Texas Water Journal (TWJ - Texas Digital Library, TDL E-Journals)
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The 2011 Texas Drought
No full textThe 2011 drought in Texas was unprecedented in its intensity. Beginning in October 2010, most of Texas experienced a relatively dry fall and winter, but the record dry March 2011 brought widespread extreme drought conditions to the state. The 12-month rainfall total for October 2010 through September 2011 was far below the previous record set in 1956. Average temperatures for June through August were over 2 °F above the previous Texas record and were close to the warmest statewide summer temperatures ever recorded in the United States. As the drought intensified, the previous year’s relatively lush growth dried out, setting the stage for spring wildfires. Conditions were so dry during the spring planting season across much of the state that many crops never emerged from the ground. Continued dry weather through the summer led to increasing hardship for ranchers, who generally saw very little warm-season grass growth while stock tanks dried up. By early fall, trees in central and eastern Texas were showing widespread mortality, and dry and windy conditions allowed forest fires to burn intensely and spread rapidly in Bastrop and elsewhere. Near-normal rainfall across Texas in October–December improved short-term conditions, but almost the entire state remained in drought.
Citation: Nielsen-Gammon JW. 2012. The 2011 Texas Drought. The Texas Water Journal. 3(1):59-95. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v3i1.6463
Hydrologic Connectivity in the Edwards Aquifer between San Marcos Springs and Barton Springs during 2009 Drought Conditions
No full textA study of water level data collected during the 2009 drought was conducted to determine if there is a hydrologic connection between the San Antonio segment and Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer. These results showed con-tinuity in the direction of groundwater flow along a preferential groundwater flow zone from San Marcos Springs to Barton Springs during the drought. Using a USGS MODFLOW model, the flow passing San Marcos Springs and flowing toward Bar-ton Springs was estimated at about five cfs.
Near the city of Kyle, major discontinuities in hydraulic gradient and water levels were evident, which indicate a zone of relatively low transmissivity. Southwest of Kyle, an area of nearly flat water levels exists and is believed to be a zone of high transmissivity. Faults do not appear to be a controlling factor between the zones of relatively high and low transmissivity nor blockage or conduits of groundwater flow. Rapid population growth and increased water demands suggests a continual groundwater level monitoring program between San Marcos Springs and Buda to provide data for future local and regional hydrogeologic analyses.
Citation: LE Land, BB Hunt, BA Smith, PJ Lemonds. 2011. Hydrologic connectivity in the Edwards Aquifer between San Marcos Springs and Barton Springs during 2009 drought conditions. Texas Water Journal. 2(1):39-53. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v2i1.1951
Extended Chronology of Drought in South Central, Southeastern, and West Texas
No full textShort instrumental climatic records prevent appropriate statistical and historical characterization of extreme events such as the extent, duration, and severity of multiyear droughts. The best solution is to extend climatic records through well understood proxies of climate. One of the best such proxies is climate-sensitive annual tree rings, which can be dated precisely to the year, are easily sampled, and are widely distributed. We created 3 new baldcypress chronologies in South Central Texas and used them, along with existing Douglas-fir chronologies from West Texas and a composite post oak chronology in Central Texas, to calibrate 1931–2008 and reconstruct June Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) in Texas climate divisions 5 (Trans Pecos), 6 (Edwards Plateau), 7 (S. Central), and 8 (Upper Coast) 1500–2008. We validated the reconstructions against observed data not used in calibration.
Most water planners in Texas at present use the drought of the 1950s, 1950–1956, as a worst-case scenario. Our reconstructions show, however, that a number of extended droughts of the past were longer and/or more intense than the 1950s drought. Furthermore, extended droughts have been a consistent feature of southwestern climate since the 800s, including at least 4 megadroughts 15- to 30-years long centered in central or northern Mexico (Stahle et al. 2009; 2011b). This and previous studies indicate that severe decadal-scale droughts have occurred in Texas at least once a century since the 1500s. Current use by water planners of the 1950s drought as a worst-case scenario, therefore, is questionable. When water managers consider past droughts, population growth, and climate change, it becomes highly probable that the future poses unprecedented challenges.
