Water is also looking into applying for a state loan or grant from the Texas Water Development Board, he said, to further lessen the burden on residential customers. “I think what we would say in West Texas is, ‘It’s all hat and no cattle.’”Ĭarter said the company had since secured a “substantial number” of leases with landowners in Val Verde County, and some oil and gas companies in the region were considering proposals to become customers, making the pipeline affordable for homeowners in these communities. “About all they had was a real pretty little brochure,” Morrison said. Water did not have any pumps, wells or financing, the city doubted that the terms of the contract could have been fulfilled. San Angelo Mayor Dwain Morrison said it was less expensive for the city to continue providing its own water. But this time is different, the company says, because it is trying to entice area oil and gas companies as customers to help lower the potential cost for the small communities. Water to supply larger cities like San Antonio and San Angelo fell through amid skepticism and opposition from various environmental groups and local governments, many of which are vowing to fight this venture as well. With the drought now plaguing the state, plans to tap water-rich areas to benefit drier regions are growing in popularity, but critics say such endeavors hurt the ecosystem of the region losing water.

“We’ll be spending a lot of nights in Loving County and places nearby.”Ĭarter is among those spearheading the company’s latest attempt to secure customers for the rich groundwater supply in the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer in Val Verde County, where Del Rio and much of the Devil’s River are, and pipe it to 13 sparsely populated Permian Basin counties. “Things of this magnitude need to have a special effort,” Carter said.

Water Company in Beeville, said the company had met with leaders in area counties about building a pipeline to bring in water from Val Verde County, hundreds of miles south of the Permian Basin. Joe Carter, managing director of the V.V.

Water bridge in venture towns