The interests of cities will not take precedence over the interests of farmers and ranchers.
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The Texas Supreme Court on Friday handed a victory to farmers, ranchers and other longstanding water rights holders by declining to take up a Brazos River case with widespread implications for future water battles in drought-prone Texas.
Denying a state petition for review, the justices left in place a lower court’s ruling that said Texas cannot give special treatment to cities or power generators over more “senior” water rights holders on parched rivers — even if the state declares it necessary to protect the “public health, safety and welfare.”
That means some cities, power generators or others with more “junior” river rights would need to pay up or go thirsty when severe drought strikes.
The Texas Farm Bureau, which challenged a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality policy giving cities preferential treatment in certain water skirmishes, hailed the Supreme Court’s decision to leave in place an April 2015 decision from the 13th Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi.
