Texas Water Journal (TWJ - Texas Digital Library, TDL E-Journals)
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The regional water planning process: a Texas success story
No full textIn 1997, in the wake of a severe, statewide drought, the Texas Legislature passed an omnibus water bill that, among other things, fundamentally changed how Texas develops its state water plans. The resulting 5-year, bottom-up regional approach to planning has since formed the basis of the last 4 state water plans. Nearly a generation after the regional water planning process began, we can now point to some significant achievements and identify key factors in the success of the process.
Editor’s Note: 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.
Citation: Bruun B. 2017. The regional water planning process: a Texas success story. Texas Water Journal. 8(1):1-12. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v8i1.7053
Key Texas Senate and House water committee chairmen discuss water issues of the 85th Legislature
No full textEditor-in-Chief’s 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 Agriculture, Water & Rural Affairs Committee, and Representative Lyle Larson, Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, to discuss their priorities and visions for Texas water and the regular session of the 85th Texas Legislature. The opinions expressed in these commentaries are the opinions of the individuals and not the opinions of the Texas Water Journal or the Texas Water Resources Institute.
Citation: Perry C, Larson L. 2017. Key Texas Senate and House water committee chairmen discuss water issues of the 85th Legislature. Texas Water Journal. 8(1):13-17. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v8i1.7057
Modeling bacterial load scenarios in a Texas coastal watershed to support decision-making for improving water quality
No full textThe planning for improved health of a stream can be optimized by assessing the watershed system as a whole; state and federal agencies have embraced this watershed approach for managing water quality (USEPA 2008). Using the watershed approach, bacteria loads in the Double Bayou watershed were modeled to identify critical loading areas and develop appropriate voluntary management measures as part of a watershed protection plan. The Spatially Explicit Load Enrichment Calculation Tool (SELECT) model was developed by the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and the Spatial Science Laboratory at Texas A&M University to estimate potential pollutant loadings from fecal indicator bacteria. For this study, SELECT modeling was performed to estimate bacterial loadings from the distribution of livestock, wildlife, a wastewater treatment facility, and on-site sewage facilities. Rankings of each contributing source were assessed for the entire watershed. The objective of this study was to analyze the success of using SELECT to evaluate bacteria loads in a rural coastal watershed; results showed SELECT was successful in the Double Bayou watershed in ranking categories of bacteria sources and revealing spatial load aggregations. This analysis guides discussion on the prioritization of management measures to improve water quality in the Double Bayou watershed.
Citation: Glen SM, Bare RM, Neish BS. 2017. Modeling bacterial load scenarios in a Texas coastal watershed to support decision-making for improving water quality. Texas Water Journal. 8(1):57-66. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v8i1.7048
Texas through time—Lone Star geology, landscapes, and resources
No full textCitation: Mace RE. 2017. Book review: Texas through time—Lone Star geology, landscapes, and resources. Texas Water Journal. 8(1):113-115. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v8i1.7072
Water barons for the water barren? A survey of interbasin water transfer laws in western states
No full textInterbasin transfers of water have become an increasingly popular water management tool—especially among the western states—to address vulnerability to water shortages in those regions susceptible to widely fluctuating drought conditions and population growth. Such transfers offer a practical resolution to the geographic limitations and disparate distribution of water availability. The regulatory frameworks for interbasin transfers adopted across western states, however, vary rather drastically in balancing the practicality of interbasin transfers with equity to the basin of origin. Like its counterparts, Texas has adopted an interbasin transfer statute—Texas Water Code § 11.085—that includes common elements of interbasin transfer regulations aimed at maintaining this balance, including protecting the basin of origin, requiring a distinct demonstration of purpose and need, maintaining existing water rights, and promoting the public interest. However, in comparison to other western states, Texas has a relatively strict framework for interbasin transfers that does not always facilitate the use of such transfers when it is otherwise pragmatic to do so. Policymakers and stakeholders in Texas should thus consider whether and to what extent the balance struck by interbasin transfer laws of other western states is appropriate for Texas and more conducive to using interbasin transfers as a water management strategy across the state.
Citation: Castleberry B, Acevedo A. 2017. Water barons for the water barren? A survey of interbasin water transfer laws in western states. Texas Water Journal. 8(1):29-41. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v8i1.7060
Evaluation of potential E. coli transport from on-site sewage facilities in a Texas watershed
No full textPotential E. coli contamination in surface waters from on-site sewage facilities was investigated in the Dickinson Bayou watershed, Texas. This watershed is listed as impaired due to bacteria by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Two water quality monitoring stations, with flow meters and automatic water samplers, were installed in the watershed to assess E. coli concentrations in surface runoff. One monitoring station was installed in a neighborhood that solely used an on-site sewage facility (OSSF) and the second monitoring station, the control site, was installed in a neighborhood connected to a municipal sewage plant. For 16 runoff events at the OSSF site, the combined geometric mean E. coli concentration was 639 colony forming units (CFU)/100milliters while the geometric mean E. coli concentration for 13 runoff events at the control site was 371 CFU/100milliliters. The E. coli concentrations from the 2 sites were not statistically different, suggesting that OSSFs may not be the major cause of bacterial contamination in the Dickinson Bayou watershed. In addition, a bacterial source tracking method was employed, which concluded that a portion of the E. coli from both sites were of human origin.
