Texas Water Development Board

Texas created a $1.4 billion fund to help pay for projects to guard against destructive flooding. But after learning that so many local communities turned down the money, two lawmakers who approved the program acknowledged it was flawed.

If passed, the proposition would dedicate $1 billion a year to water projects.

No new taxes would be collected for the package that would give the state's water department $1 billion to spend on projects like cleaning salty water, flood control and reservoirs.

New laws range from school vouchers and water infrastructure funding to a ban on city and county-funded abortion travel funds.

The first State Flood Plan, published last year, identified $54 billion in flood mitigation, warning and data needs. The state has awarded around $660 million since the plan was published, with a special legislative session coming.

Gov. Greg Abbott has made water a priority for this legislative session. Lawmakers will debate whether to invest more into new water supplies or repairing old, leaking pipes around Texas.

The United States denied Mexico’s request for a special delivery of Colorado River water on Thursday, citing Mexico’s ongoing failure to meet its obligations under an 80-year-old water-sharing treaty between the two countries.

The state House and Senate have similar proposals to solve the state's water crisis, but there are stark differences on how to invest billions of dollars to resolve.

As the population of Texas continues to grow, the water level is dropping fast. Recently state lawmakers discussed the feasibility of utilizing the Gulf…