R L Wilson Law Firm San Antonio Real Estate Attorneys

04/29/2026

IF THIS DOESN’T MOTIVATE YOU TO CONSERVE WATER, NOTHING WILL…

💧 A Texas water crisis is starting to hit more than just homes.

Restaurants and a major grocery chain are already adjusting as Corpus Christi braces for what could come next. The ripple effects stretch beyond the city, and one Texas staple may be caught in the middle.

04/27/2026

A $1 billion seawater desalination plant is now being planned for South Padre Island, designed to produce up to 50 million gallons of drinking water per day for the Rio Grande Valley.

This is a significant shift in how South Texas is thinking about water. For generations, the region has relied heavily on the Rio Grande. That model is under strain from drought, population growth, and international supply issues.

Desalination changes the equation. It creates a new water source that is not tied to river flows or traditional groundwater limits. But it comes at a cost. These projects are expensive, heavily regulated, and often face environmental and infrastructure challenges, especially along the coast.

If this project moves forward, it will reshape how water is sourced, priced, and delivered across the Valley. It is worth watching closely.

A new $1 billion privately financed desalination plant is coming to South Padre Island. Designed to produce 50 million gallons of fresh water daily, the facility aims to provide a sustainable, drought-proof water supply for the Rio Grande Valley.

04/10/2026

The taxpayers of Texas are financially incentivizing the data centers that are straining our water supplies and electrical grid.

The tax break is one of the state’s costliest incentive programs and soon to be the most expensive of its kind in the nation.

03/18/2026

Texas is slipping deeper into a prolonged drought, with the latest U.S. Drought Monitor showing nearly the entire state abnormally dry and about 81.8% in drought. Roughly half of Texas is now in severe drought or worse, and about one in five acres is in extreme to exceptional drought.

03/17/2026

DAY 26 The Price of Water

In South Texas we are learning something most places never have to think about.

The price of water is not always the same as the value of water.

A price can be written into a contract.
A price can be placed into a bond election.
A price can be calculated per thousand gallons.

But value is something different.

Water holds a different meaning depending on who is asking for it.

To industry, water is fuel.

It cools machinery.
It runs refineries.
It powers data centers.
It moves through pipelines the way electricity moves through wires.

In that world, water is measured in scale.

Millions of gallons a day.

But to the people who live here, water means something else.

It is the bay where families fish.

It is the estuaries where birds return every winter.

It is the marshes that protect the coast.

It is the quiet understanding that this landscape has always lived on the edge of drought.

In that world, water is measured in balance.

South Texas now sits at the intersection of those two realities.

A growing industrial engine that needs enormous volumes of water.

And a coastal ecosystem that has survived for generations because that water remained in balance.

Neither side can simply be ignored.

But pretending the tension does not exist will not solve it either.

The real work ahead is not choosing between water and progress.

It is deciding how water is valued.

Who pays for it.
Who uses it.
And how much of it must remain in the system that sustains the land itself.

These are not simple questions.

But they are necessary ones.

Because the price of water can be written into a contract.

The value of water is written into the future.

And that is why the lantern stays lit.

South Texas Water Watch

03/07/2026

Looking forward to presenting to the Independent Brokers of America this afternoon on two of my very favorite topics - Groundwater and Real Estate.

Exciting things are happening in the world of Texas Water Law. With more than 1.75 million groundwater wells dug in Texas since 1900, rapid urbanization of recently rural areas, and new water related seller’s disclosures, real estate professional competency requires basic knowledge of water regulation.

03/06/2026

Bastrop Texas is fighting Darling Ingredients over foul odor in the air. What are your thoughts? Have you been affected by this?

02/28/2026

02/27/2026

Data centers don’t just threaten water and energy supply. We’re just scratching the surface of the full scope of long term adverse effects.

02/27/2026

Produced water is one of many existing opportunities to supplement dwindling supplies. Texas should lead the way in developing treatment and supply strategies for produced water, together with a reasonable scheme for regulating ownership, permitting and use!

State Sen. Charles Perry says Texas is close to TCEQ permits for produced water reuse, aiding farms and industry as treatment costs fall.