Will lead Rio Grande Initiative
A $3 million grant to improve irrigation efficiency and agricultural and urban water conservation throughout the Rio Grande watershed is being coordinated by the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI).
The Congressionally-funded project involves research and extension professionals from the Texas A&M University (TAMU) System Agriculture Program and New Mexico State University. TAMUS Agricultural Program activities in this project will be coordinated by TWRI Executive Director Bill Harris. Other partners include the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Texas Water Development Board, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service, and local and county governments.
“In this area, which is perennially impacted by water shortages, it is essential that regional, state, and federal agencies work together with local groups to make the most efficient use of available water,” Harris said.
TWRI Director C. Allan Jones said this project will provide strategies that can be used by all parties that rely on water resources in the region. “If we can develop a system that encourages agricultural and municipal water conservation in a coordinated manner, everyone will benefit.”
The project, which began in June 2001 through 2004, involves nine major tasks. Working with irrigation district managers, project personnel will examine the water use efficiency of local agencies and provide education and training to their personnel. Institutional incentives for efficient water use will be explored. On-farm technologies to make irrigation systems more efficient will be tested. Opportunities to boost water conservation in urban landscapes will be identified. Other aspects of the project are to investigate environmental and ecological issues of area watersheds, to assess the potential use of saline and reused waters, and to model the hydrology of the region. TWRI will coordinate the work of this team to provide project oversight and responsibility and to communicate results of these efforts.
Lead TAMU researchers in this study include Ari Michelsen, Naomi Assadian, Seiichi Miyamoto, Zhuping Sheng and Howari Fares of the TAMU Agricultural Research and Extension Center at El Paso, and Bob Wiedenfeld, Paul Colaizzi, and John Robinson of the TAMU Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Weslaco. Other participants include John Ellis, Ron Lacewell, Ed Rister of the TAMU Agricultural Economics Department, Jim Gilley of the TAMU Agricultural Engineering Department, Richard White and Gene Taylor of the Soil and Crop Sciences Department, and Suresh Pillai of the Poultry Science Department. Other scientists located at agricultural research centers throughout Texas include Giovanni Piccinni and Keith Owens of the TAMU Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Uvalde, and Raul Cabrera of the TAMU Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Dallas, Raghavan Srinivasan of the Spatial Sciences Laboratory, and Ranjan Muttiah of the Blackland Research and Extension Center at Temple.
TAMU extension personnel who will play key roles in this project include Bruce Lesikar and Guy Fipps of the Agricultural Engineering Department, Mark McFarland and Monty Dozier of the Soil and Crop Sciences Department, Mike Masser and Neal Wilkins of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department, and Janie Harris of the Family Development and Resource Management unit. Other participating Extension Service personnel include Charles Stichler of the TAMU Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Uvalde, and El Paso County agents Ruben Saldana , Ray Bader, and Daphne Richards.
