January

In 2014 the Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources and the Texas Water Resources Institute wrapped-up a third full year of working together. 

“2014 was a very productive year for IRNR and TWRI,” he said Dr. Roel Lopez, IRNR director and TWRI interim director. “Together the institutes received more than $9 million in external grants, which was about a 53-percent increase from 2013.”

On any given day one might find Lucas Gregory monitoring water quality in the field, analyzing data or writing grants and publications. “There’s really never a dull moment, and that’s one of the things that I like about working here,” said Gregory, Texas Water Resources Institute project specialist and quality assurance officer.

A Texas Water Resources Institute-led initiative has received a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to address water quantity and water quality concerns in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The Lower Rio Grande Valley Water Improvement Initiative is being funded through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, a new program authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. 

Nearly 60 years ago, a tug-of-war began between competing interests battling over use of the Edwards Aquifer. The recent Texas Water Journal Forum reexamined this dispute by reuniting those who worked to resolve it.   

The third Texas Water Journal Forum, “History of the Edwards Aquifer Dispute: A view from the trenches,” was held Jan. 20 and centered on the conflict of environmental, municipal and agricultural interests in the Edwards Aquifer during the 1990s, at the height of the conflict.