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In this conversation recorded on February 6, 2025, Brian Richter, President of Sustainable Waters, trades places with Talk+Water host, Dr. Todd H. Votteler, to interview him about "Water Markets for Texas." In 2025, Texas 2036 published "Water Markets for Texas" a major multi-year report analyzing how voluntary, well-structured water markets have operated in two regions of the state and what lessons they offer for any Texas communities preparing for its long-term water needs.

The report, authored by Votteler with contributions from Gabriel Collins, J.D., and Dr. Matthew Berg, draws on five decades of hydrologic data, regulatory analysis and interviews with Texas water managers, groundwater leaders, and Western water experts to understand the conditions that enable regional markets to function and why those conditions exist in only a few parts of Texas today. The report goes beyond Texas with lessons for establishing of new water markets that are applicable in other states.

Votteler is a former federal special master and river authority executive with expertise in conflict resolution, stakeholder engagement, and policy development. Votteler is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Water Journal and Texas+Water, and the host of the Talk+Water podcast. He is a Fellow of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, a Visiting Scholar at The Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin, and a Board Member for the Whitefish Lake Institute.

Brian Richter has been a global leader in water science and conservation for more than 30 years. He is the President of Sustainable Waters, a global organization focused on water scarcity challenges, where he promotes sustainable water use and management with governments, corporations, universities, and local communities. He previously served as Director of the Global Water Program of The Nature Conservancy, an international conservation organization. Brian has consulted on more than 170 water projects worldwide. He serves as a water advisor to some of the world’s largest corporations, investment banks, and the United Nations, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on multiple occasions. He teaches Water Sustainability at the University of Virginia.

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In this conversation, Dr. Todd Votteler, Principal of Collaborative Water Resolution and Editor-in-Chief of Texas+Water and the Texas Water Journal, moderates the 2025 Public Administration Symposium at Austin College in Sherman, Texas.

On October 29, 2025, at the invitation of Professor Frank Rohmer, I provided the keynote talk for the Public Administration Symposium at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. The symposium, which was titled “The Challenge of Water in Fast Growing Texas,” was sponsored by the Sumner Foundation and presented by the Austin College Pre-Law Society. The symposium was held less than a week before Texas voters approved Proposition 4, an important new funding program for Texas water infrastructure and new supplies. As part of the symposium I moderated its two panels which proceeded my talk. These panels focused on regional water issues and how the funding contemplated under Proposition 4 might impact water management in Texas.

Panel 1 included: Galen Roberts, Director of Water Resources for the North Texas Municipal Water District; Jason Pierce, Director of Governmental Affairs & Communications for the Upper Trinity Regional Water District; and Dr. Peter Schultze, Professor of Biology & Environmental Science at Austin College.

Panel 2 included: David Kelly, Government Affairs Manager for the North Texas Municipal Water District; Wayne Lee, Director of Engineering for the City of Sherman; and finally Perry Fowler, Executive Director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network.

The following discussion provided important insights into the current and future water needs of this rapidly growing region where multiple multibillion dollar semiconductor factories are already under construction.

Take a deep dive into the world of water with those making waves!

Also, just a note that Talk+Water has been ranked as one of the top water podcasts in the world by FeedSpot and MillionPodcasts!

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In this conversation, Dr. Todd Votteler, Principal of Collaborative Water Resolution and Editor-in-Chief of Texas+Water and the Texas Water Journal, discusses the key water planning, finance, and regulatory institutions of Texas and some of the current issues and challenges facing the state with Brooke Paup, Chairwoman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Brooke Paup was appointed Chairwoman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) by Governor Greg Abbott in January of 2025. Prior to her appointment to TCEQ, Paup served on the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) beginning in 2018. In 2021, Governor Greg Abbott appointed Paup as the first woman chair in the history of TWDB. Prior to 2018, she served as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, in the Office of the Attorney General, and at the Office of State-Federal Relations in Washington, D.C. Paup has 19 years of state government experience.

In 2021, Paup was awarded the Texas Water Foundation's Rainmaker Award, which acknowledges exceptional leaders making lasting impacts in Texas water. She was also recently the recipient of the 2023-2024 Public Official of the Year Award from the Water Environment Association of Texas.

Paup has a Bachelor of Arts from Texas A&M University and a Juris Doctor from Texas Tech School of Law.

Take a deep dive into the world of water with those making waves!

Also, just a note that Talk+Water has been ranked as one of the top water podcasts in the world by FeedSpot and MillionPodcasts!