Jeff Walker, a native of Brownwood, has announced his retirement as Executive Administrator of the Texas Water Development Board.
The WHAT???
The Texas Water Development Board is not well known, but is arguably one of the most important agencies of the State of Texas. The TWDB was created by the Texas Legislature in 1913, with its mission “to lead the state’s efforts in ensuring a secure water future for Texas.” The web site for the agency lists three responsibilities: (1) collect and disseminate water-related data; (2) assist with regional water supply and flood planning; and (3) administer cost-effective financial programs for the construction of water supply, wastewater treatment, flood control, and agriculture conservation projects.
Jeff Walker grew up in Brownwood, played linebacker for the state championship football team in 1978, and was graduated from Brownwood High School in 1979. He mentioned the huge influence on his life from coaches Gordon Wood and Morris Southall. In the summers he worked at Carlson Automotive. Childhood friends, and still local residents, Mark Baugh along with Pat and Shannon McShan are still close friends of his. His mother Twila Walker still lives here.
After high school Walker went to college at Texas A & M, where he received a degree in Agriculture Economics. After graduating from A & M he returned to Brownwood and went to work for the Marion Baugh Cattle Company. He enjoyed that initially, “but after six years of being a cowboy 24/7/365, I decided that was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” A chance conversation with Brownwood businessman Stuart Coleman proved fortuitous. He was describing his situation to Coleman, who said “I’m on the Board of the Texas Water Development Board. Maybe you should go to work for them.” Walker had never heard of the TWDB, so Coleman explained that they work with both water and agriculture, and said he thought Walker might have the qualifications they look for. So Walker did apply for a job with the TWDB and was hired in December 1989 as an Agriculture Conservation Specialist. That job involved studying water use in wheat fields, etc., and as he did that he got more interested in what the Texas Water Development Board did across the state. “The more I learned about what the TWDB did, the more interested I got, and I just fell in love with the agency.” Over the course of the years Walker worked in just about every department, including the irrigation assessment, project development, the Office of Water Supply and Infrastructure.
To advance his career, Walker returned to college and earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from Texas State University. He then got into the financial department of the agency and started making loans for water projects. “In fact, one of the first loans I made was to the Brown County Water Improvement District, to expand their water treatment plant in 2005, a $20 million loan.” A few years later the top job at TWDB became available, and Walker applied for it. “I was thinking ‘I’ve been training for this job my entire life.’ I was selected Executive Administrator in 2016 and have served in that position for almost eight years now, and it’s the best job I ever had, because we help the people of Texas get water. I tell people all the time, you don’t need schools, roads, or broadband if you don’t have water.”
Walker explained “Our mission is to secure water for Texas. People take water for granted, because we’ve done such a good job: you turn on your tap, and it’s there. But it takes a lot to get it there, and people don’t always understand that. I’ve been preaching for years now that people need to appreciate water because it’s more valuable than your cell phone, your streaming service, or anything else.”
Water is also an economic development tool, he said. “Brownwood is blessed because the city leaders in the 1930’s realized that having the lake was important to the economics of the area. Not everyone has that opportunity. Now it’s getting harder and harder. If they had not spent that money back then, their grandkids would be suffering now, like a lot of places in Texas are. They are looking for water, and it costs a lot of money. I think Brownwood is blessed to have that lake there. It keeps the cost of water down, and also the availability is there. Not everybody has that.”
The TWDB helps on regional water projects, but also has to look at water resources for the whole state. The population of Texas is now 30 million, and growing rapidly. “I don’t think we are running out of water now. We are running out of the ability to use water the way we are using it now,” Walker said, referring to using treated water on lawns as an example. “That’s not efficient or cost-effective. We have to learn to do things differently to meet the needs of Texas. We have to develop new sources. There is a literal ocean of brackish ground water in Texas, that would last us a century, but we have to learn how to treat that correctly and dispose of the effluent correctly.” When asked what the biggest threat to our water supply is, Walker replied “The biggest threat is that people don’t want to pay for the most essential element they need: water.”
Jeff Walker’s last day as Executive Administrator of the Texas Water Development Board will be March 5. In retirement he plans to travel and spend time with his new granddaughter. But he also wants to stay involved with water. “I want to keep my toes in water, pun intended. I love this agency and what we do. I won’t work for the agency, but I want to be in the water space. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge over the years and I want to continue to give that back, because water is too important for the state and the people. I want my grandkids to have safe water. So I want to continue to try to make that happen.”
Hear! Hear! And here’s a toast (of ice water) to Brownwood native Jeff Walker, for a job well done.