Abbott Seeks to Buy Houston Water for Permian Basin

Governor Greg Abbott is in talks with the city of Houston to provide water for the Permian Basin in West Texas, which is facing dangerously low levels thanks to drilling and climate change.

The Permian Basin highest producing oil field in the United States, producing more than 4 million barrels of crude oil a day. The area is also experiencing severe drought according to the Permian Basin Underground Water Conservation District, the result of decades of drilling as well as rising temperatures driven by manmade climate change. Some aquifers and reservoirs in the area are as low as 1 percent of their capacity.  

Houston, by contrast, has been experiencing increased rain from climate change thanks to severe storm events. Currently the city produces 183 billion gallons annually, providing drinking water and infrastructure for millions of Southeast Texans.

The plan by Abbott is to trade some of Houston’s water for infrastructure funding for the city. He has been in contact with Houston Mayor John Whitmore, who is open to the plan.

“He called me and said, ‘Would you consider selling your excess water to the state that we then sell to West Texas?’” Whitmire said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle. “We get monies for our infrastructure. They get their water. It would be a win-win.”

While both the city and the state government seem open to the idea, it’s not without its problems. For one, though Houston is certainly better off than West Texas, it isn’t totally water-secure. The city primarily gets its water from the San Jacinto and Trinity Rivers as well as Lake Conroe. During the droughts of 2023, the Houston area began issuing voluntary water restrictions to make up for falling levels.

For another, Houston is already experiencing problems growing because of water needs. Westward expansion of the city has been plagued by a lack of available groundwater, leaving new subdivisions scrambling. Supplying West Texas with water may be feasible now, but could hamper further growth for Houston.

Texas is likely to continue to experience water woes. While the rising temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns of manmade climate change are major factors, there are structural challenges as well. The explosion in data center growth in the state is likely to make it worse. Large data centers use huge amounts of water to cool their servers. A single data center can use up to 5 million gallons of water a day.  

If the trade does come through, it will be costly. Houston needs about $15 billion in water infrastructure improvements, which are likely to be the bargaining chip in the deal. Neither the mayor nor the governor have gone into more detail on the structure of a potential deal, though Abbott has been telling West Texas that talks are underway to supply them with water.

A significant deal will likely require the Texas legislature to sign off, especially if billions of dollars are on the line. They will return to session on January 14.