer, and more monitoring/reporting next regular session (2027).
El Paso / Far West Texas
Rio Grande Compact Settlement (Proposed)
Status & Restrictions
- Stage 3 drought rules remain in effect: no lawn watering.
- Hand-watering of trees, garden beds, shrubs, and potted plants is allowed before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. using a hose, bucket, or watering can.
- After a 13-hour meeting, the City Council voted to cancel the Inner Harbor seawater desalination contract (est. cost had risen to $1.2B, up from ~$160M in 2019).
- The city will ask TWDB to redirect ~$210M previously targeted to the project. Some debt from prior planning may remain.
- City staff warned that without new supply, Corpus could face an emergency by Dec. 2026, including potential 25% cuts for large industrial users.
- Read more here
Austin
New Irrigation/Plumbing Requirements (new one- and two-family homes permitted after July 10, 2025)
Pressure Regulation
- ≥ 80 psi: PRV required + pressure-compensating heads
- 45–80 psi: Pressure-compensating heads required
- < 45 psi: No additional pressure requirement
- Permanent irrigation systems may cover no more than 50% of landscaped area.
- ROW strips < 6 ft: Drip allowed; excluded from 50% cap
- New trees: Individual bubblers on a separate zone; excluded
- Foundation watering: Single-zone drip line allowed; excluded
- Grandfathering: House building permit submitted before 1/1/2025 → 50% cap does not apply (proof required before inspection)
- Existing homes adding irrigation: 50% cap does not apply; pressure controls still apply
- Oct 1, 2025 – Apr 1, 2026: Education period (inspectors note issues, no fails)
- Starting Apr 1, 2026: Missing pressure controls or 50% compliance = failed inspection
Houston
What Council Approved
- $8.5M to replace ~25,300 aging water meters (many 20+ years old); part of a broader billing and infrastructure modernization push.
- 12-month pilot: ~25,000 smart meters installed (including ~2,000 in hard-to-connect areas) across all council districts; near-real-time usage data for customers.
Why It’s Happening
- Significant water loss and erratic bills tied to failing meter hardware and estimated reads.
- The meter project complements ongoing replacement of remote reading devices (RRDs).
What Customers May Notice
- Bills may increase after meter swaps (old meters often under-register usage).
- Near-real-time usage helps catch leaks/irrigation issues quickly.
- Read more here
Central Texas (Highland Lakes)
- Lakes Buchanan & Travis are designed to fluctuate—store in wet times, draw down in dry—and have anchored regional supply since the 1940s.
- Early-July 2025 rains boosted combined storage from ~51% to >90% within days; first time both were full since July 2019.
- Even with higher levels, expect ongoing conservation messaging from utilities.
San Antonio (SAWS)
- San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is working to clarify “soil” in the City of San Antonio development code.
- Current ordinance (since 2006) requires 4" soil with ≥ 0.25" Soil Organic Matter (SOM) under turfgrass on new construction.
- SAWS intends to move toward soil inspections on new builds after definitions are tightened.
East Texas
Groundwater Fight (Special Session)
- Governor added groundwater to the call; HB 27 advanced.
- Core concept: Pause on new/expanded export permits in the Neches & Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation Districts until Nov. 1, 2027, plus a TWDB study to inform future decisions.
- The Texas Senate amended the bill, removing the moratorium, and House Author Rep. Cody Harris pushed back, The bill ultimately died in the 2nd special session
- Read more here.
Why it matters:
This signals a larger groundwater debate ahead—potentially export guardrails, stronger ties to available water in aquifer, and more monitoring/reporting next regular session (2027).
El Paso / Far West Texas
Rio Grande Compact Settlement (Proposed)
- Texas, New Mexico, Colorado (and the U.S.) filed a settlement to end the long-running Rio Grande case.
- The deal would tighten operations below Elephant Butte and require New Mexico to curb groundwater depletions so deliveries to Texas are more reliable.
- A Special Master hearing is set; Supreme Court has final say.
- Read more here
- El Paso municipal customers and irrigators who rely on Elephant Butte releases.
- Even with a settlement, Elephant Butte remains extremely low, so expect continued focus on conservation, leak reduction, and diversified supplies in that region.