MENTONE, Texas — On a recent afternoon, leaders of the V.V. Water Company visited Loving County officials to talk about how they could help the West Texas county meet its growing water needs.

Loving County, which has 95 residents, according to a 2013 Census Bureau estimate, making it the least populated county in the lower 48 states, has a public water supply system. But with the Permian Basin’s flourishing oil and gas industry, county officials expect that they will need more water to accommodate growth.

Loving County Judge Skeet Jones said it would not take much construction to affect the county’s resources. Just in the unincorporated community of Mentone, he said, three houses are being built.

“If a family of four moves into each housing unit,” Jones said, “that’ll be 12 people that will increase our population nearly 13 to 14 percent.”

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