Citation: Morrison D, Karthikeyan R, Munster C, Jacob J, Gentry T. 2017. Evaluation of potential E. coli transport from on-site sewage facilities in a Texas watershed. Texas Water Journal. 8(1):18-28. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v8i1.7041
Interjecting economics into the groundwater policy dialogue
No full textHistorically, economic theory has played a miniscule role in groundwater policy deliberations because of its complexity. This paper is intended for practitioners. Its goal is to distill the seminal 1931 paper by Harold Hotelling and show how it can be applied to manage a quasi-nonrenewable resource like groundwater. Hotelling’s framework is then used to critique both the rule of capture era and the current era of regulation by groundwater conservation districts. The latter also draws heavily on the analysis by Brady et al. in a 2016 Bush School Capstone Report. Finally, a regulatory fix is proposed based on the ideas of Nobel Laureate, Vernon Smith (1977) that would use groundwater bank accounts to assure the efficient use of groundwater over time.
Citation: Griffin JM. 2017. Interjecting economics into the groundwater policy dialogue. Texas Water Journal. 8(1):97-112. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v8i1.7051
Coyote Lake Ranch v. City of Lubbock: a ranch, a city and the battle over surface use
No full textIn a time when the competition for water resources is increasing, water law and policy for groundwater is evolving, bringing to the fore the conflict between surface use and groundwater. Unlike the oil and gas context where the mineral estate is dominant, the superiority of severed groundwater to the surface estate has remained uncertain. The recent Texas Supreme Court case, Coyote Lake Ranch v. City of Lubbock, addressed this question, holding that the accommodation doctrine (long applied to mineral estates) applied to groundwater interests in that case. On its face, the case was a dispute between a Texas city and a landowner over the use and damage to surface property caused by groundwater development. The implications of the Supreme Court’s holding, however, run deep and are significant in this time of growing water scarcity. The Coyote Lake Ranch case signals a continued push toward unifying the law governing mineral and groundwater law and emphasizes the need for the courts and the Texas Legislature to be proactive in balancing the interests and rights of all parties.
Citation: Bradbury JD, Smith CC, Ory A. 2017. Coyote Lake Ranch v. City of Lubbock: a ranch, a city and the battle over surface use. Texas Water Journal. 8(1):87-96. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v8i1.7054
The route to water security for Texas: the 2015–2016 Texas water roadmap forums
No full textThree forums were held between February 2015 and November 2016, bringing together Texas water experts from business, industry, government, academia, research, and the investment community in impartially facilitated sessions to determine ways to secure Texas’ water future through accelerating growth of infrastructure, technologies, research, education, and sustainable use. Consensus emerged after the first forum that Texas is approaching a water crisis reflecting matters of supply, allocation, and quality that demands immediate action to ensure water security and equitable access to this vital resource. Participant focus rested on new technology acceleration and investment, workforce education, research underway and desired by segments of the water sector, the water-energy-food nexus, outreach and public education, data management and access, water valuation, water security, and legal and regulatory frameworks. Participants also examined funding and partnership options for development of water treatment and supply infrastructure, water rights and allocation methods, aging infrastructure, and conservation, as well as the nearly ubiquitous fragmenting and compartmentalizing of just about everything having to do with water throughout the entire water sector. The forums generated and summarized a wealth of information that can be used by any party to make progress toward the goal of building a Texas water roadmap. This report summarizes the discussions and the path forward for securing Texas’ water resources.
Citation: Rosen RA, Mohtar R, Cifuentes LA, Frayser S, Hustvedt G, Patrick W, Ragland C, Roberts SV, Vanegas J, Wall C, Wall J. 2017. The route to water security for Texas: the 2015–2016 Texas water roadmap forums. Texas Water Journal. 8(1):116-123. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v8i1.7055
A recharge-discharge water budget and evaluation of water budgets for the Edwards Aquifer associated with Barton Springs
No full textThe Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer represents a small, relatively independent part of the aquifer. Data for the sources of recharge and especially for discharge from the aquifer are well documented. Based on a 6-year water budget of surface recharge and surface discharge, the volumes match within 5%, which is within the potential error limits of the recharge and discharge values. Recharge volumes include increased runoff due to urbanization in the recharge area. A previous water budget based on an earlier period also displayed a balance between recharge and discharge volumes. Both budgets are based on slightly “wetter” than long-term mean recharge and discharge conditions, thus subsurface recharge from south of the aquifer segment, which is documented to occur during dry conditions, was an insignificant source of recharge during the budget periods.
The recharge volumes are based on data from streamflow gaging stations operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. However, one of the stations (Bear Creek near Brodie Lane) was discontinued in 2010; this station is needed to calculate recharge volumes on Bear Creek and Little Bear Creek. Because of the discontinuance of the station, any calculations of recharge volumes after 2010 would contain substantial potential error.
Citation: Slade RM, 2017. A recharge-discharge water budget and evaluation of water budgets for the Edwards Aquifer associated with Barton Springs. Texas Water Journal. 8(1):42-56. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v8i1.7020