As Texas faces an increasingly fraught environmental future from climate change, a new approach to conservation is growing.

Drought conditions have created a two-pronged problem for Texas aquifers, natural bodies of water that move through porous rock underneath the Earth’s surface, and reservoirs. Without rainfall, farmers and ranchers are relying more on those well-established water supplies in the state. And without that same rainfall, the aquifer and reservoir levels can’t be replenished as quickly as they are being depleted.

As the state is losing water, some conservation organizations, mostly nonprofits, and agencies are stepping up to help conserve water by using a new strategy — paying farmers to leave the water in the ground and consume more sustainably.