Texas Water Journal (TWJ - Texas Digital Library, TDL E-Journals)
Not a member yet
130 research outputs found
Sort by
Commentary: 89th Texas State Legislature: Summaries of Water-Related Legislative Action
No full textEditor-in-Chief ’s Note: September 1 of every odd-numbered year is the date when most new legislation from the most recent session of the Texas Legislature typically goes into effect. With this in mind, the Texas Water Journal invited seven organizations that work closely with the Texas Legislature to provide their take on the changes to Texas water policy and law that were made during the 2025 session. The opinions expressed in these summaries are the opinions of the individual organizations and not the opinions of the Texas Water Journal, the Texas Water Resources Institute, the Bureau of Economic Geology, or the Water and Environment Research Center
Failed P-13 Water Wells: The Real Orphan Wells and How Texas is Denying Ownership
No full textTexas law recognizes there are environmental implications when drilling a well through freshwater aquifers, and legislation mandates various state agencies oversee wells based on the original reason the well was drilled. Wells drilled with the intent of discovering and extracting oil and gas are overseen by the Railroad Commission of Texas, while wells drilled for water supply are overseen by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Under current law, jurisdiction changes when a well that was originally developed for oil and gas purposes is converted to a water well. This is typically done by simply placing a plug at the base of usable water. Under these circumstances, jurisdiction over the well is transferred by the Railroad Commission of Texas to the Texas Water Development Board via Form P-13. Complications arise when well integrity fails—such as when the plug in a P-13 well fails—and poor-quality fluids from deeper formations flow into shallow freshwater reservoirs or even to the surface. Currently, both the Railroad Commission of Texas and the Texas Water Development Board disavow jurisdiction over these wells, meaning that Texas provides no regulatory oversight for failed P-13 wells. This paper reviews the current state of regulatory oversight of failed P-13 wells in Texas, with recommendations to clarify the regulatory dilemma.
2024 State Flood Plan: History in the Making
No full textIn August 2024, the Texas Water Development Board adopted the 2024 State Flood Plan, providing the first-ever comprehensive statewide assessment of flood risk and solutions to reduce the risk and impact to life and property due to flooding. The plan incorporates the findings of 15 watershed-based regional flood plans and includes legislative and floodplain management recommendations to guide state, regional, and local flood control policy to reduce the risk and impact of flooding. Senate Bill 8, 86th Texas Legislature (2019), created the regional and state flood planning process modeled after the bottom-up regional and state water planning process. The Texas Water Development Board will produce a new state flood plan every 5 years based on the flood planning groups’ regional plans. This article provides a summary of the 2024 State Flood Plan, and the content is heavily sourced from the published plan
The Ebb and Flow of the Water Workforce
No full textThe water sector has been experiencing an aging workforce where retirements are outpacing recruitment of new, job-readied workers. The resulting workforce shortage threatens the ability of the water industry to protect the nation’s public health and environment and the sustainability of critical water infrastructure investments. While working on the frontline of water and wastewater system operations traditionally required an education level equal to or less than a high school diploma, the increased complexity of our water system will entail increased levels of education and professional training. In the meantime, colleges must reinvent themselves quickly to accommodate the needs of the water industry and a new generation of students seeking different options to maximize their investments in education and professional development. We examined the water workforce landscape and the emerging challenges of working in water and wastewater utilities. We then outlined the role of higher education programs in developing a competent workforce ready to tackle these challenges, such as the treatment of emerging water contaminants and modernizing an aging system vulnerable to extreme weather and cyberattacks. While college degrees remain valuable for educational credentialing and career development, programs offered in colleges and universities must be made accessible to in-service professionals and curricula must reflect the challenges faced by workers in today’s water systems.The water sector has been experiencing an aging workforce outpacing new, job-readied labor. The resulting workforce shortage threatens protecting the nation’s public health and environment and the sustainability of critical water infrastructure investments. While this frontline workforce for water and wastewater system operations traditionally requires an education level equal to or less than a high school diploma, the increased complexity of our water system will entail the service of highly competent professionals through education and professional training. In the meantime, colleges must reinvent themselves quickly to accommodate both the needs of the water industry and the new generation of students seeking different options to maximize their investments in education and professional development. By examining the water workforce landscape and the emerging challenges of water and wastewater utilities, the article outlines the role of higher education programs in generating a competent workforce ready to tackle these challenges, such as the elimination of emerging water contaminants and maintaining an aging system vulnerable to extreme weather and cyber-attacks. While college degrees remain valuable for educational credentialing and career development, programs offered in colleges and universities must be accessible to in-service professionals and curricula must reflect the challenges faced today by water systems
DESASTRE Y RECUPERACIÓN EN LA REGIÓN DE GUADALUPE VALLEY LAKES EN EL CENTRO DE TEXAS
