Texas Water Development Board approves $300,000,000 to the Coastal Water Authority (Harris County) for an interbasin transfer project

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AUSTIN – (July 23, 2015) – The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today approved by resolution financial assistance in the amount of $300,000,000 from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) to the Coastal Water Authority (Harris County). The assistance will allow the Authority to finance the construction of the Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer project.

The Authority will construct a pump station, a pipeline, and a clay-lined open canal with the assistance approved today. The project will transfer surface water from the Trinity River to Lake Houston and help meet the water demands of the Authority's service area. The Authority delivers most of its water to the City of Houston.

The Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer, along with the five projects sponsored by the Central Harris County Regional Water Authority, the City of Houston, the North Fort Bend Water Authority, the North Harris County Regional Water Authority, and the West Harris County Regional Water Authority, is part of a large regional water supply project for the Houston area. The total amount approved today for all six partners in the project was approximately $3 billion over the next decade, with $211,000,000 requested for 2015.

The TWDB is the state agency charged with collecting and disseminating water-related data, assisting with regional planning, and preparing the state water plan for the development of the state's water resources. The TWDB administers cost-effective financial assistance programs for the construction of water supply, wastewater treatment, flood control, and agricultural water conservation projects.