A Survey of Public Perceptions and Attitudes about Water Availability Following Exceptional Drought in Texas
A Survey of Public Perceptions and Attitudes about Water Availability Following Exceptional Drought in Texas

This study examines the results of a random sample survey of Texans evaluating citizen awareness, attitudes, and willingness to adopt water conservation practices. The study investigates changes in public attitudes following the most intense one-year drought on record in Texas by evaluating public perception of water availability, assessing Texans’ attitudes and perceptions regarding drought conditions, and comparing the number of Texans adopting practices to conserve water before and after the drought of 2011. Almost 70% indicated that the likelihood of their area suffering from a prolonged drought was increasing. More than 61% of respondents have changed the way their yard is landscaped and 62% have also adopted new technologies in an effort to conserve water. Overall, responses indicated that Texans are concerned with water availability after experiencing, in 2011, the worst one-year drought on record, and that the majority of respondents are taking personal action in an effort to conserve water for the future

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WATER DATAGuest UserJournal of Contemporary Water Research & Education, Universities Council on Water Resources, Drought, Policy, Drew Gholson, Diane Boellstorff, Scott Cummings, Kevin Wagner, Monty Dozier
Ensuring One Water Delivers for Healthy Waterways
Ensuring One Water Delivers for Healthy Waterways

This publication describes a proposed framework to assist communities in implementing the One Water approach in a way that optimizes water supplies to cities and keeps waters flowing for the creeks, rivers and bays that support healthy fish and wildlife and their habitats.

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WATER CONSERVATIONGuest UserTexas Living Waters Project, Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter, National Wildlife Federation, Galveston Bay Foundation, Planning, Policy
Best Bets for Texas Water
Best Bets for Texas Water

This brochure describes Texas's unique water issues and the various solutions being used to meet future water needs, including conservation, One Water, nature-based solutions, aquifer storage and recovery, reuse, groundwater withdrawal, desalination, interbasin transfers, and dams and reservoirs.

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WATER CONSERVATIONGuest UserTexas Living Waters Project, Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter, National Wildlife Federation, Galveston Bay Foundation, Planning, Policy
Surface Water-Groundwater Interaction Issues in Texas
Surface Water-Groundwater Interaction Issues in Texas

In Texas, surface water is owned and regulated by the State of Texas, whereas groundwater is owned by respective property owners under the rule of capture. Owners of surface water rights, issued by the state, and groundwater may use and sell their water as a private property right. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality administers surface water rights, while groundwater conservation districts (where they exist) are primarily responsible for permitting groundwater use. This paper focuses on the complexity of both systems that are designed to manage water resources differently with specific emphasis on where surface water and groundwater interact. Surface water-groundwater interactions have contributed to disputes over the actual ownership and right to water. The available science and the limitations of the models currently used to make water availability and permitting determinations are discussed, as are the investments in field data gathering and interpretation and model enhancements that can lead to better assessments of surface water-groundwater interactions and impacts. More complete science and enhanced models may also help reduce the timeline associated with the permitting of future water supply and use strategies.

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WATER DATAGuest UserTexas Water Journal, Texas Water Resources Institute, Groundwater, Policy, Steven Young, Robert Mace, Carlos Rubinstein
Texas' Water Quality Challenge and the Need for Better Communication in an Era of Increasing Water Quality Contamination Events
Texas' Water Quality Challenge and the Need for Better Communication in an Era of Increasing Water Quality Contamination Events

As Texas cities experience an increase in incidents associated with water quality contamination, the need for public education and engagement increases. The discussion in this paper identifies, based on publicly available data, three of the most common incidents in Texas related to drinking water and environmental contamination: boil water notices (BWNs), sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), and lead in drinking water. Trends observed from 2011 to 2016 indicate a sharp upward increase in the incidents of such events. Increased frequency of incidents that threaten water quality often erodes public trust in the city and utility, thus making it more difficult in the long term to get public support for increased investment in water and wastewater infrastructure. The recommendations in this study focus on how to manage communications when events associated with water quality create a public relations challenge for city and utility leaders.

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WATER DATAGuest UserTexas Water Journal, Texas Water Resources Institute, Data, Water Quality, Education, Sapna Mulki, Carlos Rubinstein, Julianne Saletta
Assessment of Alternative Agricultural Land Use Options for Extending the Availability of the Ogallala Aquifer in the Northern High Plains of Texas
Assessment of Alternative Agricultural Land Use Options for Extending the Availability of the Ogallala Aquifer in the Northern High Plains of Texas

The Ogallala Aquifer has experienced a continuous decline in water levels due to decades of irrigation pumping with minimal recharge. Corn is one of the major irrigated crops in the semi-arid Northern High Plains (NHP) of Texas. Selection of less water-intensive crops may provide opportunities for groundwater conservation. Modeling the long-term hydrologic impacts of alternative crops can be a time-saving and cost-effective alternative to field-based experiments. A newly developed management allowed depletion (MAD) irrigation scheduling algorithm for Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used in this study. The impacts of irrigated farming, dryland farming, and continuous fallow on water conservation were evaluated. Results indicated that simulated irrigation, evapotranspiration, and crop yield were representative of the measured data. Approximately 19%, 21%, and 32% reductions in annual groundwater uses were associated with irrigated soybean, sunflower, and sorghum, respectively, as compared to irrigated corn. On average, annual soil water depletion was more than 52 mm for dryland farming scenarios. In contrast, only 18 mm of soil water was lost to evaporation annually, for the long-term continuous fallow simulation. The fallow scenario also showed 31 mm of percolation for aquifer recharge.

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WATER & AGRICULTUREGuest UserHydrology, MDPI, Agriculture, Chen
An Assessment of Water Conservation in Texas: Prepared for the 85th Texas Legislature as a supplement to the 2017 State Water Plan
An Assessment of Water Conservation in Texas: Prepared for the 85th Texas Legislature as a supplement to the 2017 State Water Plan

This report provides an assessment of agricultural and municipal water conservation issues; conservation efforts by the Texas Water Development Board, the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, and municipalities receiving financial assistance; a discussion of future conservation needs; an analysis of programmatic approaches and funding for additional conservation efforts; an assessment of existing statutory authority changes and whether changes are needed to more effectively promote and fund conservation projects; and an assessment of the TWDB’s Agricultural Water Conservation Program.

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WATER CONSERVATIONGuest UserTexas Water Development Board, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, Agriculture, Municipal, Kathleen Jackson, Peter Lake, Jeff Walker