Citation: MK Cleaveland, TH Votteler, DK Stahle, RC Casteel, JL Banner. 2011.Extended chronology of drought in South central, Southeastern, and West Texas. Texas Water Journal. 2(1): 54-96. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v2i1.2049
History of Water and Habitat Improvement in the Nueces Estuary, Texas, USA
No full textReservoir impoundments in the Nueces watershed (Texas, USA) have reduced Nueces River flows to the coast by more than 50% since the 1980s. Reductions in freshwater inflows prompted state and local managers, along with scientists, to embark on a 3-decade process of ecosystem-based restoration and habitat improvement in the Nueces Estuary. Current management efforts in the estuary have increased freshwater flow to the Rincon Bayou and habitat has been protected from land acquisition in the Nueces Delta. Restoring freshwater flow and acquiring land in the Nueces Delta was not easily accomplished but has been successful through the efforts of federal, state, local agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. This paper also describes mitigation activities that have taken place in the Nueces Estuary.
Citation: EM Hill, BA Nicolau, PV Zimba. 2011. History of water and habitat improvement in the Nueces estuary, Texas, USA. Texas Water Journal. 2(1):97-111. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v2i1.2104
82nd State Legislature Regular Session: Summaries of water-related legislative action
No full textEditor’s Note: September 1 of every odd-numbered year is the date that new legislation from the Texas Legislature session that ended the previous spring typically goes into effect. With this in mind, the Texas Water Journal invited five 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 2011 session. The opinions expressed in these summaries are the opinions of the individual organizations and not the opinion of the Texas Water Journal or the Texas Water Resources Institute. Organizations: • Sierra Club, Lone Star Chapter • Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts • Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association • Texas Farm Bureau • Texas Water Conservation Association
Citation: K Kramer, SA Steinbach, J Skaggs, B Howe, D Robbins. 2011.Commentary: 82nd State Legislature Regular Session: Summaries of water-related legislative action. Texas Water Journal. 2(1):23-38. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v2i1.5886
Statistical relations of precipitation and stream runoff for El Niño and La Niña periods, Texas Hill Country
No full textThe Texas Hill Country is threatened by devastating long-duration droughts and short-duration floods, either of which can occur at any time. In Central Texas, El Niño and La Niña conditions each occur about one-quarter of the time. Long-term precipitation data for the area reveal that greater rainfall generally occurs during La Niña periods for summer months but greater rainfall typically occurs during El Niño periods for other months. Annual streamflow peaks cannot be attributed to El Niño or La Niña conditions, but typically occur during the hurricane season (June through November), especially for the largest peaks. Additionally, El Niño period runoff volumes exceed those during La Niña at all runoff-gaged streams in the area. For the streams in the northern part of the Hill Country, El Niño period runoff only slightly exceeds La Niña period runoff. However, for the streams in the southern part of the area, El Niño period runoff greatly exceeds La Niña period runoff.
Citation: RM Slade, TE Chow. 2011. Statistical relations of precipitation and stream runoff for El Niño and La Niña periods, Texas Hill Country. Texas Water Journal. 2(1):1-22. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v2i1.3665
Book Review: Water Policy in Texas: Responding to the Rise of Scarcity
No full textCitation: Sugg ZP. 2011. Book Review: Water Policy in Texas: Responding to the Rise of Scarcity. Texas Water Journal. 2(1):112-114. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v2i1.6134
Climate Change Impacts on Texas Water: A White Paper Assessment of the Past, Present and Future and Recommendations for Action
No full textTexas comprises the eastern portion of the Southwest region, where the convergence of climatological and geopolitical forces has the potential to put extreme stress on water resources. Geologic records indicate that Texas experienced large climate changes on millennial time scales in the past, and over the last thousand years, tree-ring records indicate that there were significant periods of drought in Texas. These droughts were of longer duration than the 1950s “drought of record” that is commonly used in planning, and they occurred independently of human-induced global climate change. Although there has been a negligible net temperature increase in Texas over the past century, temperatures have increased more significantly over the past three decades. Under essentially all climate model projections, Texas is susceptible to significant climate change in the future. Most projections for the 21st century show that with increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, there will be an increase in temperatures across Texas and a shift to a more arid average climate. Studies agree that Texas will likely become significantly warmer and drier, yet the magnitude, timing, and regional distribution of these changes are uncertain. There is a large uncertainty in the projected changes in precipitation for Texas for the 21st century. In contrast, the more robust projected increase in temperature with its effect on evaporation, which is a dominant component in the region’s hydrologic cycle, is consistent with model projections of frequent and extended droughts throughout the state. For these reasons, we recommend that Texas invest resources to investigate and anticipate the impacts of climate change on Texas’ water resources, with the goal of providing data to inform resource planning. This investment should support development of 1) research programs that provide policy-relevant science; 2) education programs to engage future researchers and policy-makers; and 3) connections between policy-makers, scientists, water resource managers, and other stakeholders. It is proposed that these goals may be achieved through the establishment of a Texas Climate Consortium, consisting of representatives from academia, industry, government agencies, water authorities, and other stakeholders. The mission of this consortium would be to develop the capacity to provide decision makers with the information needed to develop adaptation strategies in the face of future climate change and uncertainty.
