December

Texas A&M University students recently carried buckets of water around campus to simulate the experience of walking to access clean water and to raise awareness of the one billion people in developing countries who struggle with clean water scarcity.

Understanding public opinion and policy preferences as they relate to the nexus of water, energy and food is the focus of a new study by a team of researchers from the Institute for Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.

Since its multi-million dollar renovation in fall of 2013, the Texas A&M University Campus Course has used water-efficient practices and technologies to establish itself as not only a premier golf course but a leader in water conservation.

Management practices to reduce water demand include careful selection of turf varieties and efficient irrigation systems, said Steven Chernosky, golf course superintendent. “I really think that a golf course should be kind of the symbol for conservation,” he said.

Six publications analyzing the water use of the crop and livestock industry in the Southern Ogallala Aquifer region have been completed by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialists.

When it comes to helping coastal communities be more resilient to weather hazards, ideas don’t need to be sandbagged, experts say. That’s why the Federal Emergency Management Agency has granted $750,000 to the Texas Coastal Watershed Program, which already is experienced in working with city leaders along the Texas coast and other Gulf states.

The Texas Water Journal recently published “Texas water policy appendix: the weather” by Carlos Rubinstein in its Volume 6, Number 1 issue. In the paper, Rubinstein examples weather events over the past 150 years that have resulted in policy changes at the state and federal level. These changes, Rubinstein writes has helped the state “prepare for, respond to, and prevent weather disasters.”

The educational publication “Texas Well Owner Network: Well Owner’s Guide to Water Supply” has received a 2015 Extension Education Community Education Materials Award from the American Society of Agronomy.

The award was presented at the 2015 ASA Educational Materials Awards Program held recently in Minneapolis.