H2OtxFall 2007A Publication of the Texas Water Resources Institute

Texas Water Resources Institute | Texas Agricultural Experiment Station | Texas Cooperative Extension

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In This Issue:

MANAGING BACTERIAPOLLUTION IN TEXAS WATERS

MIMICKING NATURE

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

AND MUCH MORE...

In This Issue:

MANAGING BACTERIAPOLLUTION IN TEXAS WATERS

MIMICKING NATURE

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

AND MUCH MORE...

tx H2O

Published byTexas Water Resources Institute

Kathy WytheEditor

Texas Water Resources Institute

Steven KeatingArt Director

Agricultural Communications

Danielle SupercinskiKari Miller

Assistant EditorsTexas Water Resources Institute

Visit our Web site attwri.tamu.edu

for more information and tosubscribe to tx H2O

On the cover:

Low-temperature electron micrograph of acluster of E. coli bacteria. Each individual

bacterium is oblong shaped.Photo by Eric Erbe, digital colorization

by Christopher Pooley.USDA Agricultural Research Service

Message from theAssociate Director

Dr. B.L. Harris

During the 80th Session of the Texas Legislature, significant legislationregarding Texas water issues was passed and signed into law byGov. Rick Perry. These laws contain numerous changes in waterpolicy that will impact Texas and its people—today and in the future—and provide numerous opportunities for Texas university scientistsand educators.

The most substantial bills were Senate Bill 3 and House Bills 3 and 4.These bills include provisions for protecting environmental flows,establishing a Water Conservation Advisory Council, and designatingas “unique reservoir sites” all sites that were recommended for suchdesignation in the 2007 State Water Plan. Also included are importantchanges for the Edwards Aquifer Authority, increasing the pumpinglimit and establishing a process for the development of a critical periodmanagement plan.

Both the environmental flows provision, which creates a stakeholder-driven, science-based process, and the 23-member advisory councilwill include opportunities for university scientists and educators fromthroughout the state to become involved.

Through other bills, the Legislature created seven new groundwaterdistricts, addressed flooding and desalination, dealt with rainwaterharvesting and irrigation and provided significant appropriations toimplement various water projects and programs, including more than$750 million in water infrastructure projects identified in the statewater plan.

For more information on these bills, visit the Texas WaterDevelopment Board’s Wrap-Up at /www.twdb.state.tx.us or theTexas Commission on Environmental Quality Summaries atwww.tceq.state.tx.us/comm_exec/igr/80_legsum.html.

Although some issues and concerns were not dealt with, overall, morethan 100 bills that in some way addressed protecting and preservingTexas waters were signed into law. Texas Water Resources Institutestrongly encourages university scientists and educators to becomeinvolved where opportunities exist.

B.L. Harris

WorkingTogether forTexas Water

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tx H2O is published three times a year by the Texas Water Resources Institute, whichis a unit of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and Texas Cooperative Extension.TWRI is funded in part by the U.S. Geological Survey and authorized by the WaterResources Research Act. To subscribe to tx H2O or New Waves, TWRI’s monthlye-mail newsletter, visit twri.tamu.edu.

Inside

volume 3 number 2, fall 2007

2 Managing Bacteria Pollution in Texas Waters

7 Showcasing a ProjectGroups work to solve stream’s impairment

10 Agencies Approve Bacteria TMDL Task Force Recommendations

12 TSSWCB Bacteria-Related Projects

12 Bacteria TMDL Projects

13 Surface Water Quality Standards

14 Mimicking NatureComputer model helps manage nation’s, world’s waters

18 SWAT Goes International

19 Managing SolutionsInstitute’s managers coordinate water quality, quantity projects

22 Savings Along the Rio Grande2006–2007 RGBI accomplishment report published

24 Celebrating 50 YearsTexas Water Development Board makes impact on clean, adequate water

26 TWDB History

28 TWRI Briefs

Story by Kathy Wythe

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BACTERIAMANAGING

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IN TEXAS WATERSPOLLUTION

Managing Bacteria Pollution in Texas Waters

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With 310 water bodies in Texas failing to meetwater quality standards because of bacteria,managing bacteria pollution is commanding

the attention of water agencies, researchers and stake-holders across Texas.

These water bodies are listed in the 2006 Texas WaterQuality Inventory and 303(d) List for failing to meetthe standards designed to protect for contact recre-ation use and/or oyster water use. Updated every twoyears by the Texas Commission on EnvironmentalQuality (TCEQ), the number of bacteria-impairedwaters increased from 197 in 2004 to 310 on the2006 list.

“Bacteria pollution is the No. 1 cause of impairmentin Texas,” said Kevin Wagner, a Texas Water ResourcesInstitute (TWRI) project manager involved in proj-ects addressing bacteria impairment.

Although other pollutants such as metals and nutri-ents cause problems, bacteria pollution currentlyaccounts for about 57 percent of the polluted watersin Texas.

“Controlling bacteria is necessary to support therecreational use of surface water and protect humans’health from illnesses caused from waterbornepathogens,” said Thomas Weber, water programssection manager of TCEQ’s Chief Engineer’s Office.

The first step in managing this pollution is identify-ing the waters that are contaminated. TCEQ, alongwith other federal, state, regional and local agencies,continually monitors and evaluates the state’s water.

To determine bacteria impairment, water managersmeasure E. coli for freshwater and Entercocci forsalt water as indicators of the possible presence ofpathogens that may cause illnesses. Bacteria in thewater may come from waste from humans, livestock,pets and/or wildlife and can find their way intothe water through stormwater runoff from the sur-rounding land, inadequate wastewater treatmentand failing septic systems.

Once a water body or water segment is designated asimpaired, the federal Clean Water Act requires the

state to either 1) develop a total maximum daily loador TMDL, 2) conduct a use attainability analysisto change the water quality standard, or 3) collectadditional monitoring data to verify the impairment.A TMDL determines the amount of a pollutant aspecific water body can receive and still meet thewater quality standard; it also provides numericestimates of how much the pollutants must bereduced. Once a TMDL is completed and approved,its implementation plan or I-Plan, outlines specificmeasures to reduce the pollution.

TCEQ and Texas State Soil and Water ConservationBoard (TSSWCB) collaborate with other stateagencies, universities, companies and stakeholders inthe watershed to develop these TMDLs and I-Plans.

TCEQ currently has 17 TMDL projects addressing114 impairments to recreational and oyster water uses.

As the first bacteria TMDLs were completed in Texas,Wagner said a number of stakeholders expressedconcerns over the appropriateness of the bacteriawater quality standards, inadequate communicationabout ongoing TMDLs, and the need for better andmore consistent methodologies, tools and science todevelop bacteria TMDLs.

To help find answers to these issues, TCEQ andTSSWCB established a joint task force in September2006 to identify the best and most cost-effective andtime-efficient tools for developing bacteria TMDLsand TMDL I-Plans. The seven-member task force,chaired by Dr. Allan Jones, TWRI’s director, wascharged with making recommendations on effectivemethodologies and including a science road map toreduce uncertainty in what is known about how bacte-ria behave under different water conditions in Texas.

The task force report examined bacterial sourcetracking (BST), an emerging assessment tool thatuses DNA fingerprinting and antibiotic resistancetyping methods to differentiate between wildlife,pets, livestock or human sources of fecal bacteria,such as E. coli.

“BST provides valuable information that will helpdevelop management strategies to address bacterial

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that 40 percent to 49 percent of the E. coli bacteriacame from wildlife sources in these particular waters,followed by cattle and then humans.

As this was one of the first studies of its kind inTexas, a secondary objective was to evaluate severalanalytical methods to identify the optimal method orcombination of methods for future BST application.

The combination of two DNA fingerprinting tech-niques or a DNA fingerprinting and an antibioticresistance typing method appeared to be the mostsuitable, accurate and economical for future library-based BST studies, Di Giovanni said. In addition, anew technique, which provides presence/absencedetection of ruminant, human, horse and pig fecalpollution, will be used in future studies to corrobo-rate the library-dependent E. coli results.

