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The future of water management, electric operations and growth along the lower Colorado River will be shaped by decisions made today, officials said last week.
Phil Wilson, general manager and CEO of the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), spoke on infrastructure and economic development with area business leaders at the Taylor Chamber of Commerce Power Breakfast Nov. 20. He said Central Texas is entering a decadeslong era of unprecedented growth — one that will put new pressure on the Colorado River system.
“We’re living in an extraordinary time — I don’t believe this is going to slow down,” Wilson said. “Either you’re growing or you’re dying.”
According to Wilson, who has led LCRA since 2014, the river remains at the center of the authority’s mission. He outlined LCRA’s efforts to improve electric reliability, expand transmission operations and secure water supply — which only accounts for about 4% of its revenue.
Wilson said the agency recently surveyed its customers and found they will need an additional 60,000 acre-feet of water over the next 14 years, not including the surge of data centers and industrial users tied to the region’s tech growth.
“Water is the most significant challenge we face,” Wilson said. “All the easy stuff has been done. We’re not building another Highland Lakes.”
To meet rising water demand, LCRA is looking at aquifer storage and recovery, expanded reuse and the possible construction of another off-channel reservoir between Austin and La Grange.
Wilson estimated project costs could reach $1 billion.
The authority also opened a new reservoir in Wharton County in 2023 to help free up more water upstream, including for communities like Bastrop and Columbus that rely heavily on the river.
As for the state’s power needs, Electric Reliability Council of Texas records show peak load demand was about 85,000 megawatts last year and could reach 110,000 by 2030.
“That’s a 40%-plus increase in five years. It’s a lot — and it has to be built very quickly,” Wilson said.
LCRA is constructing facilities like the Timmerman Power Plant in Caldwell County to help match demand.
According to Wilson, the growing need is driven largely by the rise of artificial intelligence and data centers along the Texas 130 corridor. One new 380-megawatt plant can power about 100,000 homes, or one major data center.
“When AI uses its brain, it uses 10 times as much electricity,” Wilson said. “This is a national security issue. It’s an issue where you have to win.”
Wilson said the agency is trying to ensure local communities remain protected and keep water flowing even as industrial demand accelerates. That includes investments in flood management, reliability improvements and transmission construction.
LCRA’s annual capital plan for transmission projects has grown from $180 million a decade ago to $1.3 billion this year, according to Wilson. The five-year capital plan totals $7.5 billion.
“1,500 people a day are moving to Texas. They’re not bringing roads with them, they’re not bringing water and they’re not bringing infrastructure,” he said. “We have to plan, and we have to build.”
LCRA manages dams, reservoirs, water rights, power plants and nearly 5,000 miles of transmission lines along the Colorado River basin.
