HOUSTON – The State of Texas, still reeling from damage from Hurricane Harvey and other recent storms, has taken a major step toward improving its flood preparedness.
Two years ago, the Category Four storm left 89 people dead and caused some $125 billion in damage along the Texas coast. In its first opportunity to deal with the unprecedented disaster, the Texas Legislature approved, and Gov. Greg Abbott signed, a package of bills this year to improve the state's readiness for disaster events.
State Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, who sponsored several bills to update and modernize the state's planning process, says an overhaul was overdue.
"I was seeing some of my local governments doing it the way we've always done it – each drainage district doing their own thing, each city was doing their own thing – and that just wasn't going to work,” says Phelan. “We need to approach flooding from a regional standpoint, a holistic standpoint. Water does not respect political boundaries."
Lawmakers approved one bill (Senate Bill 7) to tap the state's Rainy-Day Fund – essentially its savings account – for $800 million to finance flood mitigation projects. Another measure (SB 8) requires the state's first flood plan developed using regional watersheds. A third bill (SB 339) strengthens disclosure requirements to better inform potential buyers of a property's flood history.
The new plan will require pre-disaster mitigation projects, such as elevating homes that have flooded repeatedly and removing vulnerable structures from flood plains. It will also ensure that funding is available to restore natural areas that absorb floodwaters, like wetlands, salt marshes and streams.
Laura Lightbody, director of the Flood-Prepared Communities project at The Pew Charitable Trusts, says these types of programs should pay major dividends for the state over time.
"These required watershed-level plans are really important,” says Lightbody. “How do we take a big picture look at our community, and our development and our footprint, to understand how to avoid these future losses next time we see a big flood event?"
Lightbody says research shows that governments generally save $6 in future losses for every dollar spent on pre-disaster mitigation.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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Environmental advocates have warned President Donald Trump's proposed budget could cripple restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.
Federal agencies have long partnered with six watershed states to protect its waterways.
Harry Campbell, science policy and advocacy director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said the cuts would severely affect Pennsylvania and beyond. He added the Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees the Chesapeake Bay Program, faces a 54.5% budget reduction, from $9.1 billion to $4.2 billion.
"This would eliminate critical state grants and other support mechanisms that Pennsylvania relies upon in working with farmers, upgrading wastewater treatment plants and improving fisheries that are so critical to the healthy condition of our urban streams but also to our economic vitality," Campbell outlined.
Campbell noted the EPA supports states in improving water quality by funding projects and offering low-interest loans for upgrading drinking water and wastewater systems. The agency also offers scientific guidance, helps develop monitoring and reporting systems and, in some cases, aids in enforcing pollution-reduction measures.
Campbell pointed out numerous other federal agencies are facing major funding cuts. For Pennsylvania, he contended, the most significant is the U.S. Geological Survey, set to lose $564 million in funding, which could halt research on the effects of climate change and eliminate or curtail essential water quality monitoring.
"This is the type of research that is looking at what is happening on the ground in our local communities, on our farms, in our streams," Campbell emphasized. "And trying to ascertain ways that we can utilize science and information to make informed decisions about the future of those communities."
Campbell noted the U.S. Department of Agriculture and local conservation programs provide crucial support to farmers by helping them design and implement conservation practices. The efforts improve water quality, soil health and herd health while reducing flooding and farm input costs. Proposed budget cuts could threaten the programs and the environmental and agricultural benefits they deliver across the region.
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As Colorado and other Basin states relying on the shrinking Colorado River work to reduce water use, new data showed just how much water is helping prop up factory farms.
Amanda Starbuck, research director for the nonprofit Food and Water Watch, said the biggest draw is coming from thirsty alfalfa farms, producing hay for livestock living in confined feedlots and dairy stalls.
"In 2024, alfalfa farms in the Colorado River Basin used over 2 trillion gallons of water," Starbuck reported. "This is enough water, to put it in perspective, to supply the water needs for 40 million people for three and a half years."
In 2024, alfalfa farms in Colorado soaked up more than 418 billion gallons of water, up 41% from 2022, the largest increase across all Basin states. It amounts to a third of the state's entire Colorado River allocation and enough water to supply the city of Denver for 38 years. Defenders of factory farming have argued the practice is necessary to feed the nation's growing population.
Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming have until the end of 2026 to match water use with what the Colorado River can actually deliver after decades of drought exacerbated by climate change. Starbuck pointed out plants used to feed livestock generate more calories than meat or milk.
"Factory farms are not a very efficient way to produce calories," Starbuck argued. "If feeding people were really the top concern here, we would be growing more food for direct human consumption."
In 2022, Colorado's 193,000 dairy cows living in confinement operations consumed nearly 7 billion gallons of water, a 20% increase from 2017 and also the largest increase among Basin states. It is enough to supply indoor water to half a million people. Starbuck added untreated wastewater at factory farms can also affect water supplies.
"Both wastewater from cleaning out stalls, but also a ton of waste in the form of manure," Starbuck outlined. "That leads to runoff and that will also pollute major water systems that feed into the Colorado River."
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New research at Iowa State University shows elevated nitrate levels have an outsize effect on the state's most vulnerable populations.
Studies show exposure to nitrates can increase the risks of birth defects and various types of cancer.
ISU Water Resources Assistant Professor Liu Lu said nitrates, which are prominent in ground and surface water near commercial agriculture operations, exceed safe levels, and affect Iowa's most vulnerable.
"Such as people of color," said Lu, "low-income populations, elderly, and also children."
Despite their negative health impacts, the Iowa Environmental Council reports only 4% of public water utilities in Iowa have nitrate removal systems.
The data show the presence of nitrates in the water is especially high in rural communities, and Liu said northeast Iowa's Blackhawk County stands out in her research.
"This county has very high nitrate in their treated water," said Lu. "They also have very high social vulnerability. So, people living in that county are disproportionately exposed to high nitrate in their drinking water."
Her research includes an interactive map that shows which parts of the state have the highest nitrate pollution in their groundwater.
Liu's work was published in Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.
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