Another scientific method used in managing bacteriapollution and developing TMDLs is predictive

contributions from specific human and animalsources of fecal pollution in each watershed,” saidDr. George Di Giovanni, an environmental microbi-ologist at The Texas A&M University SystemAgricultural Research and Extension Center at ElPaso and a task force member. Di Giovanni is oneof the researchers at the forefront of developingBST and part of the research team that won the2007 Texas Environmental Excellence Award inAgriculture for its BST work.

In one of the first studies completed in Texas,Di Giovanni and his postdoctoral student, Dr.Elizabeth Casarez, along with Dr. Suresh D. Pillaiof Texas A&M University and Dr. Joanna Mott ofTexas A&M–Corpus Christi used BST to investigatebacteria contamination in Lake Waco and LakeBelton and portions of major tributaries to thoselakes. They developed libraries for thousands ofE. coli bacteria and used these libraries to identify thesources of fecal pollution contaminating the water.

Their research in the Lake Waco/Belton project,coordinated by the Texas Farm Bureau and funded byTSSWCB through a Clean Water Act grant, showed

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---------------------------------------------Portions of Gilleland Creek in northeastern Travis County do notmeet water quality standards for contact recreation use becauseof elevated bacteria. The Lower Colorado River Authority workedwith TCEQ to coordinate public involvement, collect additionaldata and determine the sources of the impairment. TCEQ recentlyapproved the TMDL. (Photo courtesy of TCEQ)

tx H2O | pg. 6

computer models. Researchers and water managersuse these fate and transport models to identify pollu-tion hot spots and to estimate the reductions neededto meet water quality standards. Models range fromsimple mathematical models to more complexhydrologic water quality models.

Dr. Hanadi Rifai, professor in University of Houston’sDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineeringand a task force member, said models are importantfor a number of reasons.

“They improve our understanding of the system,”she said. “They are used to answer ‘what if ’ typequestions and are tools to help managers, decisionmakers and stakeholders make informed decisions.They are also used to examine possible scenariosand their predicted outcomes.

“Selecting a model or models is critical in the TMDLand I-Plan process,” Rifai said. “But selecting theappropriate model or models is a challenge sincenumerous ones are available. The different goalsof TMDL and I-Plan development may require theuse of different bacteria models with different levelsof complexity.”

Since one of the issues raised with developingTMDLs was the uncertainty associated with themodeling results, much work is being done toimprove them. The models should continuallyevolve as the knowledge base used in developingthem changes, Rifai said.

Other issues that are not well represented in themodels and need to be addressed are in-streamsediment settling and resuspension processes, andbacteria regrowth and decay.

Harris County is beginning to work with TWRI andTexas A&M scientists and other university facultyto determine if E. coli can proliferate and grow inthe waters downstream of its Houston wastewatertreatment plants.

“Through this research, the group will be testing theability of E. coli to survive and regrow once it enterswater bodies,” Jones said.

Identifying the source and amount of the bacteria iscrucial, but more important is cleaning up the watersonce the pollution source is known.

As part of its Statewide Bacterial Water QualityImpairment Reduction Initiative, TSSWCB, whichmaintains a lead role in TMDL development whenagricultural nonpoint sources are involved, is current-ly funding about 15 bacteria-related education,assessment, demonstration and implementationprojects, including four managed by TWRI. Theseprojects account for about a fourth of its fundednonpoint source projects, said Aaron Wendt,TSSWCB’s state watershed coordinator.

All agree that early and active stakeholder input andparticipation is essential to the success of cleaningup Texas waters from bacterial pollution.

“Stakeholder input is important throughout theentire process of TMDL and I-Plan development,”Weber said. “Entities within the watershed have avested interest in controlling pollution and protectinghuman health from waterborne disease.”

More importantly, Weber said, stakeholders are theones responsible for applying the measures to reduceinputs from the controllable bacteria sources. Thesuccess of a particular I-Plan will rely on these efforts.

Wendt, who said TSSWCB works closely with agricul-tural producers and cattlemen as well as commoditygroups, agreed.

“We need to provide stakeholders the informationthey need to make informed decisions aboutmanaging the water resources in their watershed,”he said. “Whether stakeholders are wastewatertreatment plant staff or cattlemen, they are the oneswho are going to be affected.”

To comment on this article, visit its electronic versionat twri.tamu.edu/news/2007.

Managing Bacteria Pollution in Texas Waters

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With one phase and three years ofmonitoring completed, a group ofcooperators are beginning the next

step in bringing Buck Creek, a small stream inthe Red River Basin, to acceptable water quality.

The creek, which runs through three counties inthe southeast corner of the Texas Panhandle, ison the state’s 303(d) List for not meeting waterquality standards for contact recreation becauseof bacterial contamination.

Now, the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station,Texas Cooperative Extension and Texas WaterResources Institute (TWRI), along with theTexas State Soil and Water Conservation Board(TSSWCB), local soil and water conservationdistricts (SWCDs) and the Red River Authorityare beginning the project’s second phase to fixthe problem.

In this phase, the cooperators will beginidentifying specific bacteria sources, evaluatingapproaches for restoring the stream and develop-ing a watershed protection plan through a stake-holder-driven process.

“This may be one of the first efforts on smallstreams such as this to get scientific involvementfrom step 1, the impairment, through the entireprocess of identifying the sources of nonpointpollution and looking for solutions through awatershed management plan,” said Dr. John Sij,an agronomist at The Texas A&M UniversitySystem Agricultural Research and ExtensionCenter at Vernon.

Story by Kari Miller

SHOWCASING A PROJECTGroups work to solve stream’s impairment

�---------------------------------------------Buck Creek, a small fresh water stream in the Red River Basinthat has excessive bacteria, is within a predominantly rural andagricultural landscape in the panhandle region of Texas. A groupof cooperators is evaluating approaches to restore the stream andis developing a watershed protection plan.

tx H2O | pg. 8

For five years, beginning in 1996, the Red RiverAuthority conducted quarterly sampling at one siteon the creek as part of the Texas Commission onEnvironmental Quality’s Clean Rivers Program. Itsdata showed bacteria levels were periodically elevatedat that site.

To verify these findings, the cooperating groupsinstituted the three-year Bacterial Monitoring for theBuck Creek Watershed project to monitor bacterialevels at 13 sites along the creek. The project wasfunded with 319(h) grant monies allocated to Texasthrough the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) and administered by TSSWCB.

EPA guidelines state that a single water samplecontaining E. coli should not exceed 394 coloniesper 100 milliliters of water. To meet the water qualitystandard, this level must not be exceeded more than25 percent of the time, and the geometric mean ofall samples should not exceed 126 colonies per 100milliliters.

Phyllis Dyer, the project’s watershed coordinator andresearch technician at the Vernon center, said theresults from this monitoring confirmed indicationsfrom preliminary data—the creek exceeded the 25percent bacteria limit at several of the sites.

Based on those results, TSSWCB funded the secondphase of the project, Watershed Protection PlanDevelopment for Buck Creek.

Lucas Gregory, TWRI Buck Creek project manager,said this phase’s most important objective is theformation of a stakeholder committee to developthe watershed protection plan.

“Having a stakeholder group to guide the develop-ment of this plan will be crucial to the success of thisproject and the success of future implementationefforts,” Gregory said.

The plan will include nine elements that outlinewater quality issues and management measuresneeded to improve the watershed’s quality.

“Once completed, this plan will be a tool for areastakeholders to find information about appropriatemanagement measures that can be implementedin the Buck Creek watershed, which, in turn, willenhance overall stream health and water quality,”he said.

“This plan is 100 percent voluntary and will addressthe concerns of watershed stakeholders. It can onlybe successful if stakeholders voluntarily implementthe management strategies suggested in the plan,”Gregory said.

