AUSTIN -- Sen. Robert Nichols warned a group of visiting constituents from Cedar Creek Lake that legislators from other parts of the state would be looking to East Texas to help them ride out the ongoing drought. "Basically, we have the water, and everybody else wants it," said Nichols to a group led to Austin by Cedar Creek Lake Area Chamber of Commerce President Jo Ann Hanstrom. Nichols, who lives in Jacksonville and represents the 19 counties of District 3, said he has learned "water belongs to whomever the Legislature says it does." The drought of 2011 that saw Cedar Creek Lake's water level drop to eight-feet below normal showed how critical the demand for water could become in Texas, said the senator, who was first elected in 2006. "They think it was the single worst year in the state's history," Nichols said. The drought is far from over, and water will become "crucial" in East Texas as the population continues to swell in the coming half-century, he said. Rick Rhodes, a Texas Department of Agriculture Commission representative, said the state's cattle herd has dropped to its lowest point since 1952 as a result of the drought. That has led to layoffs in the meat packing industry and even the closing of at least one plant in the state, he said. Nichols said he envisions political leaders from other parts of the state proposing pipelines "big enough for people to walk in" being constructed to transport water to West Texas and other water-poor parts of the state. Nichols said the state is behind in planning for water needs because no new big reservoirs like Cedar Creek Lake have been built in the last four decades. Cedar Creek Lake was completed in 1965 as a water source for Tarrant County. Another challenge facing legislators is how to fund the construction and maintenance of Texas' highway and smaller road systems, said Nichols, who served as transportation commissioner for eight years before running for the Texas Senate. Fuel taxes that fund transportation systems have "flattened out," and other sources of revenue must be found to bring highways and roads up to standard, he said. A solution to that problem is a dozen years overdue,and the state now has a $22 billion transportation deficit, he said. Nichols said he will back a plan to dedicate the sales taxes collected on automobile purchases to the transportation system rather than the general fund where it now goes. The transfer to should be dedicated in amounts of 10 percent over a 10-year period until all of it is being used for transportation, he said. "That's my idea, and I'll be arguing that case," Nichols said. Nichols said the third big issue of the 83rd Legislative Session would be education, and that he plans to visit all of the 102 school districts in District 3 to get input from educators about what is needed in East Texas. Nichols said another area of concern is health care because the federal health care bill known as "Obama Care" that is going into effect will add 30 million new patients. In addition to the financial effect, there will be an overload on existing medical personnel. In his closing remarks, Nichols said East Texas should fare better than other parts of the state because of the large population and commercial growth that is expected. "You all have a very bright future," Nichols said.