No full textAlong a segment of the Guadalupe River in Central Texas, multiple historic dams owned and operated by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority have failed. These dams create small lakes along which a string of communities have deeply embedded their lives. In this paper, we present a case study investigating the failure of the Lake Dunlap Dam and the subsequent responses at the community, regulatory, and state levels. The results highlight the social challenges of managing dam infrastructure and how the Lake Dunlap community navigated emotions, regulatory restrictions, and financial reality to create a solution that other communities along the river adopted. This case study also revealed that multiple communities facing similar issues posed by aging dam infrastructure will need alternative, less costly solutions. Future studies ought to consider the feasibility of reconstruction for aging dams across the state as well as the potential for alternatives. The case of the Guadalupe Valley Lake region dam failures and aftermath can inform policy and management regarding Texas’s vast and aging dam infrastructure
Microplastics and Microfibers in River Sediments: A Review of Current Literature and New Data from Texas Rivers
No full textMicroplastics in the Earth system are now widely documented and assessed. As plastic production continues and recycling capabilities lag, however, continued monitoring of their accumulation and transport within fluvial systems is necessary for managing the ecological and geomorphic effects of their presence. In addition to plastic pellets, particles, and beads, synthetic fibers and fibers coated with synthetic dye are increasingly causing concern due to their sheer numbers in the natural environment. This study presents a comprehensive review of the current literature regarding microplastics and microfibers in the environment and their potential impact on fluvial systems. In addition, data are presented that demonstrate the presence and prevalence of microfibers in select Texas rivers. Bed sediment from the Brazos, Colorado, and Trinity Rivers was sampled and assessed during the years 2020–2021. Fibers were present in nearly all samples, most abundantly immediately downstream of urban centers. Such sampling efforts should be taken regularly in ecological and geomorphic systems to monitor the temporal accumulation of plastic particles and fibers. These may have direct or cascading effects on ecological and human health. Increasing synthetic sediment may also influence the geomorphic adjustment of river channels by alterations to biogeomorphology and hydraulic processes
Projected Reservoir Rating Curves and Their Utility for Water Planning in Texas
No full textThis paper presents a method for projecting future reservoir elevation-area-capacity rating curves by calculating the distribution of sediment volume by lake elevation in reservoirs in Texas. We develop reservoir rating curves for the next 50 years, assuming a constant sedimentation volumetric rate as calculated at each elevational gradient for the predicting period. Projected rating curves can be used to simulate the impact of sedimentation on future reservoir firm yield and inform estimates of future available surface water for water planning purposes in Texas
Case Study of Emerging Groundwater Management Issues at the Forefront of Large-scale Production from a Confined Aquifer: The Vista Ridge Project
No full textContinued population growth, increased demands for water and declining water availability are statewide water concerns in Texas. The development and movement of water from where it is to where it is needed brings with it benefits to the receiving area and concerns for the area of origin. The Vista Ridge project serves as an on-point example and case study of such concerns and processes that can mitigate, in part, negative impacts that are informative to other Texans who will soon be facing similar pressures.. Impacts on the water levels in existing wells made the Vista Ridge Project a focus of significant public discussion in 2022, including Texas House and Senate interim session hearings. This paper spotlights groundwater management issues prominent in the Vista Ridge Project that will likely be of concern with other Texas groundwater projects in the near future. These issues involve well mitigation, significant impacts from groundwater production across groundwater conservation district boundaries, meaningful consideration of nine factors in Texas Water Code §36.108(d), the balance between limiting groundwater production, development of fair share doctrines, the role of the Texas Water Development Board in th
Commentary: Now or Never: It’s Time to Address Water Scarcity in Texas
No full textEditor-in-Chief\u27s Note: In every odd-numbered year, the Texas Legislature convenes in regular session for 140 days. With this in mind, the Texas Water Journal invited Senator Charles Perry, Chairman of the Senate Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee to discuss his priorities and visions for Texas water and the regular session of the 89th Texas Legislature. The opinion expressed in this commentary is the opinion of the individual author and not the opinion of the Texas Water Journal or the Texas Water Resources Institute, or the Bureau of Economic Geology
A Hydro-Economic Approach for Quantifying Well Performance Thresholds and Recoverable Groundwater Yields in Texas
No full textGroundwater overdraft may increase the depth of the potentiometric surface, or depth-to-water, over time; reducing potentiometric head available to support well operation and increasing the cost of pumping. These hydro-economic impacts create well failure thresholds. Understanding these impacts and thresholds is a critical issue for groundwater management but tools to assess them are not widely available or established. Therefore, an analytical model developed in this study quantifies changes in well performance with depth-to-water, calculates well failure thresholds, and estimates feasible storage yields for variable uses, wells, and aquifers. The model is developed and tested using both a single well and a regional analysis of the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in Texas, U.S.A., where a contemporary groundwater dataset is available and management is depth-to-water-based. Results reveal how storage conditions drive well performance and suggest that performance in shallow and unconfined settings may be more limited by operational thresholds than affordability thresholds, while performance in deep and confined settings may be inversely limited. At the tested parameters for a single well, failure to account for drawdown would overestimate operationally feasible yields by 98% – 108% and economically feasible yields by 24%. The model could directly support manager, stakeholder, and policymaker consideration of desired future conditions