Citation: Banner JL, Jackson CS, Yang ZL, Hayhoe K, Woodhouse C, Gulden L, Jacobs K, North G, Leung R, Washington W, Jiang X, Casteel R. 2010. Climate Change Impacts on Texas Water: A white paper assessment of the past, present and future and recommendations for action. Texas Water Journal. 1(1):1-19. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v1i1.1043
Desalination and Long-Haul Water Transfer as a Water Supply for Dallas, Texas: A Case Study of the Energy-Water Nexus in Texas
No full textoai:twj-ojs-tdl.tdl.org:article/1042As existing water supplies become increasingly strained in some locations, water planners turn to alternative options to quench cities’ thirst. Among these options for inland cities is desalination of seawater or brackish groundwater with long-haul water transfer. Desalination using reverse osmosis membranes is the most common technology in use, yet high pressures required for operation make desalination an energy-intensive water supply option. The subsequent conveyance of desalinated water through long-haul pipelines also requires large amounts of energy. To analyze desalination and long-haul transfer as a drinking water supply, Dallas, Texas, was chosen as a test-bed with two scenarios: seawater desalination near Houston and brackish groundwater desalination near Abilene, both with long-haul transfer of desalinated water to Dallas. Combining the energy requirements for long-distance pumping with the energy demands for desalination, we estimate that desalination and long-haul transfer is nine to 23 times more energy-intensive per unit of water than conventional treatment of local surface water sources, an increase of 230 to 630 MWh/d for 20 million gal (75,700 m3). These results suggest that desalination and long-haul transfer as a water supply for Dallas is less sustainable, based on energy consumption, than use of local surface water sources or water conservation.
Citation: Stillwell AS, King CW, Webber ME. 2010. Desalination and long-haul water transfer as a water supply for Dallas, Texas: A case study of the energy-water nexus in Texas. Texas Water Journal. 1(1)33-41. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v1i1.1042
Condensing Water Availability Models to Focus on Specific Water Management Systems
No full textThe Texas Water Availability Modeling System is routinely applied in administration of the water rights permit system, regional and statewide planning, and an expanding variety of other endeavors. Modeling water management in the 23 river basins of the state reflects about 8,000 water right permits and 3,400 reservoirs. Datasets are necessarily large and complex to provide the decision-support capabilities for which the modeling system was developed. New modeling features are being added, and the different types of applications are growing. Certain applications are enhanced by simplifying the simulation input datasets to focus on particular water management systems. A methodology is presented for developing a condensed dataset for a selected reservoir system that reflects the impacts of all the water rights and accompanying reservoirs removed from the original complete dataset. A set of streamflows is developed that represents flows available to the selected system considering the effects of all the other water rights in the river basin contained in the original complete model input dataset that are not included in the condensed dataset. The methodology is applied to develop a condensed model of the Brazos River Authority reservoir system based on modifying the Texas Water Availability Modeling System dataset for the Brazos River Basin.
Citation: Wurbs RA, Kim TJ. 2010. Condensing water availability models to focus on specific water management systems. Texas Water Journal. 1(1):20-32. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v1i1.1380