So far, there seems to be a lot of support fromstakeholders, said Sij, project leader for the BuckCreek studies. “We recently had a meeting with 42people present and most of them were landownersin that watershed,” he said. “That was one of the

Showcasing a Project

tx H2O | pg. 9

best-attended meetings of landowners we’ve probablyhad in the state.”

The team is bringing in Dr. George Di Giovanni, anenvironmental microbiologist at The Texas A&MUniversity System Agricultural Research andExtension Center at El Paso, to conduct bacterialsource tracking (BST). He will use DNA analysesto identify the sources of the creek’s bacteria, deter-mining whether the contamination is from human,livestock and/or wildlife waste.

Di Giovanni will use two DNA fingerprinting tech-niques to identify the sources of E. coli in Buck Creek.In addition, a new BST technique that provides pres-ence or absence detection of ruminant, human, horseand pig fecal pollution will be used in future studiesto confirm the E. coli results.

“BST will be used to help rank the different sourcesof fecal pollution in the watershed,” Di Giovannisaid. “BST results combined with water qualitymonitoring, land use patterns and watershed sanitarysurveys will be used to help develop effective manage-ment strategies.”

Once the bacteria sources are determined, alternativeland management measures or best managementpractices can be developed to reduce the impacts onbacteria levels in the creek from those sources.

“If BST determines that cattle are a significant sourceof fecal bacteria in the watershed, the project teamwill develop integrated watering, grazing, shadedevelopment, feeding and prescribed burningstrategies to decrease the frequency and time cattlespend near Buck Creek, “ Gregory said. “Likewise,if wildlife or other sources of bacteria are identifiedas significant contributors, management measuresto reduce the bacteria will be evaluated and recom-mended accordingly.”

Sij said the project’s second phase is expected to takethree years. After bacteria sources are determined anda watershed protection plan is implemented, a thirdphase would begin to monitor effects of the plan andto make adjustments accordingly.

“The project could go on for five or six more years,”Sij said.

Because the project is so thorough, it is somethingof a showcase study, he said.

“We’ve incorporated a scientific approach to thiswhole project—identifying the problem, determiningwhat’s causing the problem and developing a water-shed protection plan with the stakeholders,” Sij said.“We will provide the data and the stakeholders willdevelop it (the plan). There are repeated analyses overmultiple sites from multiple years and not all siteshave that. It’s a start-to-finish project.”(Agricultural Communications contributed to this story.)

To comment on this article, visit its electronic versionat twri.tamu.edu/news/2007.

Photo Caption:Dr. George Di Giovanni and his research team—Dr. Elizabeth Casarez of El Paso, Dr. Suresh Pillaiof Texas A&M-College Station and Dr. Joanna Mott ofTexas A&M-Corpus Christi—received a 2007 TexasEnvironmental Excellence Award in Agriculture for theirresearch in bacterial source tracking.The award waspresented by the Texas Commission on EnvironmentalQuality at its May banquet in Austin and is the state’shighest environmental achievement. From left to right:Texas Senator Kip Averitt, Casarez, TCEQ CommissionerH.S. Buddy Garcia, TCEQ Commissioner Larry R. Sowardand Di Giovanni.

tx H2O | pg. 10

In June 2007 the Texas Commission onEnvironmental Quality (TCEQ) and the TexasState Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSW-

CB) approved the recommendations of the BacteriaTotal Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Task Force andasked their agencies to update their TMDL guidancedocuments to reflect these recommendations. Theyalso authorized establishing a multi-agency bacteriaTMDL work group to examine the research anddevelopment needs identified in the task force report.

Both TCEQ and TSSWCB members complimentedthe task force on the report. Larry Soward, TCEQcommissioner, called the task force report “signifi-cant, very important and well done,” adding that hewas impressed with “how open and inclusive it [theprocess] was.”

“I think it’s a good report,” said Jerry Nichols,TSSWCB chairman, thanking the task force for theirtime and effort.

Dr. Allan Jones, Texas Water Resources Institutedirector and chairman of the seven-member task

force, gave an overview of the report and its recom-mendations at the joint meeting. Other members ofthe task force were Drs. George Di Giovanni, TheTexas A&M University System Agricultural Researchand Extension Center at El Paso; Larry Hauck, TexasInstitute for Applied Environmental Research atTarleton State University; Joanna Mott, Texas A&MUniversity–Corpus Christi; Hanadi Rifai, Universityof Houston; Raghavan Srinivasan, Texas A&MUniversity; and George Ward, The University of Texasat Austin. An expert advisory group of approximately50 stakeholders and agency staff assisted the taskforce in developing the report.

Jones said the task force members had a few guidingprinciples when preparing the report, with the firstone being the importance of stakeholder involve-ment. “This is a process that is not well understoodby the public,” Jones said. “We recommend in thereport that agencies work very hard through existingorganizations to get local input.”

The task force report describes characteristics,strengths and weaknesses of several computer models

Story by Kathy Wythe

AGENCIES APPROVEBACTERIA TMDL TASKFORCE RECOMMENDATIONS

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(both existing or under development) that assistbacteria TMDL and implementation plan (I-Plan)analysis as well as bacterial source tracking methods.

The report also recommends a three-tier approachthat incorporates adaptive management, phasedTMDLs and phased implementation to the extentallowable by the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency, Jones said in an interview.

“The objectives of Tiers 1 and 2 are to ensure thateach TMDL is developed using a scientifically credi-ble, cost-effective process with strong stakeholderinvolvement,” he said.

Tier 3 is designed to develop a feasible I-Plan, and,for some complex TMDLs, expands the informationavailable for TMDL development, he said. (See infor-mation below for a summary of the three-tiered approach.)

The task force concluded its report by summarizinga number of research activities needed to strengthenthe scientific tools available for TMDL and I-Plandevelopment.

The report and related documents are available attwri.tamu.edu/bacteriatmdl/.

Tier 1 Analysis (T1) (one-year)Required for all bacteria TMDLs.• Form TMDL stakeholder advisory group.• Develop comprehensive GIS inventory for watershed.• Implement source survey for watershed.• Calculate load duration curves (LDCs).

Analyze Tier 1 data with stakeholder advisory group.Decision 1 (D1) Are data and analysis adequate?Yes Go to D2.No Go to T2.Decision 2 (D2) Are needed load reductions sociallyand economically attainable?Yes Complete and submit draft TMDL

for agency approval.No Complete and submit a draft TMDL

that includes a recommended changein designated use(i.e. Use Attainability Analysis).

Tier 2 Analysis (T2) (one-to-two years)Implemented for most bacteria TMDLs.May be adequate for I-Plan development for non-controversial TMDLs.• Implement targeted monitoring to fill data gaps.• Perform library-independent BST and limitedlibrary-dependent BST analysis.

• Develop simple LDC, GIS and/or Mass Balance Models.

Analyze Tier 2 data with stakeholder advisory group.Decision 3 (D3) Are data and analysis adequate?Yes Go to D4.No Initiate a “phased TMDL”and go to T3.Decision 4 (D4) Are needed load reductions sociallyand economically attainable?Yes Complete and submit draft TMDL

(or I-Plan) for agency approval.No Complete and submit a draft TMDL

that includes a recommended changein designated use(i.e. Use Attainability Analysis).

Tier 3 Analysis (T3) (two-to-three years)Normally used for I-Plan development.May be required for development of complex“phased TMDLs.”• Assure extensive stakeholder involvement.• Implement extensive targeted monitoring.• Perform extensive library-dependent BST analysis.• Complete mechanistic modeling.

Analyze Tier 3 data with stakeholder advisory group.Decision 5 (D5) Are needed load reductions sociallyand economically attainable?Yes Complete and submit draft I-Plan

(or revise “phased TMDL”) foragency approval.

No Complete and submit a draft TMDLthat includes a recommended changein designated use(i.e. Use Attainability Analysis).

Recommended Three-Tier Approachfor Bacteria TMDL Development

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The Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Boardis directing numerous education, assessment, demonstra-tion and implementation projects as part of its StatewideBacterial Water Quality Impairment Reduction Initiative.A few of the projects are listed below.

