Archive for January 2009

2009 AgriLife Conference grants awards

The 2009 Texas A&M AgriLife Conference brought several awards to individuals and teams for their efforts on water-related research, education, or projects.

January 17th, 2009 | Posted in New Waves (January 2009)
New Waves E-letter – January 16, 2009

2009 AgriLife Conference grants awards
The 2009 Texas A&M AgriLife Conference brought several awards to individuals and teams for their efforts on water-related research, education, or projects.
The Fort Hood Training Lands Restoration and Management Program Team won the 2008 Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for the Industry/Agency/University/Association category. The team consists of Dr. William Fox of [...]

January 16th, 2009 | Posted in New Waves
Institute announces National Competitive Grants Program

Scientists at Texas universities researching topics on water resources are invited to submit proposals for the 2009 National Competitive Grants Program through Texas A&M AgriLife’s Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI). The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Institutes for Water Resources, of which TWRI is Texas’ representative, requests the proposals as part of the Water Resources Research Act.

January 16th, 2009 | Posted in New Waves (January 2009)
TWRI grant recipient studies the effects of brush removal on cave hydrology

Graduate student Corinne Wong, now earning her masters at the University of Texas in geological sciences, recently worked with her advising professor Dr. Jay Banner on evaluating the effects of brush removal on groundwater recharge of a karst aquifer, specifically in cave hydrology.

January 16th, 2009 | Posted in New Waves (January 2009), USGS Research Grants
Conference commits to protect and conserve water reservoirs

The Soil and Water Conservation Society is hosting a conference to identify and share science-based information for protecting and conserving critical water reservoirs in the United States. The conference, From Dust Bowl to Mud Bowl: Sedimentation, Conservation Measures, and the Future of Reservoirs, will be held September 14-16, 2009 at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

January 16th, 2009 | Posted in New Waves (January 2009)
Food Protein R&D Center announce annual short courses

The Food Protein Research and Development Center of Texas Engineering Experiment Station has its two annual short courses at Texas A&M planned for 2009.

January 16th, 2009 | Posted in New Waves (January 2009), Training Programs
TPWD’s Texas the State of Flowing Water documentary to air Feb. 12

Texas the State of Flowing Water will air at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 on all Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) stations in Texas. It is the fourth in an award-winning series of water resource documentaries produced by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and broadcast in partnership with PBS stations.

January 16th, 2009 | Posted in New Waves (January 2009)
Texas A&M-Qatar researches desalination of water with no brackish water discharge

New research at Texas A&M University at Qatar could mean a major breakthrough to alleviate global water shortages. Based on improved technology, the university’s water and environment research group hopes to desalinate inland water with zero discharge of the brackish groundwater that typically accompanies such operations, according to a Texas A&M System news release.

January 16th, 2009 | Posted in New Waves (January 2009)
A little more H2O in your life

If you like New Waves, you can receive more water news with Texas Water Resources Institute’s magazine, “tx H2O,” published three times a year.

January 16th, 2009 | Posted in New Waves (January 2009)
New Publications/Papers

Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load Task Force Final Report, C. A. Jones, K. Wagner, G. Di Giovanni, L. Hauck, J. Mott, H. Rifai, R. Srinivasan, G. Ward, Texas Water Resources Institute Report TR-341, 2009
A Task Force report describes the characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses of several models that have been used and/or are under development to [...]

January 16th, 2009 | Posted in New Waves (January 2009)
Saving for dry days

Aquifer storage and recovery may help
With reoccurring droughts and growing population, Texas will always be looking for better ways to save or use water. Some water suppliers in Texas are turning to aquifer storage and recovery.
During the dry summer of 2008, the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) had enough assets in its “bank” (of water) [...]

January 6th, 2009 | Posted in tx H2O (Fall 2008)
Research needs to address ASR challenges

For all its benefits, aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) does have some potential challenges that warrant further research and planning, according to scientists and others involved in ASR.
In 2005, the National Research Council (NRC) convened a Committee on Sustainable Underground Storage of Recoverable Water to evaluate past experiences with ASR, or what the committee called [...]

January 6th, 2009 | Posted in tx H2O (Fall 2008)
Understanding what lies beneath

Groundwater critical to Texas water
Groundwater is a critical element in the mix for supplying the state and nation with enough water. A major source of water in Texas, used for domestic, municipal, industrial and agricultural purposes, groundwater makes up almost 60 percent of the approximately 17 million acre-feet of water used annually. About 80 percent [...]

January 6th, 2009 | Posted in tx H2O (Fall 2008)
Transboundary aquifers

Southwestern states assess
Researchers from three universities in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona and from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are partnering on a new project to evaluate aquifers that span the United States and Mexico borders. The federally funded project, known as United States-Mexico Transboundary Aquifer Assessment, will provide a scientific foundation for state and [...]

January 6th, 2009 | Posted in tx H2O (Fall 2008)
Rio Grande project partnerships

Water quality and quantity issues in the Rio Grande are nothing new for the Rio Grande Basin. However, the continued activities and projects by several universities and local, state, and federal agencies to help solve these problems are not widely known or understood.
Irrigated agriculture in the basin consumes more than 85 percent of the region’s [...]

January 6th, 2009 | Posted in tx H2O (Fall 2008)