The Water We Already Have: Scaling Municipal Reuse for Water Resilient Texas

• Jennifer Walker and Dr. Sarah Diringer
• Sep 17, 2026

Texas is facing a growing water supply gap, driven by rapid population growth, increasing demand, and intensifying droughts. Municipal water reuse offers one of the most significant and underutilized opportunities to help close that gap while strengthening drought resilience, supporting economic growth, and protecting rivers and aquifers. This report examines the role that water reuse can and will play in advancing statewide sustainability, including the role water reuse plays in the State Water Plan, case studies for successful water reuse planning and implementation, opportunities for accelerating water reuse, and policy recommendations at the state and local levels to help scale water reuse.