• Peach CreekWater QualityImprovement Project

• Monitoring and Educational ProgramsFocused on Bacteria and Nutrient Runoff onDairy Operations in the LeonWatershed

• Development of the Plum CreekWPP

• Impact of Proper Organic FertilizerManagement in Production of Agriculture

• PLAN for Tomorrow: Poultry LitterApplication on New Sites

• Watershed Protection Plan Developmentfor Buck Creek *

• Education Program for ImprovedWaterQuality in Copano Bay *

• Lone Star Healthy Streams *

• Environmental Management ofGrazing Lands *

*TWRI-managed projects

More information on the initiative is available atwww.tsswcb.state.tx.us/managementprogram/initiatives/bacteria.

Bacteria Projects Across the State

TSSWCB BACTERIA-RELATEDPROJECTS

Texas’ Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Programworks to improve water quality in impaired or threatenedwater bodies in the state. TCEQ works with TSSWCB andother entities to develop TMDLs. The following is a listof TMDL projects for water bodies where swimming orwading may be unsafe or harvesting of oysters is limitedor prohibited due to high concentrations of bacteria.

• Atascosa River: A TMDL Project for Bacteria

• Buffalo andWhite Oak Bayous:A TMDL Project for Bacteria

• Clear Creek: A TMDL Project for Bacteria

• Dickinson Bayou: A TMDL Project for Bacteria

• Elm and Sandies Creeks: A TMDL Project forBacteria and Dissolved Oxygen

• Gilleland Creek: A TMDL Project for Bacteria

• Guadalupe River above Canyon Lake:A TMDL Project for Bacteria

• Houston Metropolitan Area:A TMDL Project for Bacteria

• Leon River below Proctor Lake

• Northwest Houston Area Bacteria TMDL Project

• Oso Bay and Oso Creek:A TMDL Project for Bacteria

• Peach Creek: A TMDL Project for Bacteria

• Lower San Antonio River:A TMDL Project for Bacteria

• Upper San Antonio River:A TMDL Project for Bacteria

• Trinity River: A TMDL Project for Bacteria

• Upper Oyster Creek: A TMDL Project forBacteria and Dissolved Oxygen

• Copano Bay: A TMDL Project for Bacteria inOyster-HarvestingWaters

For more information on the bacteria TMDL projects, visitTCEQ’s Web site at www.tceq.state.tx.us/implementa-tion/water/tmdl/nav/tmdlprogramprojects.html.

BACTERIA TMDL PROJECTS

SURFACE WATERQUALITY STANDARDS

AAs part of the ongoing program to manage Texaswater quality, the Texas Commission onEnvironmental Quality (TCEQ) is currently review-ing the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards,including the standards for contact recreation use.

Preliminary public comment plus input from theSurface Water Quality Standards Advisory WorkGroup have provided guidance on options availablefor revising the standards, said Jim Davenport, leaderof the TCEQ Water Quality Standards Team. Thisadvisory group, with representation from water asso-ciations, the agricultural industry, engineering firms,environmental organizations, consumer groups andgovernment entities, is working with TCEQ staff toreview and possibly revise the standards.

For contact recreation use, Davenport said TCEQ isreviewing the range of applicable recreational cate-gories, the way in which these uses are assigned, andthe numerical criteria that are appropriate to effec-tively protect recreational uses.

“The Commission will seek substantial additionalpublic comment on any proposed changes to thestandards before adopting them into the state admin-istrative code,” Davenport said. “Because of the com-plexity and regulatory importance of the water quali-ty standards, the overall process is expected to contin-ue into 2009.”

For some, Texas’ standards for contact recreation are

not appropriate for many water bodies on theimpaired list.

Aaron Wendt, Texas State Soil and WaterConservation Board’s state watershed coordinator,said the standards for contact recreation, with only afew exceptions, are uniformly applied regardless ofwater body type or the actual level of recreation use.

“Because a minimum of 10 water samples over a five-year period is considered an adequate dataset, it’spretty easy to get listed for bacteria impairment,”Wendt said.

Kevin Wagner, a project manager for Texas WaterResources Institute (TWRI), agreed, asking the ques-tion, “Should almost all water bodies in the state beprotected for contact recreation as they are now?”

Wagner said some people believe that making ruralcreeks with almost no contact recreation meet thesame standard as Hill Country rivers that have peopleswimming and tubing all year long is unnecessaryand too costly for the state and local stakeholders.

Dr. Allan Jones, TWRI’s director, said the standardsissue needs to be resolved. “If not, we may be shoot-ing at targets almost impossible to meet.”

For more information, visit TCEQ’s Web site atwww.tceq.state.tx.us/nav/eq/eq_swqs.html.

tx H2O | pg. 13

Story by Kathy Wythe

tx H2O | pg. 14

Story by Kathy Wythe

tx H2O | pg. 15

In the 1980s, a group of scientists in a smallresearch building in Temple, Texas, began ajourney to mimic how watersheds work. Today,

a major product of their efforts—SWAT—is usedthroughout Texas, the nation and the world.

SWAT, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool, is asophisticated computer model that predicts theimpacts of weather, soils, land use and land manage-ment on water supplies as well as nonpoint andpoint source pollution in small to large watersheds.Information such as rainfall amount, soil type,and the amount of nutrients and pesticides appliedto the land over the years are fed into the model.Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are alsointegrated into the computer program that has 400to 500 mathematical equations with more than50,000 lines of computer code.

The model predicts how much water, sediment,nitrogen, phosphorus, pesticides, bacteria and otherpollutants are running off the land and getting intolakes and rivers, and the impact different watermanagement decisions could have.

“We’re trying to mimic nature,” said Dr. Jeff Arnold,research leader and agricultural engineer for theGrassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory inTemple, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’sAgricultural Research Service (ARS). “We give ourbest estimate of what’s going to happen.

“And SWAT’s estimation gives decision makers a toolto solve water quality problems, Arnold said.

Dr. Raghavan Srinivasan, director of Texas A&MUniversity’s Spatial Sciences Laboratory and professorin the Departments of Ecosystem Science and

MIMICKING NATUREComputer model helps manage nation’s, world’s waters

�

Management, and Biological and AgriculturalEngineering, agreed.

“For policy makers, models such as SWAT can serveas virtual laboratories for testing the effectivenessof alternative environmental policies and pollutioncontrol programs,” he said.

SWAT is a continuation of models developed over30 years at the ARS laboratory in Temple. Srinivasan,who was at Blackland Research and ExtensionCenter at the time, and Arnold worked togetherwith other Experiment Station, USDA NaturalResources Conservation Service (NRCS) and univer-sity scientists to develop SWAT and its nationalspatial databases and GIS interfaces.

“Srinivasan took these large-scale databases—thesoils data and land use and topography—and reallypulled all those together in a form we could use inthe models,” Arnold said. He explained that GIS takesthe maps and associated data and spatially pullseverything together, automatically develops all theSWAT inputs and then displays the information onmaps. “Without that application, the model’s usewould be very limited.”

One of the big drivers for developing the modelwas determining environmental impacts of differentconservation practices, Arnold said. Congress,through the Resources Conservation Act, requiresNRCS to report to Congress every 10 years on thestatus of the nation’s soil and water resources andevaluate conservation practices.

So, in the early 1990s, the researchers sold NRCSon the idea of using EPIC (Erosion ProductivityImpact Calculator), SWAT and GIS to model the

tx H2O | pg. 16

Mimicking Nature

48 contiguous states, simulating the effects manage-ment activities have on water quantity and qualityin watersheds, Srinivasan said. The result was theHydrologic Modeling of the United States orHUMUS project, a $1 million five-year project.Before HUMUS, NRCS relied on field observationsand statistical approaches to estimate the impacts ofconservation programs.

“This was the very first time we were able to modelthe continent using EPIC and SWAT models,”Srinivasan said. “There were no models at that timefor such a large area.”

