Texas Water Development Board approves $1,500,000 in agricultural water conservation grants

For immediate release. Contact: Media Relations at 512-463-5129

AUSTIN – (June 25, 2026) – The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) approved $1,500,000 in grants through its Agricultural Water Conservation Grants Program. The program offers grant funding to state agencies and political subdivisions for activities that promote water conservation in the state.

The grant recipients include:

$500,000 to Bayview Irrigation District No. 11 to complete Phase 2 of a main canal conversion project with 1,325 linear feet of pipe that will account for over 62 acre-feet of water savings annually.
$166,125 to the Donna Irrigation District to design, procure and implement two portable farm outlet supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems to enable irrigators to accurately measure flow at any field location.
$300,000 to the Edwards Aquifer Authority for its Irrigation Efficiency Improvement Grant Program, which incentivizes irrigation permit holders to transition from older, less efficient practices to more efficient, water-conserving methods and technologies.
$55,000 to the Edwards Aquifer Authority for its Water Efficiency with Cover Crops project that will assess long-term effects of cover crop strategies on soil water dynamics, water use efficiency, soil health, and crop yield in row crop systems.
$50,000 to the Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District to provide cost‑share assistance to install flow meters on producers’ irrigation wells and track annual pumpage across the district.
$91,006 to the Maverick County Water Control and Improvement District No.1 to implement a gate seal replacement project to reduce water losses, improve hydraulic control, and generate measurable water savings within the District’s irrigation system.
$50,000 to the Engelman Irrigation District to convert a 1,320 linear foot segment of its main canal to a 30-inch PVC pipeline—which will eliminate seepage and evaporation losses.
$155,000 to the Delta County Soil and Water Conservation District #443 for the purchase of no-till equipment, which will enable local farmers and ranchers to adopt proven water conservation practices by providing access to the equipment through a structured loan program.
$29,003 to Chambers-Liberty Counties Navigation District to procure and install three sonar‑beam flow measurement devices within the lateral canal system. The devices will quantify actual water use in crawfish production by measuring volume applied per acre, replacing the current flat-rate estimation method.
$103,866 to Sandy Land Underground Water Conservation District to analyze whether treated produced water from nearby oil and gas development could serve as a supplemental irrigation supply. The evaluation will assess treatment feasibility, recoverable volumes, delivery options, and producer economics to determine whether produced water reuse could support future groundwater conservation strategies.

These grants will support the implementation of conservation strategies outlined in the regional and state water plans and promote innovation and water conservation in agricultural irrigation throughout the state.

Visit the TWDB Agricultural Water Conservation webpage to learn more about this program and examples of previously funded projects.