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Water for Texas by Texans #Texans, even the newcomers know who they are. We know who we are. We are #resilient. We understand the essential connection between water and economic vitality. Leaders stepped up and voters ratified a $1 billion investment. That investment will be lengthened and straightened matched by federal and local dollars. It’s a start. Communities across the state are struggling as #infrastructure deteriorates and as existing water sources are largely insufficient to meet future needs. Among the greatest challenges, the growing Rio Grande Valley, suffering from #drought, is hard hit by Mexico’s failure to deliver water in accordance with a decades-old treaty. It is time to “stop whining” about Mexico’s failure to fulfill its water treaty obligations to the U.S., says Texas AgricultureCommissioner Sid Miller, and for Texas do what we do, buck up, find new sources, invest and get ready to face a vibrant future. Anser Advisory Robert Sheets https://lnkd.in/ggEfCAqS

We can look to the Lower Rio Grande Valley (#RGV) to see a bleak future. The study, Estimated Economic Impacts of Irrigation Water Shortages on Lower Rio Grande Valley #Agriculture, estimates a potential 2024 total #loss in #economic output of over $993.2 million due to the absence of irrigation water for crop production in the region. The drought. Mexico’s failure to deliver under the 1944 water #treaty. The fear is that this is just the beginning is real. We have no control over drought (or hurricanes for that matter) we can pressure but have not forced Mexico to live up to their contractual obligations. We must find a way forward. Thinking #regionally, thinking #sustainably, thinking about the future. Anser Advisory Robert Sheets https://lnkd.in/gyycDxbv

Water #exports move water from where it is to where it is needed, but #concerns to the area of origin must be addressed and local uses #protected and #impacts #mitigated. #groundwater

Water, and lack thereof, impacts all. It is not just about #agriculture. It is about agriculture, food security, #jobs, #economy, #sustainability, #affordability, and survival. We must find a better way as it relates to #water and the Rio Grande. https://lnkd.in/gnV6jB9s

Governing magazine says that as we build infrastructure we need to be just and sustainable. The new federal funds should be targeted to projects that protect communities from climate change and promote social and economic mobility. Governments have hundreds of #projects where this could be done. Infrastructure projects are massive undertakings with #policy and #direction provided by elected officials and staff and #implemented by contractors. Between the two can be found the owner’s #representative. The owner’s rep is in place to ensure that both the owner’s intent and the contractor’s #priorities are aligned. The owner’s rep keeps the project on budget and on time and ensures the right communities are engaged and that the staff is fully and regularly briefed. When #governments establish their goals for a project they can include sustainability and equity. And, if those are goals, they must be included in both the construction and the outreach requirements for the project. Robert Sheets Anser Advisory

In South Florida, a water management district has sued its contractor over performance on a $560 million reservoir. From the beginning, the district slipped delivery dates but we know how this works, big projects face delays and issues, in this case COVID, labor shortages, supply chain issues and other external, virtually uncontrollable factors. As issues eased, the district appealed to the contractor to get the project back on track. Subcontractors have continued to work even after the prime was fired. The prime sued and the district counter-sued to recover costs. What a mess. The district is caught between spending taxpayer dollars in litigation in order to recover taxpayer expenditures from a contractor that, they believe, failed. The contractor was faced, they believed, with nationwide challenges and that with more time they could have resolved. A terrible situation. A situation that a owner’s representative might have been positioned to resolve. Without an owners rep, a court will decide while a top-priority project inches forward. #litigation #projectdelivery #costs Robert Sheets Anser Advisory