Texas Water Journal
Online, peer-reviewed journal for Texas
water resources management, research, and policy
28Jan
State Legislature, Voters Move to Eighty-Six Texas’s Flooding Challenges
Even before the 86th Texas Legislature began, it was clear the session would feature a deluge of activity focused on addressing Texans’ experience with flooding. Elected representatives from across the…
Read More25Feb
Oilfield Water Infrastructure Connectivity: The Case for a ‘Hydrovascular’ Network in the Permian Basin
The current phase of oilfield water infrastructure buildout in the Permian Basin generally emphasizes each operator or midstream provider building its own water transportation and disposal systems. Accordingly, the overall…
Read More03Apr
Runoff Inflow Volumes to the Highland Lakes in Central Texas: Temporal Trends in Volumes and Relations between Volumes and Selected Climatic Indices
Inflow to the Highland Lakes has substantially decreased from 1942–2013, likely due to increased evapotranspiration from the proliferation of 19 major upstream reservoirs and about 69,500 minor reservoirs and water…
Read More30Apr
Book Review: Regulating Water Security in Unconventional Oil and Gas
In this book review, Jessica Foster summarizes Regulating Water Security in Unconventional Oil and Gas, a collection of articles authored by professionals from disciplines as diverse as agriculture, zoology, law,…
Read More23Jun
Hydrodynamic Modeling Results Showing the Effects of the Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer on Salinity in Lake Houston, TX
An overreliance on groundwater resources in the Houston (Texas) metropolitan area led to aquifer drawdowns and land subsidence, so regional water suppliers have been turning to surface water resources to…
Read MoreImmediate Past Issue
22Jan
A Refined Hydrogeologic Framework Model for Gaines, Terry, and Yoakum Counties, Texas
Declining groundwater levels in Gaines, Yoakum, and Terry counties in the Southern High Plains have raised concerns about the amount of available groundwater and the potential for water-quality changes resulting…
Read More04Feb
Commentary: Water Fuels Our Future
Abstract Sen. Charles Perry authors a commentary outlining water and flooding legislation he has filed in the 86th Texas Legislature. Editor’s note: The opinion expressed in this commentary is the…
Read More22Feb
An Internet for Water: Connecting Texas Water Data
Abstract The Connecting Texas Water Data Workshop brought together experts representative of Texas’ water sectors to engage in the identification of critical water data needs and to discuss the design…
Read More22Apr
Floating Solar: An Emerging Opportunity at the Energy-Water Nexus
Texas is experiencing tremendous growth, which puts pressure on resources including water and electricity supplies. Texas leads the nation in renewable energy production and is experiencing tremendous growth in the…
Read More17Jun
A Tool for Rapid Assessment of Hydrological Connectivity Patterns in Texas Coastal Wetlands: Linkages between Tidal Creeks and Coastal Ponds
Coastal salt marshes are heterogeneous, spatially complex ecosystems. The degree of hydrological connectivity in these systems can be a significant driver in the flux of energy, organisms, and nutrients across…
Read More19Jul
Economically Recoverable Water in Texas: An Underappreciated Water Management Strategy?
Conversations about the value or “true cost of water” and the nationwide infrastructure maintenance gap encourage a reconsideration of the value of utility water losses. Water loss audit data for…
Read More22Aug
86th Texas State Legislature: Summaries of Water-related Legislative Action
Abstract Editor-in-Chief’s Note: September 1 of every odd-numbered year is the date when new legislation from the most recent session of the Texas Legislature typically goes into effect. With this…
Read More23Oct
Transboundary Water Sharing: Risk Perceptions Held by Texas Border Decision Makers
Despite transboundary water resource management issues being a source of tension between neighboring states, little research has addressed what causes cooperation or conflict between differing governments along borders. For the…
Read More17Dec
Interjecting Economics into the Surface Water Dialogue
This paper applies the conceptual lens of economic efficiency as a criterion by which to evaluate surface water in Texas. We identify two major problems. First, Texas has a water…
Read MoreVolumes 1 to 10 (2010 – 2019)
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SPECIAL ISSUE – Water Texas Style
Contents
Water, Texas Style: An Introduction. Extremes of climate and geography make managing water in a state as large as Texas a challenge. In response, Texas has created an array of institutions to handle that challenge. Author: Todd Votteler
Planning, Financing, and Providing for the Needs of 23 Million More Texans by 2070. People have been moving to Texas for decades with no signs showing that the migration is slowing down. How much water will they need, where will that water come from, and how will it be paid for? Author: Peter Lake
Groundwater Governance, Management, Regulation, and Emerging Issues in the Lone Star State. Groundwater provides most of the water that Texans use. However, groundwater supplies are projected to decrease by nearly a quarter between 2020 and 2070. As one of the last rule of capture states how is Texas managing its groundwater in the face of declining supplies? Author: Robert Mace
Surface Water Management, Regulation, and Flooding: Planning for Feast or Famine. The first major new reservoir in Texas since the 1980s is now under construction. Is Texas in the beginning of a new period of reservoir construction? If so, should all new water supply projects be required to provide flood protection benefits in the wake of Hurricane Harvey? Author: Sara Thornton
The Rise of Water Conservation and Efforts to Protect Environmental Flows. Texas first began to address the surface water needs of the environment in 1985. Conservation is now a major focus of the state’s efforts to stretch its existing supplies. What are these efforts and could they be examples for other states? Author: Kathy Alexander
Hands Across the Waters: How Texas Works with River Compacts. Many of the rivers in Texas are located wholly within the state’s boundaries. There are a few notable exceptions, however. How does Texas manage transboundary rivers? Author: Suzy Valentine
The Texas Energy and Water Nexus. Texas is both a major producer and user of energy. Some sources of energy relied upon by Texas use far more water than others and could be vulnerable to shortages during future droughts. Author: Gabe Collins
Water Research in Texas: An Ever Evolving Topic and a Highly Engaged Community. Texas has a robust water research effort spread across many universities as well as other institutions. How are these efforts organized and what is the focus of their research? Author: John Tracy
Water Education Leadership in Texas: Pathway for Students from Middle School to University Degree. Like most states Texas is experiencing a generational change in the water workforce created by retiring baby boomers. How will Texas fill the jobs needed to quench its growing thirst? Author: Rudolph Rosen
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NEW! Texas+Water w/ a Q&A w/ Robert Mace; an update on Texas drought & 🌧️ conditions; a Talk+Water podcast w/ Texas Living Water's Jennifer Walker & Texas Sierra Club's Ken Kramer re the 2020 Texas Water Conservation Scorecard & much more: buff.ly/3id6jxn
In a NEW Talk+Water podcast hear Ken Kramer & Jennifer Walker break down data and share trends and patterns of water conservation practices of 350+ utilities in Texas in the 2020 Texas Water Conservation Scorecard:
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Larry Stevens is the Director of the Springs Stewardship Institute & Curator of Ecology at the Museum of Northern Arizona. Listen to his thoughts of the importance of springs across the globe: buff.ly/312jICu
Read the Q&A with Sara Colangelo, Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Program at the Georgetown University Law Center on the SCOTUS Clean Water Act decision on #groundwater: buff.ly/3hRMuvt
The Texas Water Journal has published an article by USGS Erik Smith & Sachin Shah titled, “Hydrodynamic Modeling Results Showing the Effects of the Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer on Salinity in Lake Houston, TX.” Read it here: buff.ly/3etOVSY