Water in the state of Texas will decrease by 18% as demand increases by 9% by 2070, according to the Texas Water Development Board. At the same time, the state's population could eclipse 50 million people.
"As the population increases, what's a different way to make use of the same quantity of water that we have?" asked Sarah Schlessinger, CEO of the Texas Water Foundation. "The quantity of water is not going to increase. In fact, it's going to decrease. There's no such thing as new water, right? But there are better ways to use it. There are more efficient ways to use it."
One of the ways Texas homeowners use it is to ensure they have a lush, green yard each spring and summer.
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"The greener it is is a question right there. Like, why do you want it that green and that lush which results in more mowing? But at the same time, when they put that much water, they don't realize that some of that water goes as runoff and is wasted," Texas A&M professor and extension specialist Fouad Jaber said. "So there's a lot of potential in improving the amount of irrigation that's being done."
For more, listen to this week's episode of Texas Wants to Know. New episodes are released every Thursday in the Audacy app or wherever you get your podcasts.
