Texas Water Crisis: Can The WaterNet Provide a Sustainable Solution?
04-02-2025, researched by Wolfgang Kovacek
In the heart of America’s energy landscape, Texas faces an unprecedented water crisis that threatens both its economic future and environmental stability. A recent article from Inside Climate News titled “Treating Texas’ Oilfield Wastewater Could Require More Energy Than Most US States” (March 24, 2025) paints a stark picture of the Lone Star State’s mounting water challenges. But could an innovative solution called The WaterNet provide Texas with the breakthrough it desperately needs?
The Looming Water Crisis
Is Texas truly running out of water?
According to the Texas Water Development Board’s 2022 State Water Plan, Texas is indeed “staring down a water shortfall” with significant shortages predicted by 2030. The state has virtually exhausted its traditional water sources – lakes are fully allocated, rivers spoken for, and aquifers over-pumped. As Inside Climate News reports, when “Texas lawmakers devised a plan in 2023 to expand the state’s water supply, they found most sources were totally tapped out.”
The severity of this situation cannot be overstated. The U.S. Drought Monitor has consistently shown large portions of Texas experiencing severe to exceptional drought conditions over the past decade. Meanwhile, the state’s population continues to grow rapidly, with the Texas Demographic Center projecting an increase from 29 million to over 47 million residents by 2050, placing even greater demands on dwindling water resources.
What options remain for expanding Texas’ water supply?
According to the Texas Produced Water Consortium, the state has identified just three potential new sources of water:
- Desalinated seawater from the Gulf of America
- Deep, salty groundwater that requires treatment
- Treated oilfield wastewater
Each option presents significant challenges, particularly in terms of energy requirements and cost.
The WaterNet Solution
Could The WaterNet revolutionize water transportation and production?
The WaterNet proposes a radical solution: producing 20 million acre-feet of fresh water annually by desalinating ocean water and transporting it inland. Unlike conventional approaches that require enormous energy inputs, The WaterNet moves water up to generate power instead of using power to pump water up.
The system proposes to transform water transportation from an energy consumer to an energy producer. As The WaterNet website explains: “The WaterNet disguises and buries the buoyant force of The New Rain so clouds don’t form but raging powerful torrents of water come pouring out down hills and mountains to drive hydroelectric turbines to generate electricity while moving the water to areas that need it.”
The WaterNet’s 20,000,000 Annual Acre Feet of Water
The WaterNet’s proposed capacity would produce enough water to:
- Eliminate critical water shortages across the state
- Refill depleted aquifers with toxin-free water
- Provide security against future droughts
- Support agricultural revival in areas that have abandoned farming due to water scarcity
Water Quality and Environmental Benefits
Is the water produced by The WaterNet safe for aquifer replenishment?
The WaterNet’s purification process claims to produce water that is completely safe for returning to aquifers, with no toxins whatsoever. This is critical for the long-term sustainability of Texas’s groundwater resources and provides a path to actually replenish depleted aquifers rather than just slowing their decline.
The Nature Conservancy’s Texas Freshwater Assessment has highlighted the critical importance of aquifer recharge for maintaining critical environmental flows in springs and rivers across the state. The WaterNet’s ability to provide clean water for aquifer replenishment could help restore these vital ecosystems.
How does The WaterNet compare to conventional desalination in cost and environmental impact?
While current costs for desalinated water average around $1,800 per acre-foot according to the Texas Water Development Board, The WaterNet system, operated by Genergy, proposes to provide water at just $1,100 per acre-foot – a 39% cost reduction from day one. More remarkably, this price would decrease by 1% annually for 30 years, providing long-term economic benefits.
Conventional desalination plants also face environmental challenges, particularly regarding the disposal of highly concentrated brine. The Pacific Institute has documented significant ecological impacts from brine discharge near coastal desalination facilities. The WaterNet’s inland approach potentially circumvents these coastal ecosystem concerns.
Economic and Agricultural Revival
Could The WaterNet restore farming communities across Texas?
The American Farm Bureau Federation has documented the abandonment of thousands of acres of previously productive farmland in Texas due to water shortages. The WaterNet’s ability to deliver affordable water throughout the state could potentially reverse this trend, allowing farmers to return to lands they were forced to abandon.
The reliable water and energy combination that The WaterNet provides could also enable Texas to dramatically increase agricultural production, reducing dependence on imported food and creating new opportunities for sustainable indoor farming that’s protected from climate extremes.
A Call for Thoughtful Consideration
As Texas officials evaluate solutions to the water crisis, The WaterNet offers a transformative possibility that warrants serious consideration. In the Gospel of Luke 14:28-30, Jesus advises:
“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!'”
This timeless wisdom speaks directly to the decisions Texas faces today. The state’s water infrastructure represents a generational investment that must be carefully considered. The WaterNet solution offers a thoroughly calculated approach that addresses not just today’s needs, but builds a sustainable foundation for generations to come.
Sources:
- Inside Climate News: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24032025/texas-oilfield-wastewater-treatment-small-nuclear-reactors/
- Texas Water Development Board: https://www.twdb.texas.gov/waterplanning/swp/index.asp
- U.S. Drought Monitor: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?TX
- Texas Demographic Center: https://demographics.texas.gov/
- Texas Produced Water Consortium: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/research/texasprwc/
- The Nature Conservancy – Texas Freshwater Assessment: https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/texas/
- Pacific Institute – Desalination Environmental Impacts: https://pacinst.org/
- American Farm Bureau Federation: https://www.fb.org/
- Genergy: www.gnrg.us
- The WaterNet: www.thewaternet.com
