IDEAS
A World Without Water
By summer’s end in 2011, Texas had suffered the worst drought in the state’s recorded history. Parched creek beds and scorched grass marred the landscape. And over Labor Day weekend, wildfires destroyed hundreds of Bastrop County homes and thousands of acres of piney woods. For Charles Porter MLA ’07, an instructor of History, the devastation served as a grim reminder of how precarious a situation Texas faces when it comes to water. Porter is an expert on the history of water rights, and he’d like to engage more Texans on the importance of conserving this essential resource. “It is the secret to life on earth,” he says. “And we need to better understand it. And we need to better respect it.” Porter can talk groundwater, surface water, brackish water, the Spanish colonial system versus English common law and more. He understands the struggles faced by the rancher in West Texas, who faces a total lack of water due to drought, and the high-rise developer in Houston, who deals with low-quality water and high sewagetreatment costs. And his message is critical: Texas cannot meet the water demands that continued population growth will bring. “Without water,” Porter says, “cities can’t exist. And we’ve been told we’re running out of water in Texas.”
By Eileen Flynn
“[Water] is the secret to life on earth, and we need to better understand it. And we need to better respect it.” Texans can start conserving water at home by taking shorter showers and turning off the tap when brushing their teeth. But, Porter says, they should also pursue long-term strategies such as funding desalination plants, creating reservoirs and — one of his least popular suggestions — raising rates consumers pay for water. Current rates, Porter says, don’t fully support existing infrastructure, much less investments in sustainable water infrastructure, such as new water treatment plants, distribution lines and storage facilities. St. Edward’s, Porter says, is taking a “quiet lead” on local and global water issues by encouraging personal water conservation, investing in landscaping that uses more drought-tolerant plants and educating students on water-policy issues. He hopes Texans will follow the university’s approach to problem solving that takes into account their moral obligations and the consequences of their actions.
8 ST. EDWARD’S UNIVERSITY
81535 St Eds_.indd 12
1/14/13 10:25 AM