Texas is touted as an energy powerhouse, leading the nation in crude oil and natural gas production, wind power generation capacity, and total energy production. Texas’ water supply, roads, schools, and other infrastructure are increasingly inadequate to support the population and sustain the state’s industrial practices. As the Texas population has grown, and especially with the current energy industry boom, funding has failed to keep pace with the public need for basic infrastructure. In 2012, the Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers independently reviewed the state’s infrastructure and issued Texas roads, schools, drinking water, dams, and flood control a grade of “D” or below.
The most immediate investment need to sustain Texas’ energy boom is in water infrastructure. Fracking a single well requires two to five million gallons of water per frack, and with over 200 wells as of July 2014 in the Eagle Ford Shale alone, drillers are increasingly competing with people and agriculture for water supplies. Though companies are developing various solutions such as “dry fracks” in which liquid frack fluid is replaced by gas, or using desalination or recycling technology to create water suitable for fracking, most wells today use freshwater.
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