Federal Judge Orders Texas to Keep Water in Rivers for Whooping Cranes

Environment Texas

AUSTIN – On Mar. 10, a federal judge ruled that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to guarantee sufficient flows of water in the Guadalupe and San Antonio river basins. The court ordered the TCEQ not to approve or grant new water permits affecting the Guadalupe or San Antonio Rivers, “until the state of Texas provides reasonable assurances to the court” that new permits would not result in harm to the whooping cranes. The order was in response to a lawsuit filed by the Aransas Project, an alliance of municipalities, businesses, citizen and organizations, including Environment Texas. Environment Texas Director Luke Metzger released the following statement.

“This is great news for the majestic whooping crane, an icon of Texas wildlife, our coastal estuaries and for the people who love swimming and tubing the Guadalupe River. For too long, the state of Texas has allowed our rivers to be drained, only for the water to be used wastefully. This ruling, combined with Texas’ ongoing drought, should be a wake-up call to the Legislature that we can’t continue with business as usual when it comes to Texas rivers. The state is going to need to do far more to get Texas’ biggest water wasters to conserve water. They should set aside half of any water funding for conservation, reuse and to purchase water rights to keep water in the Guadalupe and San Antonio Rivers.”