The latest national assessment for NRCS,Conservation Effects Assessment Project, or CEAP,is currently being developed. In this assessment, thescientists are using SWAT to incorporate outputsfrom APEX (EPIC’s successor), which simulatescultivated lands. SWAT routes pollutants such assediment, nutrients and pesticides through streams,rivers and lakes to the sea, Arnold said.

“The USDA Farm Program has spent billions ofdollars supporting conservation practices with thefarmers, and they want to know the environmentalimpacts of these practices,” Arnold said.

Because of the success of the HUMUS project, theSWAT research team started working with the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and stateenvironmental agencies in the late 1990s to evaluatethe environmental impacts of pollutants at the localwatershed level in support of the federal CleanWater Act. EPA’s Office of Science and Technologydeveloped a tool kit—Better Assessment ScienceIntegration point and Non-point Sources orBASINS—to help states analyze their impaired waterbodies, estimate Total Maximum Daily Loads(TMDLs) and evaluate various best managementpractices suggested for each pollutant. SWAT, GISand the databases are part of that tool kit.

Today, many states across the country use SWAT intheir TMDL programs.

---------------------------------------------Dr. Raghavan Srinivasan, director, and Jennifer Jacobs,senior research associate, Spatial Sciences Laboratory, workon generating land use maps for one of the SWAT projects.

---------------------------------------------Dr. Jeff Arnold, research leader and agricultural engineer forthe ARS’s Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory inTemple, examines one of the SWAT’s watershed maps. SWAT isa river basin-scale model developed to quantify the impact ofland management practices in large, complex watersheds.

tx H2O | pg. 17

In Texas, the Texas Commission on EnvironmentalQuality and Texas State Soil and Water ConservationBoard use SWAT to develop TMDLs for bacteriaimpairments. The SWAT model characterizes thewatershed, identifying the source of the impairment,grouping the water segments based on the source ofthe impairment, and developing TMDLs in a mostcost- and time-efficient manner, Srinivasan said.

In 2007, Arnold and Srinivasan began working on theHydrologic and Water Quality System, or HAWQS,project, an extension of HUMUS. HAWQS, whichwill incorporate SWAT and another water qualitymodeling tool—U.S. Geological Survey’s SpatiallyReferenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes(SPARROW)—will model seven categories of pollu-tants, including bacteria and heavy metals. It willprovide information that estimates human healthrisk, drinking water treatment costs and criteriaexceedence frequencies for these pollutants.

This three-year project, funded by the EPA, will usestate-of-the-art GIS and more detailed databasesto provide much more information about thewatersheds, Srinivasan said. In the HUMUS project,the research team divided the country into 2,100watersheds for analysis; the HAWQS project researchteam is dividing it into 2.7 million watersheds.

“Having more detailed information helps watermanagers and policy makers to pinpoint the hot spotareas of pollution, so they can evaluate the areas,make changes and bring those areas within waterquality standards,” Srinivasan said.

Another important and growing use of SWAT isdetermining the impacts of climate change in theUnited States and abroad, Arnold said. Globalcirculation models help predict what is going tohappen to temperature and precipitation.Information from those models is fed into SWATto see what changes will occur to the water supply,reservoir levels and aquifer recharge based on thepredicted global climate changes.

Srinivasan and other SWAT developers and userstravel around the country and the world, conducting

workshops and teaching SWAT and related tools. Todate, Srinivasan has conducted 30 internationalworkshops and 50 U.S. workshops.

“We really wanted to deliver a tool that is usable anduseful and applied to solve real-world assessmentsrather than a pure research tool that sits on a shelf,”Srinivasan said. “We made the decision to take thetechnology to the users.

“SWAT is really starting to take off in a much moresignificant way to solve water quality and waterquantity issues around the world,” Srinivasan said,adding that 300 peer-reviewed publications havebeen written based on SWAT.

For this, they are glad. “We really want to make animpact,” he said.

To comment on this article, visit its electronic versionat twri.tamu.edu/news/2007.

�

tx H2O | pg. 18

International researchers and program managers in90 countries around the world use the Soil and WaterAssessment Tool (SWAT) model. Germany, the firstcountry interested in SWAT, uses it to model its largewatersheds, said Dr. Raghavan Srinivasan, director ofthe Spatial Sciences Laboratory and professor in theDepartments of Ecosystem Science and Management,and Biological and Agricultural Engineering. Oncethe European Union formed, it started looking atwater issues and used SWAT to help assess watershedsand transboundary water issues of the 15-countryunion, increasing the use of the modeling toolthroughout Europe.

The U.S. Agency for International Development fundeda research project for the Kenyan government in whichresearchers applied the SWAT model to a portion of theTana River below Mt. Kenya to determine the effects ofreforestation policies on a reservoir.

Researchers used SWAT to assess a four-country areain the Mekong River Basin in Southeast Asia, whichat 675,000 square kilometers is the largest river basinoutside of the United States modeled. Other internation-al projects using SWAT include assessing irrigationmanagement in a Pakistani river basin and developinga conservation assessment for a 25-country area inEurope much like USDA’s Natural ResourcesConservation Service’s Conservation Effects AssessmentProject or CEAP.

A research group in Zurich, Switzerland, is developinga global CEAP-like assessment focusing on water

supplies and water issues. “They are currently run-ning SWAT across the African continent with plans ofgearing up to global,” said Dr. Jeff Arnold, researchleader and agricultural engineer for the GrasslandSoil and Water Research Laboratory.

To answer this expanding interest worldwide, theresearch team organized the first international SWATconference in 2001 in Germany with 35 participantsfrom 16 countries and five continents presenting 20papers.

“This conference gave us a platform to launch SWATto a large audience,” Srinivasan said.

In 2003, the conference in Italy attracted 65 scientistsfrom 23 countries, presenting 40 papers, and in 2005,the Switzerland conference had 105 participants withabout 70 papers presented from 32 countries. The2007 conference in the Netherlands attracted morethan 140 participants and about 90 papers. The 2009international conference is planned in England.Beginning in 2008, regional conferences are plannedwith the first one in China, in January 2009 in ChangMai, Thailand, and the 2010 conference in NewDelhi, India.

Srinivasan said researchers from every continentexcept Antarctica attend the international meetings.“They have been a huge success,” he said. “Every con-ference we have about doubled the number of papersand participants.”

Story by Kathy Wythe

SWATGoes International

---------------------------------------------

TheMekongRiverCom

mission

used

SWAT

tohelpinthe

assessmentoftheMekongRiverBasin,

insoutheastAsia.

tx H2O | pg. 19

Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) projectmanagers work together with scientists and educatorsas well as government funding agencies to addresswater quality and quantity issues in Texas.

Each of TWRI’s five project managers administersseveral projects, coordinating meetings, administeringbudgets, monitoring research and ensuring thatdeadlines are met.

One of the project managers’ primary functions isto align interested research scientists from the TexasAgricultural Experiment Station and other universi-ties and Texas Cooperative Extension specialists andagents with funding agencies, a process that mostcommonly occurs in one of three ways.

“Project managers will monitor funding agencies tokeep track of who has funding and for what projects,”

said Lucas Gregory. “Once we’ve determined who hasfunding, a project manager will call a researcher orspecialist and see if his or her research or educationideas fit with the agency’s funding. Or, a researcher orspecialist will contact TWRI, and we'll start talking todifferent agencies to see if the person and the agencycan collaborate based on his or her interests. Finally,some agencies come to TWRI with funding, and wedevelop a project to use the funds.”

Gregory began his role at TWRI in 2006 upon com-pletion of a master’s degree in water managementand hydrological science at Texas A&M University.A former Mills Scholar, Gregory was familiar withTWRI. He saw that the institute complemented hiseducational interests, and he now manages several319(h)-funded projects that work to resolve nonpointsource pollution issues in collaboration with the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Texas

MANAGING SOLUTIONSInstitute’s managers coordinate water quality, quantity projects

Story by Emily Baker

�

---------------------------------------------TWRI manages four water quality projects on the Arroyo Colorado.

Managing Solutions

tx H2O | pg. 20

State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB).These projects include Buck Creek Water Quality,which consists of two projects; Pecos River WatershedProtection and New Technologies for Animal WastePollution Control.

He also manages two federal initiative projects—Water Quality Program for Lake Granbury, Texas,funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s NaturalResources Conservation Service (NRCS), andEnvironmental Infrastructures for the North BosqueRiver, funded by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers andDOE; a NRCS-funded Conservation InnovationGrant—Assembly and Testing of an On-FarmManure to Energy Conversion BMP for AnimalWaste Pollution Control; and a Caddo Lake project.

Gregory said that it is vital for researchers, Extensionspecialists and funding agencies to develop a workingrapport with each other in order to best form a sym-biotic partnership.

“Establishing relationships with people is the key,” hesaid. “The more people you know, the more you canconnect researchers and funding agencies. Meetingpeople and communicating what we do is the biggestpiece of the pie.”

Project Manager Cecilia Wagner agreed.

“New projects, new funding and new issues comeup all the time—knowing different researchers andspecialists and knowing their expertise is our job,”Wagner said, who began her second stint at TWRIin 2006.

Wagner said project managers produce a number ofdeliverables depending on the project. These itemsmay include newsletters, budgetary items or reports.

“The researchers conduct the work, and we serve asliaisons between them and funding agencies,” shesaid. “We let the scientists or specialists do their jobwithout letting the red tape get in the way. Grantfunding is a competitive world; we want to get fundsin, and just as quickly hand them out. We don’t carewhose name is on the reports and projects, rather wewant to solve water-related problems.”

She manages four Arroyo Colorado projects fundedby EPA through TSSWCB and Texas Commissionon Environmental Quality, and Texas Water

---------------------------------------------Project Managers Cecilia Wagner, Kevin Wagner, DanielleSupercinski, Dr. Bill Fox and Lucas Gregory work to link universityresearchers and Extension specialists to appropriate funding agen-cies to provide research-derived, science-based information to helpanswer diverse water questions addressing Texas’ water qualityand water quantity issues.

tx H2O | pg. 21

Development Board-funded projects—IrrigationTraining Program and Precision Irrigators Network.

Kevin Wagner, who joined TWRI in 2005 fromTSSWCB, has spent several years working withenvironmental issues. He is currently pursuing hisdoctorate evaluating best management practices forreducing bacterial runoff from cattle wastes enteringstreams. Wagner manages four bacteria-related TWRIprojects: Environmental Management of GrazingLands and a Conservation Innovation Grant BacteriaRunoff BMPs for Intensive Beef Cattle Operations,both funded by NRCS; and TSSWCB-funded proj-ects—Lone Star Healthy Streams and EducationProgram for Improved Water Quality in Copano Bay.

Wagner recommends that researchers and specialistscontact project managers with their research ideas sothat collaboration is possible.

“We tell researchers and specialists who are not famil-iar with TWRI to come visit with us about a projectidea and we’ll work out a scope of work and look forplaces to submit the idea, and we’ll refine it depend-ing on the grant we’re looking to get,” Wagner said.“The most important thing is to get something onpaper before we take that first step.”

As project manager for the Rio Grande BasinInitiative (RGBI), Danielle Supercinski has beensuccessful in documenting the project’s outcomes.She works with researchers and Extension specialistsand agents, helping pull together reports, publica-tions, news articles, an annual accomplishment reportand other project-related materials and reporting.

“I put together an annual progress and accomplish-ments report for the project that is almost 100 pagesof project outcomes—water savings, money savingsand collaborative efforts,” Supercinski said. “Thereport is given to project participants as well as offi-cials in Washington to show that we are saving water,producing results and doing what we are gettingfunded to do.”

Dr. B.L. Harris, RGBI project director and TWRIassociate director, said, “Documenting results andoutcomes is important to any project and RGBI

serves as a model program of outcomes, focused onwater conservation accountability.”

RGBI is a joint project between Texas and NewMexico Agricultural Experiment Stations andCooperative Extension, and is funded by the U.S.Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative StateResearch, Education and Extension Service. Thispartnership, along with numerous other agency,organization and university collaborations, minimizesduplication of efforts and produces greater outcomesbecause of everyone working together.

“Collaboration has produced numerous accomplish-ments because these researchers and Extension spe-cialists and agents are working toward the commongoal of conserving water,” Supercinski said. “Sincethe inception of the project in 2001, more than 2.8million acre-feet of water have been saved. Throughcontinued project efforts, even more water savingscan be accomplished through RGBI and other waterconservation projects, providing water supplies tomeet current and future water demands.”

Another example of the importance of project part-nership is the Fort Hood Range Revegetation Pilotproject. Dr. Bill Fox, senior research scientist andmanager for this project, has served as the liaisonamong the project’s partners: the U.S. Departmentof Defense, the U.S. Department of Army, NRCS andthe Experiment Station, including BlacklandAgricultural Research and Extension Center andTWRI in the NRCS-funded four-year project. Thesuccess of this project has led to an increase in FortHood’s military construction budgets for a morewidespread application of best management practicesto control erosion, he said. Fox is also involved inproject and federal initiative development.

“This project is working to restore the training landsof the military installation by developing and imple-menting best management practices and decisionsupport tools,” Fox said, who conducts research forthe project. “Everyone agrees that improving trainingconditions for U.S. Army soldiers is the number oneaccomplishment of the project. I am glad TWRI canbe a part of it.”

tx H2O | pg. 22

Conserving water is vital for the Rio GrandeBasin, one of the most productive agriculturalareas in the United States. Irrigated agricul-

ture claims 85 percent of its water, and urban wateruse is expected to double in the next 50 years.

Texas and New Mexico Agricultural ExperimentStation researchers and Cooperative Extensionspecialists and agents have tackled these issues andtheir achievements were reported in the Rio GrandeBasin Initiative (RGBI) 2006–2007 Progress andAccomplishments Report, published in May 2007.

Results range from development of new models,more efficient irrigation technology, new Web sitecomponents, rehabilitation of irrigation districtinfrastructure and activities to promote in-homewater conservation. The report showed that costand water savings as well as new, more efficienttechnologies impact the basin the most.

One example of these new technologies is the DESALECONOMICS© model, an Excel® spreadsheet,developed by the RGBI Extension economics team.This model calculates life-cycle costs of desalinationper acre-foot and per thousand gallons. The teamdesigned this model for economic and financialanalyses of desalination facilities and the model isbroadly applicable across many types of facilities.

VIDRA©, Valley Irrigation District Rate Analyzer,another spreadsheet model, helps irrigation districtsunderstand scenarios of likely financial outcomesin changing water delivery rates to agricultural,municipal and industrial users. Seven irrigationdistricts are currently using VIDRA, with one districtcollaborating to develop a customized version.

Extension engineers, working with RGBI, assist irriga-tion districts in completing project applications byanalyzing the conditions, water losses and potential

Story by Danielle Supercinski

Savings Along the Rio Grande2006-2007 RGBI accomplishment report published

tx H2O | pg. 23

water savings in irrigation canals. Irrigation districtshave saved from 290 to 6,500 acre-feet of water peryear from canal replacement, lining and/or seepage-loss testing. In addition, technical support fromExtension engineers have saved districts more than$180,000 on engineering services.

On-farm studies resulted in an average 25 percentto 40 percent water savings with drip irrigationsystems while maintaining similar yields using furrowirrigation. Watermark sensors can help farmers esti-mate water requirements for more precise irrigationand improved yields with the potential to conservebetween 7,500 and 10,300 acre-feet of water per yearvalley-wide on cucurbits.

To promote in-home water conservation, Extensionspecialists and agents conducted an in-home waterconservation study of 24 households in eight countiesin the basin. Each household received one of threetypes of conservation training and, as a result,reduced water use from 4 percent to 21 percent,saving 400 to 3,000 gallons of water. RGBI alsopromotes rainwater harvesting and efficient landscapeirrigation as other methods of conserving water.

Other RGBI efforts continue to yield even moreaccomplishments. Researchers analyze water samplesfor animal and human viruses and indicator organ-isms, study giant cane control agents, identify weedmanagement programs for noxious weeds andanalyze sap-flux and water-use estimates for saltcedartrees. Publications developed from this researchaddress irrigating urban landscapes with moderatelysaline water. Researchers have also acquired a user-friendly framework for Rio Grande Basin Web sites,adding real-time data, query functions and otherdata to the water resources database. They are alsodeveloping an interactive statewide county mappingsystem to provide a resource geographic informationsystems (GIS) database.

In addition to accomplishments, collaboration iskey to this project. Collaborators and the effortsthey contribute to the project were highlighted in anew section of the report this year. More than 100collaborators are listed.

Water and cost savings continue to be the main focusof RGBI as the basin’s population, costs and waterdemands increase. Therefore, RGBI researchers, spe-cialists and agents continue their efforts to produceeven greater outcomes and results.

To download the accomplishment report or formore information on the 2007 conference, visitriogrande-conference.tamu.edu/wrapup/2007/.

To comment on this article, visit its electronic versionat twri.tamu.edu/news/2007.

---------------------------------------------Watch Dog watermark sensors are installed in this onion field tomonitor the amount of irrigation. Watermark sensors can helpfarmers estimate water requirements and become more precise inirrigating and improving yields. Photo from Juan Enciso

I

tx H2O | pg. 24

n December 2007, the Texas Water DevelopmentBoard (TWDB) will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Asthe state’s water planning and water project financingagency, TWDB has made significant impacts duringthe last five decades on ensuring clean and adequatewater for Texans.

TWDB was established by the citizens of Texas aftera major drought from 1950 to 1957 to make certainthat future droughts would not have the same devas-tating effects. Since 1957, TWDB has been chargedwith addressing the state’s water needs to ensurethe availability of sufficient water at a reasonablecost while protecting the state’s agricultural andnatural resources.

TWDB’s mission is to provide leadership, planning,financial assistance, information and education forthe conservation and responsible development ofwater for Texas. According to its Web site, TWDB’smain responsibilities are threefold: collecting anddisseminating water-related data; assisting withregional water planning and preparing the statewater plan to develop the state’s water resources;

and administering cost-effective financial programsfor constructing water supply, wastewater treatment,flood control and agricultural water conservationprojects.

In November 2006, the board adopted the 2007State Water Plan and in January 2007, presented itto the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker ofthe House of Representatives and members of theLegislature. Water for Texas—2007 is the eighth statewater plan since 1957.

This plan suggests many water management strategiesto ensure enough water for Texas during drought,including municipal and agricultural conservation,and water reuse and building reservoirs, wells, anddesalination plants.

“As the state continues to experience rapid growthand declining water supplies, implementation ofthis state water plan is crucial to ensure public health,safety and welfare, and economic development inthe state,” said E.G. Rod Pittman, TWDB’s chairmanof the board.

Texas Water Development Boardmakes impact on clean, adequate water

Story by Kari Miller

Celebrating 50 Years

2007Water Summit

The Texas Water Development Board is hostingReflections,Water Summit 2007 on December 2–4,2007 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Centerin San Antonio to coincide with the board’s 50thanniversary.

The summit will feature speakers on many water-related topics such as desalination, rainwater har-vesting, innovative technology, landscape irrigation,agricultural irrigation in Texas and municipal waterconservation.

For more information, visit www.twdb.state.tx.us.

tx H2O | pg. 25

In addition to developing state water plans, TWDBprovides funding for water supply projects andwater-related research in Texas through grantsand loans. Each year TWDB provides hundreds ofmillions of dollars in financial assistance to water andwastewater service providers, including cities, waterdistricts and other municipal utility districts. Theseprograms are funded through state-backed bonds, acombination of state bond proceeds and federal grantfunds, or limited appropriated funds.

George Farland, general manager of the HarrisCounty Municipal Utility District No. 50, is a recentTWDB customer.

“The TWDB has provided very valuable servicesand assistance to us,” Farland said. “I had a greatdeal of personal assistance from their staff. Theyhelped us through all the hurdles and provided thismuch-needed financial and technical assistance tohelp our community.”

Jim Conkwright, general manager of High PlainsUnderground Water Conservation District, saidTWDB has provided funding for the district’sagricultural water conservation equipment loanprogram from 1985 to 2001 as well as the currentTexas Alliance for Water ConservationDemonstration Project in Floyd and Hale counties.

“We have a great relationship with TWDB officialsand staff. They have assisted us as we work toconserve the groundwater resources within thedistrict’s 15-county service area,” Conkwright said.

Looking to develop “new” water sources, in April2006, TWDB awarded $1.3 million to the BrownsvillePublic Utilities Board to conduct a 12-month seawa-ter desalination pilot plant. After completing thisstudy in late 2007, the utilities board is expectedto make a decision to construct a full-scale plant,which would be the first large-scale seawater desalina-tion plant in Texas. All planning-level activitieswill be completed with the current pilot study.TWDB and Brownsville Public Utilities Board arepresently exploring all funding options that willenable the utilities board to proceed with the design

and construction of the plant. If constructed, theplant will become operational by 2010.

Over the years, TWDB has provided various researchgrants to support the development of desalination,including desalination of brackish groundwater.

Through its involvement in rainwater harvesting,TWDB has published several documents withinformation and recommendations about how toimplement the practice.

TWDB also maintains the Texas Natural ResourcesInformation System (TNRIS), a database of informa-tion on the state’s natural resources. According to theTexas Water Code, this database is to provide a “cen-tralized information system incorporating all Texasnatural resource data, socioeconomic data related tonatural resources, and indexes related to that datathat are collected by state agencies or other entities.”

The governor appoints board members, who meetmonthly in Austin to consider loan applications,award grants and other business such as approvingregional water plans and adopting the state waterplan. Current members are Dario Vidal Guerra, Jr.,Thomas Weir Labatt, III, James E. Herring andWilliam W. Meadows. The chairman is E. G. RodPittman and vice chairman is Jack Hunt.

tx H2O | pg. 26

TWDB History

TWDB’s history reaches back into the earlypart of the twentieth century and tracksthe climate and culture of the state. Hereare a few significant events in the evolutionof the agency.

A constitutional amendmentwas adopted authorizing

the first public developmentof water resources.

The 33rd Texas Legislaturecreated the Board of Water

Engineers to regulatewater appropriations.

The Board of Water Engineerspoints out the potential

advantages of a statewidewater plan.

1904 1913 1926

The three water agenciesexisting at the time,TWDB,

the Texas Water RightsCommission and the Water

Quality Board, were combinedby the Texas Legislature, creat-ing the Texas Department ofWater Resources (TDWR).This

new single agency wasresponsible for developing

Texas’water resources,main-taining the quality of water

and assuring equitable distri-bution of water rights.

Sunset Legislation reorganized the Texas Departmentof Water Resources, splitting the agency into twoseparate agencies, the Texas Water Commissionand TWDB (current agency).TWDB was maderesponsible for long-range planning and water

project financing. In addition, legislation establishedthe first comprehensive programs for water

conservation and studies of environment flowneeds for Texas bays and estuaries.

The 71st Texas Legislatureand voters of the statepassed comprehensive

legislation and constitutionalamendments establishing

the Economically DistressedAreas Program (EDAP) to be

administered by TWDB.

1977 1985 1989

TWDBHistory

tx H2O | pg. 27

Texas suffered themost severe drought in

the state’s history.

TWDB was created bylegislative act and

constitutional amendment.The constitutional amend-ment, approved by Texas

voters, authorized the TWDBto issue $200 million in Stateof Texas General ObligationWater Development Bondsfor the conservation and

development of Texas’waterresources through loans to

political subdivisions.

