Louisiana is receiving little cash for a natural resource scarce in many Western states: water. For more than half a century, the state has given away much of its water to private industry and sold the rest without knowing its actual value.
The issue was the focal point of a report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office presented Thursday at a meeting of the state’s Water Resources Commission. The public board proposes legislation to regulate and conserve the state’s freshwater resources, including underground aquifers and surface sources such as lakes, rivers and streams.
Auditor Gina Brown told commissioners that researchers have called on state authorities since 1956 to develop a comprehensive water management plan. Other states want to purchase Louisiana’s water, yet numerous aquifers and water basins across the state are experiencing decreases in their supply, Brown said.
During the 2020-2021 fiscal year, industrial users requested to withdraw 1.54 trillion gallons of surface water at a rate of 15 cents per 1,000 gallons, Brown said. That figure covers only companies that voluntarily pay for the water and report how much they use as part of an agreement with the state Department of Natural Resources.
Despite the Louisiana Constitution prohibiting the state from donating things of value, the DNR program is voluntary. Only 87 entities have active agreements to pay for surface water withdrawals. The money, which totaled just over $300,000 last fiscal year, goes into DNR’s Aquatic Plant Control Fund. Among other findings, the audit report recommends the agreements become mandatory.
Multiple studies stretching back six decades have urged Louisiana authorities to develop a statewide water management plan to determine the amount of groundwater and surface water available and its fair market value, Brown said. Over the years, lawmakers have passed various pieces of legislation to develop such a plan, but several barriers remain.
Read the full story from Louisiana Illuminator, and see a recent Business Report package on Baton Rouge’s aquifer here.
