FWTWPG

Regional Water Planning in Far West Texas

The Far West Texas Water Planning Area (TWDB Region E) is comprised of 7 counties in Far West Texas. The planning area was created under Senate Bill 1 of the 75^th Texas Legislature, which requires that all areas of the state of Texas conduct a comprehensive water planning program to meet the water needs of the region for the next 50 years. The plans that were created in each of the state’s 16 planning regions, and submitted to the Texas Water Development Board in January 2001, are the most detailed regional level water plans created to date.

The Far West Texas Regional Water Plan is a consensus-based, drought-contingency, water supply management plan. This plan was the result of three years of cooperative effort between the volunteer members of the Planning Group, the staff of numerous public entities including cities, counties, water suppliers and groundwater districts, interested members of the public, and a team of technical consultants. The plan incorporates public comment and input which was solicited during every step of its preparation. The TWDB is in the process of incorporating the 16 regional water plans into a state-wide water plan for Texas.

A 23-member volunteer group, the Far West Texas Water Planning Group, is guiding the development of the first amendment to the regional water plan, as required by the state at 5-year intervals. The planning group has been tasked with preparing the first regional water plan,