Texas Water Resources Institute

Archive for August 2004

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
Looking Deeper

Groundwater Availability Models
By Ric Jensen
People who manage groundwater now have a better idea of the amount of water stored in aquifers throughout much of Texas, thanks to an ongoing computer modeling effort led by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB).
In 2001, the Texas Legislature passed legislation to enable TWDB to develop and implement the groundwater [...]

August 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Monitoring water flow and quality

Database and GIS provide timely information for Rio Grande
By Jenna Smith
For more information regarding this subject, contact:
Zhuping Sheng
(915) 859-9111
z-sheng@tamu.edu
or visit http://www.pdnwc.org
Technology has hit the Rio Grande, from Elephant Butte Dam, New Mexico, to Fort Quitman, Texas.
Research scientists from Texas A&M University (TAMU), New Mexico State University (NMSU) and Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez have teamed [...]

August 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized
Evaluating deficit irrigation

Watermelon quality and lycopene content not affected
By Jenna Smith
For more information regarding this subject, contact:
Daniel Leskovar
(830) 278-9151
d-leskovar@tamu.edu
The United States produces, on average, 1.77 million tons of watermelons each year.
In Southwest Texas, watermelons constitute a large portion of the vegetable crop as well; however, strict pumping limitations of underground and surface water as well as competition [...]

August 1st, 2004 | Posted in Uncategorized