Jim Malewitz, energy reporter for the Texas Tribune, moderated the Private Property Rights Town Hall, which was sponsored by Hargrove Ranch Insurance. The town hall offered discussions on surface water use and emi- nent domain.


“I see it out in rural Texas now. Laws have been


on the books for the water rights for decades, but never mattered because there was plenty of water.” But when the water dried up, Bradbury said, who had the senior or prior water rights became a huge deal. “We’ve had to shift into hyperdrive in last 2


years to regulate water at the most granular level. Nobody likes the word regulate,” but when there is an absence of water, groups of water users expect somebody else to make the water-use sacrifi ces, Bradbury says. This results in continuing tension between rural


and urban interests over a declining supply. “Even if drought goes away, Austin is still growing and people are going to need more and more water.” Shaw agrees about the confl ict between munici-


pal and rural water use. He pointed out that most of the 1,200 new people coming into Texas every day are not employed in agriculture, and lawmakers don’t seem to be getting any better at understand- ing this issue. Bradbury pointed out the different opinions cities


have about water use. “Folks in Wichita Falls are scared (about scarce water supplies), but in Fort Worth the city council declined to make watering restrictions permanent due to citizen opposition.” Shaw said municipalities tend to judge agricul-


62 The Cattleman June 2014


According to Bryan Shaw, Ph.D., P.E., chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas gains 1,200 new citizens a day. “There are a lot more folks, and a lot more demand for the water that’s there.”


ture as the largest water waster because it is the larg- est water user in the state. This points to the need for agriculture to tout its successes in water-use improve- ments and conservation and emphasize that the water is used to provide food and fi ber for state and world. Bradbury said, “I believe agriculture and rural in-


terests need to do a better job of messaging. We do a good job of complaining in the coffee shop about cities, but we don’t do a good job of explaining our message to the cities. Our story needs to be told better to have a bigger effect in the Legislature. “I go a lot of water conferences and city council


meetings,” Bradbury said. “There are lots of people in there who don’t wear boots. They’ll tell you most of the water is with agriculture, and they don’t realize the strategic importance of having that water out there to raise beef and crops.” Shaw agrees that getting this message out is tough,


but it must be done. He commends Texas Commis- sioner of Agriculture Todd Staples for his efforts to help homeowners use water more effi ciently. Shaw pointed out that Staples’ message to homeowners contained a positive note about the importance of having water for agriculture. “The coffee shop is not the end-all,” Shaw said. He urges ranchers to be a part of the statewide conversation on how to deal with drought. Moderator Malewitz returned to Shaw’s earlier


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