Tag: txh2o
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Wagner named deputy director
Dr. Kevin Wagner was named the deputy director of engagement of the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) in January 2016. Formerly TWRI associate director, Wagner’s new role includes engaging with the water resources community in Texas and the nation and coordinating TWRI’s outreach activities with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and The Texas A&M…
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New Water Seed Grants funded
Following a successful first round of funding for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, the Texas Legislature again charged three agencies of The Texas A&M University System to address the critical need for efficiency in agricultural and municipal water use. For fiscal years 2016 and 2017, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service…
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TWRI in 2015
By Leslie Lee The Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) has been helping solve Texas’ water issues through research, education and outreach for more than 60 years. In 2015, TWRI’s projects produced numerous accomplishments, and new leadership and opportunities arrived with the announcement of Dr. John C. Tracy as institute director in December. New urban water resiliency project…
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Unconventional resources
Fueled by the use of hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling to extract oil and gas, the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas in recent years became one of the most prolific oil and gas plays in the country. As more and more wells were drilled, however, concerns grew that freshwater use for hydraulic fracturing…
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The Key to Perfecting Water Use
A technology that uses electrons moving at almost the speed of light may soon be used to turn wastewater into drinking water. In a joint research project, scientists from The Texas A&M University System successfully demonstrated the feasibility of using electron beam, or eBeam, technology to treat wastewater for direct potable reuse. Dr. Suresh Pillai,…
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Less is More
By Eva Vigh All over Texas, homeowners are unknowingly drenching their yards — thanks to inefficient practices or leaky irrigation systems. Often more than 50 percent of landscape water is wasted due to overwatering, according to Texas A&M University experts. Encouraging residents to use science-based ways to water their lawns could help alleviate this problem,…
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Innovative information
In one of the most water-stressed regions in the United States, irrigation professionals and software developers are joining forces to develop a web-based technology that will help Texas High Plains farmers evaluate how much and when to irrigate their crops. Still in development, the Dashboard for Irrigation Efficiency Management, or DIEM, is a product of Texas…
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Off and Running
By Leslie Lee “What’s so wrong with runoff?” Dr. Benjamin Wherley presented this question to a room full of water experts at Texas A&M University in February, most of them familiar with the details of why urban landscape irrigation runoff is a big problem. In addition to being a total waste of potable water, runoff…
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Bringing water-use data to life
By Danielle Kalisek Urban water conservation is high on the list of managing Texas’ future water supplies. The approaches used in current urban water conservation programs span everything from rebates, education and landscape watering restrictions. A team of researchers and specialists of The Texas A&M University System recently focused on a different aspect of urban…
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Q&A with Dr. John C. Tracy
By Leslie Lee In December 2015, Dr. John C. Tracy was officially named director of the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI). Tracy had served as director of the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute at the University of Idaho for the last 11 years, also serving as the associate vice president for research and previously as interim vice…
