Category: 2019
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Screening of private water wells helps ensure water quality, human health after flooding
Results from Texas well water screenings in areas affected by flooding over the past few years show the importance of those screenings in helping ensure water quality and human health, said Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service personnel supporting the agency’s Texas Well Owner Network (TWON). “Private water well owners whose wells have been flooded should assume their well water…
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Texas Water Resources Institute to host watershed roundtable Jan. 31 in Waco
The Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) will host a Texas watershed coordinator roundtable Jan. 31 in Waco for water and natural resource professionals. The free event will be from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Texas Farm Bureau Conference and Training Center, 7410 Fish Pond Road. Coordinators said the training is part of TWRI’s Texas Watershed Planning…
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Harvey flooding continues to inspire disaster planning
Article originally written by Kathy Wythe Almost a year and a half after Hurricane Harvey and its torrential rains wreaked havoc on parts of Texas, the infamous hurricane and its ramifications are still in the news. Several reports relating to the hurricane or to flooding have recently been published and the 86thTexas Legislature Session, which…
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TWJ publishes paper on surface water-groundwater interaction issues in Texas
The Texas Water Journal published the final paper for its Volume 9, Number 1, 2018 titled “Surface water-groundwater interaction issues in Texas” by Dr. Steven C. Young, Dr. Robert E. Mace and Carlos Rubinstein. The paper examines the interaction between the management of surface water rights by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and groundwater use permitted by…
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Engineer + Conservationist
As an engineer, Jackson believes it is particularly important to engage with the engineering community because “they are the boots on the ground” for helping communities move forward with addressing aging infrastructure or building out new projects. Path to the board Jackson’s path to serving as the engineer on the board began in Beaumont, Texas.…
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10 Challenges of Water Utilities
The challenges 1. Aging infrastructure The American Water Works Association (AWWA)’s 2018 survey of water industry professionals lists renewal and replacement of aging water and wastewater infrastructure as the top issue facing the water industry. Dr. Ali Mostafavi, assistant professor in Texas A&M University’s Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and director of the Urban Resilience,…
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Water, but No Workers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected that 8.2 percent of existing water operators will need to be replaced annually between 2016 and 2026. “Forum participants also identified another major issue: the general failure of post-secondary educational institutions to supply workforce-ready graduates for Texas’ evolving urban and rural water sectors,” Rosen said. Not enough workers are…
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Giving water and upgrade
Instead of a meter reader visiting each home, the AMI system transmits readings throughout the day over a secure radio network to the water utilities, providing them with data about the customer’s water consumption. Customers in cities where AMI has been installed can access digital readings of their meters online to monitor their water use.…
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Wearing Multiple Hats
Dorothy Young, program specialist with the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ), agreed. “With smaller water systems, it’s a matter of running it like a business, having the funds and the planning and keeping on a path of compliance,” Young said. “They don’t have the same budget. They don’t have the same resources as larger systems or…
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Investing in H2O
“In the United States, it disproportionately falls on state and mostly local governments to identify what infrastructure requirements are needed, both for new construction and maintenance of existing infrastructure, and to develop ways to finance those projects,” Greer said. There are limited funds through the federal government to pay for infrastructure. For instance, the Water Infrastructure…
