San Antonio may be a poster child for water conservation, but State Rep. Lyle Larson, a Republican representing San Antonio, says Texas as a whole needs to adequately address its water issues, before the state not only suffers a water shortage, but also starts losing jobs.

In a discussion today about state water policy hosted by The Texas Tribune at St. Mary’s University, Larson recalled a 1990s lawsuit regarding the Edwards Aquifer that left many companies with the perception that San Antonio would suffer from a water shortage. Several, therefore, opted to set up shop in Dallas and Houston instead of San Antonio. Area leaders responded by forming San Antonio Water System (SAWS) and working to diversify water sources while also conserving. Now, the city uses as much water as it did 25 years ago despite an about 67 percent population growth, said Robert Puente, CEO of SAWS and a former state representative. (Read more about how SAWS accomplished that in San Antonio Magazine’s August 2013 issue.)

If the state doesn’t follow that same lead, Larson said, it too will see jobs land elsewhere. “Our biggest challenge going forward is to make sure we have adequate water,” he said. “Otherwise we’re going to start losing thousands of jobs.”

To begin addressing the state’s water issues, lawmakers have proposed moving $2 billion from the state’s Rainy Day Fund, or surplus, to the Texas Water Development Board for loans toward water infrastructure projects. Voters will decide on the proposal, known as Proposition 6, during the Nov. 5 election.

The question now is, will Texans support the proposal? The Texas Tribune CEO and Editor in Chief Evan Smith, who moderated Tuesday’s forum, pointed out that Texas has some of the worst voter turnouts in the country even during presidential and gubernatorial election years. With neither of those positions on the 2013 ballot, some wonder if there are enough people aware of the state’s water issues to even weigh in on the issue.

Puente said some voters may not be aware of the issues, but he believes the votes are there to pass Proposition 6. “It’s very important for the state,” he said. With 23 communities in Texas having only 180 days or less of groundwater supplies remaining, Larson said he too believes much of the state knows water infrastructure needs to be addressed. “We do have a significant problem,” he said, adding that polls show East Texans don’t overwhelmingly believe the state has water issues but that the remainder of the state does.

The last big push to handle water infrastructure needs took place after the drought of the 1950s, Larson said. It’s now time for Texans to take that step again.

Puente said he hopes other regions will take San Antonio’s lead. San Antonio boasts the nation’s largest recycled water system as well as the third largest underground water storage system. SAWS also charges the lowest water rate of any major Texas city, Puente added. “I would hope the rest of the state starts looking to San Antonio,” he said.

Following San Antonio’s lead—and ultimately supplying water and, in turn, a job-friendly environment—will take collaboration statewide, Larson said, including between regions who have water that can be shared. “We fight each other for water and we’re all within the same borders of Texas,” Larson said. “You don’t see other states doing that.”

He and Puente agreed passing the proposition won’t solve the state’s water situation, but it will be a positive step. “Let’s do what they did in the 1950s and respond to the drought,” Larson said.

Tuesday’s discussion was the first of three that The Texas Tribune will host around the state between now and the Nov. 5 election.