The Availability of Clean Water from publicly managed resources is essential to our future and our health. As a result of the recent Gulf Oil Spill the natural environment has been devastated, local economies crippled, and billions are now needed for cleanup.

We support:

• strong penalties and remediation requirements in response to the massive contamination of the Gulf of Mexico,
• vigorous research and the adoption of safeguards to prevent future oil spills;
• the implementation of aggressive water conservation and reuse practices;
• protecting Texas bays, estuaries, in-stream flows, and wetlands with regulations that safeguard offshore reefs, maritime resources, recreational and commercial fisheries;
• giving regional groundwater conservation districts authority to preserve the water within their districts, protect communities from water hustlers, implement conservation standards related to the development density, green building, and other measures;
• requiring regional groundwater districts to maintain the historic minimum flows of all springs and creeks and to protect drinking water supplies, plants, and wildlife;
• thorough analysis of the relative short term and long term costs and present and environmental impact of proposed large new reservoirs and alternative sources of public water supplies, including the impact of electric generation plants that require the use of significant amounts of water;
• increased state funding for local infrastructure to reduce illness-causing bacteria levels in public waters by meeting EPA standards;
• expanded testing of fish and shellfish for mercury, radionuclides and other contaminants and public notification of health risks;
• preventing depletion and exploitation of limited state water resources by “water wildcatters;” and,
• support research and understanding of the state’s groundwater resources.