Residents Asked to Help Groundwater Fight in Texas Senate
The Empire Strikes Back as Senators Reportedly Under Pressure to Vote ‘No’
Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
EAST TEXAS – A fight over billions of gallons of groundwater reached the Texas Capitol and beyond this month, as East Texas residents, lawmakers, and water authorities lined up against a commercial well project backed by billionaire investor Kyle Bass.
At an Aug. 21 hearing of the Texas House Natural Resources Committee, lawmakers advanced a bill to halt Redtown Ranch Holdings, LLC’s plan to export vast volumes of water from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer. The project, critics say, could endanger rural communities’ wells, rivers, and long-term water security.
The proposal, already approved by the Trinity and Neches Valleys Groundwater Conservation District, has been dogged by controversy, including allegations that one board member acted as an agent for the applicant. That, coupled with the project’s scale, drew a fierce backlash from local residents and officials.
Gov. Greg Abbott added the groundwater issue to the Legislature’s special session agenda earlier this month, opening the door for House Bill 27, authored by Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine. The measure would impose a moratorium on large-scale groundwater exports while the Texas Water Development Board conducts a 16-month scientific study of the aquifer.
“There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of discussions… speculating on what the impacts would be of such a large volume of pumping,” Harris told the committee. “Based on the science we have today, it looks like those impacts could be very substantial.”
Bass fired back online, threatening Harris with a federal lawsuit in a now-deleted social media post. But lawmakers from both parties said the billionaire’s attack backfired. Rep. Ramon Romero, Jr., D-Fort Worth — who represents a city that could benefit from imported water — switched his stance to support the moratorium after reading Bass’s remarks.
The House approved HB 27 by a lopsided 126-4 vote. But a Senate hearing set for Aug. 27 was abruptly canceled, raising concerns the bill could stall.
That prompted Consolidated Water in Houston County to urge residents across Texas to pressure senators into action.
“Some Senators are hearing from voices who want water treated like a commodity, with prices driven higher by scarcity and drought,” the utility said in a public statement. “Even the Redtown Ranch applicant has admitted that groundwater data in this region is limited. HB 27 takes a smart approach…by authorizing a state-led investigation into local aquifers and requiring careful, data-based planning before large-scale water exports advance.”
Consolidated encouraged Texans to call lawmakers with three messages:
- “I support HB 27 because it puts science and aquifer health ahead of short-term profiteering and the commoditization of drought.”
- “Texas needs lasting water security for rural communities, large cities and future generations — not quick fixes that drain our aquifers dry.”
- “The House passed HB 27 with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Senate should follow their lead and put Texas’ water security first.”
Meanwhile, the fight gained a powerful new ally. On Aug. 28, the Trinity River Authority’s (TRA) Board of Directors voted to intervene in the legal proceedings over the Redtown Ranch permits. General Manager Kevin Ward said the project could threaten downstream surface water rights and warned of risks ranging from reduced river flows and spring levels to subsidence and vegetation loss.
TRA also announced it had begun a comprehensive study of the Trinity River basin, with support from Consolidated, which has offered its wells for research.
For many in East Texas, the clash has become a test of whether state leaders will prioritize long-term water security over short-term profits. Harris, for his part, vowed to keep fighting.
“I may be ‘smalltime,’ but my constituents aren’t,” he wrote after Bass’s threats. “I won’t be intimidated by a billionaire with a massive ego. The fight to save our water continues.”
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
