SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 413
	WHEREAS, The population of the State of Texas is projected
	to more than double over the period 2000 to 2060, increasing from
	21 million to 46 million inhabitants; and
	WHEREAS, This population explosion will fuel a 27 percent
	increase in water demand; however, water supplies will decrease
	by 18 percent, primarily because of accumulating sediments in
	reservoirs and depletion of fresh-water aquifers; other Texas
	aquifers contain approximately 2.7 billion acre-feet of brackish
	groundwater, while an inexhaustible supply of seawater is
	available from the Gulf of Mexico; and
	WHEREAS, Desalination of brackish groundwater is already
	providing new water supplies to communities across Texas, from
	Cameron County to San Angelo, with the country's largest inland
	brackish groundwater desalination facility commencing to operate
	soon in El Paso; and
	WHEREAS, Desalination of seawater is a proven technology
	providing water-supply solutions for countries around the globe
	and an increasingly cost-competitive alternative for coastal
	cities of the United States; the first seawater desalination
	plant in Texas is now being piloted in Brownsville, with the goal
	of constructing a large-scale plant in the near future; and
	WHEREAS, Major funding for seawater desalination studies
	has been provided by the Texas Water Development Board through
	appropriations by the Texas Legislature under an initiative
	launched by Governor Rick Perry in April of 2002 to develop
	drought-proof supplies of water for the Lone Star State; and
	WHEREAS, Funding for numerous brackish groundwater
	desalination studies also has been provided by the Texas Water
	Development Board through appropriations by the Texas Legislature
	as a means to accelerate development of new water supplies in rural
	communities; and
	WHEREAS, These projects benefit not only the communities
	they directly serve but also Texas as a whole by freeing up
	existing water resources for new uses and by demonstrating
	technologies and processes that can be applied to other sources;
	and
	WHEREAS, The Texas Water Conservation Association's
	Desalination Coalition and the South Central Membrane
	Association have joined together to promote awareness of
	desalination as a proven technology for increasing water
	supplies in Texas and to support continued investment in Texas
	desalination activities as a practical means of ensuring
	adequate supplies of water for generations of Texans to come;
	now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
	80th Legislature, hereby designate March 7, 2007, Texas Desalination
	Day and encourage ongoing investment in practical applications of
	desalination technology in Texas for the benefit of all citizens;
	and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared in
	honor of Texas Desalination Day.
	Lucio
	________________________________
	President of the Senate
	I hereby certify that the
	above Resolution was adopted by
	the Senate on March 7, 2007.
	________________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	________________________________
	Member, Texas Senate