Rep. Doggett Secures $2.48 Million For Critical Local Climate Change Research to Protect Texas Water
Contact: Kate Stotesbery |
Washington, D.C. – Today, following a year where Central Texas saw its second hottest summer on record, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) announced that he has secured another $2.48 million in direct federal appropriations for The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment’s Center Climate Change Impact on Water Initiative at Texas State University. This project, for which Rep. Doggett secured the first funding for last year’s launch, is working to study the impact of climate change on all Texas water resources and to create a publicly-available tool to help inform action to preserve water and protect the future of water in our state.
“Climate change is already messing with Texas water. New federal funds I secured are advancing the next phase of developing actionable projections for how climate change is impacting our water, breaking ground on new scientific research to develop a response,” said Congressman Doggett. “Providing scientific results—accessible to all—Dr. Mace and his team will equip local leaders to build climate change into water resource planning and determine the most effective ways to protect our water. Our Highland Lakes are one of the first places on which they are focusing.”
Dr. Robert Mace, Executive Director and Chief Water Policy Officer at the Meadows Center and a Professor of Practice in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Texas State University, said: “With increasing temperatures, we expect water-supplies from our rivers, lakes, and aquifers to decrease as our population continues to boom. We aim to help communities across the state plan for and respond to a future with less water.”
Standing beside Spring Lake—fed by San Marcos Springs—Rep. Doggett and these climate scientists unveiled the first round of project funds in June 2022 and shared how these funds can make a difference for our water across Texas, and particularly discussed how critical preservation of our aquifers are for the future of Central Texas, which is undergoing climate change coupled with rapid development.
Rep. Doggett and Dr. Mace unveil the Texas State University Meadows Center Climate Change Impact on Water Initiative in June 2022 at the Meadows Center at Spring Lake, speaking with researchers at the Discovery Center and with reporters, and touring Spring Lake on a glass-bottom boat
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