East Texas Water Is On Defense. Watch the Bills.

The House flipped. The water did not move. But somebody is already looking at it.

The plain English version

Democrats are projected to take the Texas House in January. Three East Texas Republicans went on KLTV this week and talked about one thing that should make every landowner from Gilmer to Palestine sit up.

Water.

Our water. The groundwater under East Texas and the lakes we built.

State Rep. Cody Harris of Palestine said it straight: "We in East Texas are unquestionably on defense."

That is not my line. That is a sitting legislator's line. And it is worth talking about.

Why it matters

East Texas has water. A lot of Texas does not.

When a state grows the way Texas is growing, the places with water become the places other people want water from. That is not a conspiracy. That is math.

The question is who decides. Local people with local districts. Or a new majority in Austin that does not answer to anybody in Upshur, Smith, Gregg, Wood or Anderson County.

Session starts in January. The bills get written before that.

The receipt

FACT: Texas regulates groundwater through local groundwater conservation districts under Chapter 36 of the Texas Water Code. Texas Water Code Ch. 36

FACT: The Texas Constitution, Article 16, Section 59, makes conservation of the state's natural resources, including its water, a public right and duty. Tex. Const. Art. 16, Sec. 59

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE: The Texas Tribune reported Democrats were positioned to hold 83 House seats to Republicans' 67 if results hold, with some races not final. Texas Tribune, Nov. 3 to 4, 2026

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE: KLTV reported on Nov. 6 that Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine), who it says chairs the House Natural Resources Committee until January, said: "My goal going into this next session is to make sure I help the rest of the chamber... understand that a short-term benefit in pumping East Texas groundwater is actually a long-term detriment." KLTV, Nov. 6, 2026

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE: Same report. Rep. Cole Hefner (R-Mount Pleasant), whose district KLTV says covers Rains, Wood, Camp, Upshur and northern Smith County, said water is "not really a partisan issue" but a Texas issue.

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE: Same report. Rep. Jay Dean of Longview said: "We took pretty good measures to protect the Cypress Basin, which is Lake of the Pines and Caddo." He also said: "There are no discussions with Dallas at all about our water," and that any talks would have to go through the member cities.

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE: KLTV also reported Harris wants to look at desalination and at the produced water from oil and gas, which he put at more than 200 million barrels a day reinjected into the ground. I have not checked that number against a state source. Treat it as his number. KLTV, Nov. 6, 2026

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE: In a second KLTV piece the same day, Harris said Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa and Sen.-elect James Talarico are "hard left progressives," and Hefner said: "Where we can agree we'll work together and where we don't agree, we're going to have to fight." KLTV, Nov. 6, 2026

What Ryan says

RYAN STATEMENT: I am glad they said it out loud. Now I want to see it in writing.

Saying "we are on defense" on TV is easy. Filing a bill is the receipt.

Here is what I want East Texas to watch:

Which bills touch groundwater district authority. Which bills touch export permits. Which bills touch the Cypress Basin. Who files them. Who co-signs them. Who goes quiet.

Rep. Dean says nobody is talking to Dallas about our water. Good. I take him at his word. Words are a start. Votes are the record.

And to the new majority: water is not red or blue. A farmer in Upshur County drinks the same water as a teacher in Austin. If you want to prove you govern for all of Texas, prove it here first.

This is the record. Same water. Same people. Watch the bills.

What this does not prove

It does not prove anyone has filed a bill to take East Texas water.

It does not prove the new House majority plans to.

It does not prove the 200 million barrel figure. That is a reported quote.

It does not prove any deal with Dallas or any other city exists. Rep. Dean said the opposite.

What it does prove

Three East Texas lawmakers are saying, on the record, that our water is a target worth defending.

One of them chairs the committee that handles it, at least until January.

The majority in the House is projected to change hands.

And the bill filing window is about to open.

The bottom line

East Texas water is not a talking point. It is a resource that belongs to the people standing on top of it.

The lawmakers say they are on defense. Fine. Show me the playbook.

Show me the bills. Show me the votes. Show me the evidence.

Do not threaten anyone. Do not harass anyone. Do not contact anyone in my name. Read it. Share it. Send receipts, evidence, witnesses. Put eyes on the record.