Archive for 2004

Conserving in the Winter Garden

Pumping restrictions, limited water require efficient irrigation
By Jenna Smith, November 2004
For more information regarding this subject, contact:
Giovanni Piccinni
(830) 278-9151
g-piccinni@tamu.edu
Efficient water use in the Rio Grande Basin is critical to conserving limited supplies. Limited water availability and pumping restrictions have impacted both urban and agricultural water users, necessitating the use of efficient methods for conserving water.
By [...]

November 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Meeting West Texas’ water needs

Program combines new technologies to protect water supply
By Jenna Smith, November 2004
For more information regarding this subject, contact:
Mike Mecke
(915) 336-8585
mbmecke@ag.tamu.edu
For the first time, a water conservation program combining all current technologies to protect water supplies is underway in the semiarid and arid, desert region of West Texas.
Mike Mecke, extension specialist with Texas Cooperative Extension and [...]

November 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Meeting Water Quality Standards in Buck Creek

By Jenna Smith
Originating from saltwater seeps and springs in the Texas Panhandle, beautiful Buck Creek flows through Donley, Childress, and Collingsworth counties in the Red River Basin of Texas. Buck Creek is a subwatershed of the Lower Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. The watershed is almost exclusively comprised of agricultural cropland and [...]

October 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Texas Groundwater 2004

Towards Sustainability
The concern for Texas’ groundwater supplies has caused our state legislature to consider making significant changes in groundwater law. As a Texan, it is important for you to understand the potential new laws surrounding this viable water source in our state. As a service to you, a 3-day groundwater conference entitled Texas Groundwater 2004 [...]

October 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Subsurface Drip Irrigation Reaching New Depths

By Kellie Potucek
A growing number of ranches bordering urban cities in Texas are being sold off as suburbanized “ranchettes,” and new owners are asking how they can maximize the use of their land. Many owners desire to raise livestock for 4-H or recreational purposes, but do not have the time or labor to manage grazing [...]

October 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Dairy Manure Compost in Action

By Jenna Smith
Counties throughout the Bosque and Leon River Watersheds have a firsthand opportunity to view the benefits of dairy manure compost. By utilizing nutrient-rich dairy compost on lawns and athletic fields, county residents have learned that using compost as a soil amendment is a viable alternative to traditional inputs and benefits their local environment [...]

October 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Standardizing Secondary Wastewater Treatment

Subsurface Flow Constructed Wetlands
By Kellie Potucek
As the population in Texas’ rural and suburban regions rapidly increases, there is an escalating need for permitted onsite wastewater treatment systems. In order to qualify for a permit, stringent standards must be met to guarantee the quality of water released from a system.
In loamy soil areas, conventional treatment of [...]

October 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
New Technologies Aim to Remove Excess Phosphorus

By Jenna Smith, October 2004
Dairies within the Bosque and Leon River Watersheds will soon have the opportunity to participate in a program directed to assess a variety of technologies, which can decrease the level of phosphorus in dairy manure and process-generated wastewater.
Current dairy waste management systems utilize lagoons, which store and treat process water and [...]

October 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
A Balancing Act

Freshwater Flow to Estuaries
By Kellie Potucek
Both humans and animals benefit from the many functions of tidal wetlands located in estuaries. One illustration of their importance lies in the marshes’ ability to improve water quality. Marshes trap suspended sediment and help alleviate flooding problems associated with rainstorms. Furthermore, as sources of food and habitat, the wetlands [...]

October 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Meeting Water Needs: TEXAS in 2055

Regional Water Planning
By Ric Jensen
Stakeholders constituting 16 regional water planning groups (RWPGs) that cover the State are engaged in a planning process to anticipate water demands and evaluate strategies to meet future water needs. The process is coordinated by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), the agency charged with reviewing and approving plans developed in [...]

August 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Securing South Central Texas

Conservation Efforts of the Edwards Aquifer Region
By Ric Jensen
Several innovative programs are being developed to optimize water use throughout the Edwards Aquifer region-the primary source of drinking water for San Antonio and much of the surrounding area.
The Edwards Aquifer covers an area that is 180 miles long and 40 miles wide and stretches from Brackettville [...]

August 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Guarding Groundwater

The Texas Groundwater Protection Committee
By Ric Jensen
Working to safeguard groundwater quality and conserve groundwater for future users are the goals of the Texas Groundwater Protection Committee (TGPC).
The committee was created by the Texas Legislature in 1989. It has no regulatory authority, but works with existing state agencies, academic institutions and groundwater districts to encourage groundwater [...]

August 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
The Role of Groundwater Conservation Districts

Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCD) are the preferred method of management of groundwater resources according to Texas legislators. In 1949 the Legislature created a process for designating groundwater management areas and authorizing formation of special underground water conservation districts. More recently, the Texas Legislature passed additional laws to establish more GCDs. GCDs operate under guidelines of [...]

August 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Ogallala Aquifer

Using Improved Irrigation Technology and Water Conservation to Meet Future Needs
By Ric Jensen
The Ogallala Aquifer is one of the largest groundwater resources in the world and represents one of Texas’ largest water sources. As a result, several innovative programs have been developed to conserve, manage and protect this critically important groundwater formation.
The Ogallala stretches across [...]

August 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Signature Program in Water

By Kellie Potucek
Cristine Morgan, associate professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, was recently named to the Signature Program in water. After earning her bachelor of science degree from Texas A&M University, Morgan went on to receive both her master’s and doctorate in Soil Science at the University of Wisconsin. Her graduate research [...]

August 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized