Water Code § 16.051

Sec. 16.051. STATE WATER PLAN: DROUGHT, CONSERVATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND MANAGEMENT; EFFECT OF PLAN. (a) Not later than January 5, 2002, and before the end of each successive five-year period after that date, the board shall prepare, develop, formulate, and adopt a comprehensive state water plan that incorporates the regional water plans approved under Section 16.053. The state water plan shall provide for the orderly development, management, and conservation of water resources and preparation for and response to drought conditions, in order that sufficient water will be available at a reasonable cost to ensure public health, safety, and welfare; further economic development; and protect the agricultural and natural resources of the entire state. (a-1) The state water plan must include: (1) an evaluation of the state's progress in meeting future water needs, including an evaluation of the extent to which water management strategies and projects implemented after the adoption of the preceding state water plan have affected that progress; (2) an analysis of the number of projects included in the preceding state water plan that received financial assistance from the board; and (3) with respect to projects included in the preceding state water plan that were given a high priority by the board for purposes of providing financial assistance under Subchapter G, Chapter 15: (A) an assessment of the extent to which the projects were implemented in the decade in which they were needed; and (B) an analysis of any impediments to the implementation of any projects that were not implemented in the decade in which they were needed. (a-2) To assist the board in evaluating the state's progress in meeting future water needs, the board may obtain implementation data from the regional water planning groups. (b) The state water plan, as formally adopted by the board, shall be a guide to state water policy. The commission shall take the plan into consideration in matters coming before it. (c) The board by rule shall define and designate river basins and watersheds. (d) The board, in coordination with the commission, the Department of Agriculture, and the Parks and Wildlife Department, shall adopt by rule guidance principles for the state water plan which reflect the public interest of the entire state. When adopting guidance principles, due consideration shall be given to the construction and improvement of surface water resources and the application of principles that result in voluntary redistribution of water resources. The board shall review and update the guidance principles and any other rules related to the state water plan, with input from the commission, the Department of Agriculture, and the Parks and Wildlife Department, as necessary but at least every five years to coincide with the five-year cycle for adoption of a new water plan as described in Subsection (a). (d-1) The requirement to review a rule not later than the fourth anniversary of the date on which the rule takes effect and every four years after that date under Section 2001.039(b), Government Code, does not apply to a rule related to the state water plan adopted under this section. (e) On adoption the board shall deliver the state water plan to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives and present the plan for review to the appropriate legislative committees. The plan shall include legislative recommendations that the board believes are needed and desirable to facilitate more voluntary water transfers. The plan shall identify river and stream segments of unique ecological value and sites of unique value for the construction of reservoirs that the board recommends for protection under this section. (f) The legislature may designate a river or stream segment of unique ecological value. This designation solely means that a state agency or political subdivision of the state may not finance the actual construction of a reservoir in a specific river or stream segment designated by the legislature under this subsection. (g) The legislature may designate a site of unique value for the construction of a reservoir. A state agency or political subdivision of the state may not obtain a fee title or an easement that would significantly prevent the construction of a reservoir on a site designated by the legislature under this subsection. (g-1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, a site is considered to be a designated site of unique value for the construction of a reservoir if the site is recommended for designation in the 2007 state water plan adopted by the board and in effect on May 1, 2007. The designation of a unique reservoir site under this subsection terminates on September 1, 2015, unless there is an affirmative vote by a proposed project sponsor to make expenditures necessary in order to construct or file applications for permits required in connection with the construction of the reservoir under federal or state law. (h) The board, the commission, or the Parks and Wildlife Department or a political subdivision affected by an action taken in violation of Subsection (f) or (g) may bring a cause of action to remedy or prevent the violation. A cause of action brought under this subsection must be filed in a district court in Travis County or in the county in which the action is proposed or occurring. (i) For purposes of this section, the acquisition of fee title or an easement by a political subdivision for the purpose of providing retail public utility service to property in the reservoir site or allowing an owner of property in the reservoir site to improve or develop the property may not be considered a significant impairment that prevents the construction of a reservoir site under Subsection (g). A fee title or easement acquired under this subsection may not be considered the basis for preventing the future acquisition of land needed to construct a reservoir on a designated site. Amended by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2207, ch. 870, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 795, Sec. 1.046, eff. Sept. 1, 1985; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 516, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1010, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 456, Sec. 4, eff. June 18, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 979, Sec. 4, eff. June 18, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1223, Sec. 2, eff. June 18, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 966, Sec. 2.16, eff. Sept. 1, 2001. Amended by: Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1430 (S.B. 3), Sec. 3.01, eff. September 1, 2007. Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1430 (S.B. 3), Sec. 4.01, eff. June 16, 2007. Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1233 (S.B. 660), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2011. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 921 (S.B. 1511), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2017. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 55 (S.B. 1268), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2025.