The Board of Water Engineerswas reorganized, renamed

the Texas Water Commissionand given specific responsibil-

ities for water planning(57th Texas Legislature).

�

The Texas Legislaturerestructured the state wateragencies, transferred waterresource planning functionsto TWDB and renamed theTexas Water Commission tothe Texas Water Resource

Commission (TWRC).

The 1968 Texas Water Plan includeda comprehensive water resource

development plan includingimporting water from the MississippiRiver. However, voters did not approve

a constitutional amendmentproviding for necessary state

funding of the plan.

The Texas Natural ResourcesInformation System (TNRIS)was created, succeedingthe Texas Water-OrientedData Bank, incorporating a

centralized repositoryand clearinghouse of maps,

census information andwater-related information.

1997 1997 2001 2001-2002 2006-2007 2007

The Texas Legislaturepassed Senate Bill 1 whichestablished the Regional

Water Planning program, a“grass roots” approach tostatewide water planning.

The 1997 State Water Planwas adopted as a consensus

effort by TWDB, theTexas Parks and Wildlife

Department and the TexasNatural Resource

Conservation Commission.

The Texas Legislature passedSenate Bill 2 which createdsignificant groundwater

legislation and included thecreation of many groundwa-ter conservation districts.

In 2001, the sixteen RegionalWater Planning Groups

completed their first regionalwater plans. In 2002,

TWDB combined the regionalplans and adopted the 2002

State Water Plan.

In 2006, the Regional WaterPlanning Groups completedthe second round of regional

plans which includedmore comprehensive water

conservation strategies.In 2007,TWDB

completed and adopted the2007 State Water Plan.

As it celebrates its 50th Anniversary,TWDB has received extensive

additional responsibilities from thepassage of Senate Bill 3 and increasedfunding by the 80th Texas Legislature.

�

1954-1956 1957 1962 1965 1968 1972

TWRI Briefs

tx H2O | pg. 28

Baylor outdoor facility bridges gapbetween field and indoor lab studies

Dr. Jacqueline Aitkenhead-Peterson

Soil & Crop Sciences

Dr. Jacqueline Aitkenhead-Peterson joined the Departmentof Soil and Crop Sciences asan assistant professor of urbannutrient and water management.

Aitkenhead-Peterson received her doctorate in naturalresources from the University of New Hampshire in 2000.

Her research focuses on the mechanisms that influencecarbon, nitrogen and phosphorous cycling and loss to sur-face water under different land uses within watershedsincluding links between E. coli and nutrients in urbanstorm and irrigation runoff. She believes that good waterquality is essential for sustainable population growth.

New Faculty

By Kari Miller

In September 2006, Baylor University’s Center forReservoir and Aquatic Systems Research opened the BaylorExperimental Aquatic Research facility (BEAR), an outdoorlab to study how pollution affects aquatic life in streamsin Texas. This project, funded by Altria Group Inc., Baylorand the City of Waco, consists of 12 miniature streams and24 model wetlands that draw their water from the outflowof Lake Waco Wetlands. Here, the North Bosque River ispumped for the natural purification the wetland affords,so the water used in the facility is very clean.

Each stream is approximately 2 feet wide and 60 feet longand is designed to imitate the habitat of central Texasstreams by including riffle, glide and pool sections. A riffleis a fast-flowing, shallow section of a stream that usuallyhas cobble or gravel. Glides are also shallow but with aslower current, and pools are deep, slow areas. Each ofthese sections usually support different species of wildlifeadapted to that particular habitat, so the facility’s streamshave been populated with living organisms such as algae,bacteria, aquatic plants and insects from nearby streams.

Baylor scientists Dr. Ryan King, assistant professor ofbiology, and Dr. Bryan Brooks, associate professor ofenvironmental studies, are the principal investigators ofthe BEAR streams. Dr. Robert Doyle, associate professorand chair of biology, is the lead developer of the modelwetlands.

“The intention of the BEAR facility is to bridge the gapbetween field observations, which represent the habitatof interest but may be influenced by many interactingchemicals or other aquatic stressors simultaneously, andlaboratory or small field experiments, which allow forcontrol of environmental variables, yet are too small andunrepresentative of natural conditions to be realistic,” Kingsaid. “Because of its size (more than 30,000 square feet),outdoor location and close proximity to natural aquatichabitats, the BEAR facility is a unique, state-of-the-artresource for conducting controlled yet realistic waterresearch studies.”

Attendees at the opening of Baylor’s BEAR facility inSeptember 2006 inWaco view the 12 miniature “real life”streams,which can be manipulated to look and act likestreams found across central Texas and in other regions.

tx H2O | pg. 29

Dr. Bryan Boulanger

Civil Engineering

Dr. Bryan Boulanger joined theZachry Department of CivilEngineering’s Environmental andWater Resources Division as anassistant professor.

Boulanger received his doctorate in environmentalengineering from the University of Iowa in 2004.

His research employs a multi-disciplinary, cross-scalesresearch approach to explore the fate and transport ofmaterials in natural and engineered systems. His group hasa particular interest in the fate of emerging contaminantsin water and wastewater, use of reclaimed water andbiosolids in agriculture and risk management from envi-ronmental exposures.

Dr. Emily Zechman

Civil Engineering

Dr. Emily Zechman joined theZachry Department of CivilEngineering’s Environmental andWater Resources EngineeringDivision in August as an assistantprofessor.

Zechman received her doctorate in civil engineering fromNorth Carolina State University in 2005 where she held aposition as a research assistant professor.

Her research focuses on the use and development of com-putational and analytical tools for water resources andenvironmental problems, including threat management ofwater distribution systems, groundwater pollutant sourceidentification, and sustainable design of transportationinfrastructures.

Laura De La Garza joined Texas Water ResourcesInstitute in June 2007 as program coordinator for theInstitute’s Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection PlanImplementation project, transferring from the Texas SeaGrant College Program at Texas A&M University.

TWRI Adds Staff

She coordinates the ArroyoColorado Watershed SteeringCommittee in addition to facili-tating and tracking implementa-tion measures described in thecompleted watershed protectionplan for the Arroyo Colorado. Asprogram coordinator, she willpublicize and build awareness ofthese watershed improvementefforts and provide extensiveoutreach and education activities.

De La Garza received her bachelor’s degree in geology andcompleted her course work for master studies in commu-nity and regional planning from the University of Texas.

Dr. RalphWurbs, professor inTexas A&M University ZachryCivil Engineering Department,has joined Texas Water ResourcesInstitute as a part-time associatedirector with the responsibilityof representing the engineeringaspects of water research, exten-sion and education. Wurbs willassist Dr. Allan Jones, director,and Dr. B.L. Harris, associate director, in working withfunding agencies, research beneficiaries, researchers andadministrators.

Wurbs joined the Zachry Department of Civil Engineeringfaculty in 1980 and has served as division head for thedepartment’s Environmental and Water ResourcesEngineering Division since 1999. He will continue todevote two-thirds of his time to his engineering facultyduties.

Jones said the institute sought out Wurbs for this positionbecause he understands water resources and the watermanagement community of Texas and has been involvedwith TWRI activities for 25 years. Jones said the goal ofthis partnership is to integrate the efforts of the diverseuniversity research community to more effectively con-tribute to solving the water resources problems faced byTexas, the nation and the world.

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Permit No. 215

ZEROS Energy & Water Alliance

ZEROS Energy & Water Alliance signed a $2 millionendowment agreement with the Texas A&MFoundation to support the enhancement anddevelopment of the teaching, research and Extensionactivities of the Texas Water Resources Institute.Present at the signing were (left to right) Dr. B. L.Harris, TWRI associate director; Dr. Mark Hussey,Texas Agricultural Experiment Station director; Dr. ElsaMurano, vice chancellor and dean of agriculture andlife sciences for The Texas A&M University System;Steve Clark, Alliance trustee and developer of ZEROS;John Stropp, interim president of the Texas A&MFoundation; and Dr. Allan Jones, TWRI director.