Tony Sanchez - Texas Water Situation
By: Logan Nauert

In the Texas Gubernatorial Debate on October 9, 2002, Governor Rick Perry stated, "Five months ago, I offered up a very detailed water plan that includes desalination of saltwater and conservation measures to ensure that Texas has a very well thought out -- we've got the water resources that we need for the future. What's your plan to ensure an adequate and affordable supply of water for Texas?" 

Tony Sanchez replied, "Governor, we have got to start with conservation. We cannot continue to spend money the way you want to spend it. You've proposed $192 billion in new expenditures. That's too much money for us to pay. We've got to start with conservation. You've proposed a desalination plant. It costs a million dollars a mile to take that water to some city. You haven't answered that question. I do not want to spend any more money until we make sure that the people of Texas understand we have got to start a conservation program in Texas."

Tony Sanchez obviously has no clue. Water is one of the most important things in any community. Without water, people are forced to restructure their entire lives, and most likely move away. You can't even begin to have anything Sanchez is debating about without water. I will go as far as to say water is THE most important issue concerning West Texas, and all of Texas. Tony Sanchez: you have to start with the basics. He is obviously thinking on a totally different level. Texas is currently going through water shortages, and this problem is projected to worsen as the population grows (as it is expected to greatly grow over the next 10 years). 

We can't control the weather, but we can desalinate saltwater. You can't just sit back and conserve while lakes dry up to nothing. And, the answer is certainly not to do without (conservation). 

Tony Sanchez, you are defeated on this one issue alone.

Governor Perry went on to say, "What Mr. Sanchez didn't tell you is that he recently told the Corpus Christi newspaper that he would copy Europe and allow Texans only two ice cubes per drink. That's his conservation plan. He also proposed a water tax for those individuals who went over for their water use. That's not leadership, and that's certainly not a water plan. Mr. Sanchez, you've been spending too much time in Europe."

source: Texas Debate Watch (.com)

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