LCRA water subsidized by electric
According to a commentary in the Highlander News, the $320 million that the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) has spent on their water business does not even generate enough revenue to pay the interest on the debt. The water utility survives only because the electric utility brings in enough to offset the losses.
How do they plan on turning things around? Business as usual: they plan to spend another $100 million sending more water out to developments in the Hill Country to promote even more urban sprawl. Digging water lines out into the Hill Country will raise property values and make them ripe for development. This makes the tax dollars approved by the voters for protecting natural areas water resources have much less of an impact. Instead of working with the other local governments and citizens, the LCRA seems to be run by and for the development community to promote the financial gain of a few developers at the expense of the vast majority.
Business as usual.