Texas Natural Resources/ Environmental Literacy Summit

Join education, environmental and natural resource leaders in advancing the Texas Natural Resources/Environmental Literacy Plan.
Join education, environmental, and natural resource leaders in advancing natural resource/environmental literacy as the new Texas Natural Resource / Environmental Literacy Plan is presented at the Summit on January 25, 2013 in San Antonio, Texas. This is an exciting time for Texas and we hope you will be part of this effort in advancing natural resource/environmental literacy. The purpose of the Natural Resource/ Environmental Literacy Summit is to present the plan to professionals from formal and informal education, natural resources, government, non-profit, and industry interested in natural resource/environmental education and outreach. Through this presentation, the participants of the summit will become familiar with the plan and identify next steps for implementation. The Natural Resource/Environmental Literacy Summit Committee is proud Mrs. Laura Bush, Former First Lady, will serve as the keynote speaker for the Summit.  Mrs. Bush recently founded Taking Care of Texas (www.takingcareoftexas.org), which aims to spur conservation efforts that benefit communities, build on the success of others, and inspire all Texans to join in. The program will also feature special guest speakers Carter Smith, Executive Director of Texas Parks and Wildlife; Bora Simmons, Director for the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education and Jose"Pepe" Marcos-Iga, North American Association for Environmental Education Board President. Endorsement Opportunity - Organizations who agree overall with the content and strategy of the Texas Natural Resource/Environmental Literacy Plan, and its alignment with their mission, please contact: Tom Arsuffi, tom.arsuffi@ttu.edu. We will list your organization's endorsement in the frontal piece of the Plan and on the Plan's website.	TriPoint 3233 N. St. Mary's San Antonio, TX 78212 Registration Online pre-registration for the Summit is now open. Click here to register. Pre-registration Rate: $35 On-site registration: $50 Hotel Accommodations A room block has been reserved for summit participants under the name San Antonio River Authority. These rooms are on a first come first serve basis at the rate of $85 per night plus tax for January 24 and 25. The room block rate is guaranteed until December 24, 2012.  Discount will still apply after that time, if rooms remain. Please book your room as soon as possible. El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel 110 Lexington Avenue San Antonio, TX 78205 Reservations: 877.214.9768 or http://www.eltropicanohotel.com/locatio     /index.cfm Opening Reception The opening reception, sponsored by the San Antonio Zoo and Sea World, will be held on Thursday, January 24, 2013 from 6:30-8:00 PM at the San Antonio Zoo. Get eye to eye with the Zoo's hippos while enjoying drinks and heavy appetizers inside the Zoo's exclusive indoor African gallery. SAN ANTONIO ZOO – 3903 N St Mary's – www.sazoo.org – closest parking will be the small lot to right of the main entrance. The Zoo is located just blocks from the conference site and conference participants may arrange early access into the Zoo on 1/24, by calling 210/734-7184 ext 1501. Agenda & Draft PlanWill be posted on the following website closer to the event date. To view the plan: http://taee.org Breakout SessionsThe breakout sessions will consist of the six goals laid out in the NR/ELP and will provide a small group setting for Summit participants to provide immediate feedback to the plan. Panels of experts and NR/ELP writers will provide guidance and structure to these feedback sessions.

City of Fredericksburg Water Forum

 

The State of Our Water
Today and Tomorrow
 

January 10, 2013
6-8 P.M.
 

Hill Country University Center
2818 E. US Hwy. 290
Fredericksburg, Texas
 

Speakers:
 

Doug Miller, State Representative
 

Andrew Sansom, Executive Director-Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University
 

Raymond M. Slade Jr., Former Hydrologist US Geological Survey
 

Joe Beal, Former General Manager of Lower Colorado River Authority
 

Paul Tybor, Manager-Hill Country Underground Water Conservation District
Hill Country Underground Water Conservation District
 

Sponsors

City of Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce

Gillespie County

Hill Country University

Gillespie  County Economic Development Commission

Hill Country Underground Water Conservation District 

Speaker Panel
 

Doug Miller– First elected to the Texas Legislature in 2008, Doug has served as a member of both the House Appropriations Committee and the Natural Resources Commit-tee. The House Speaker appointed him to serve as chair on the Edwards Aquifer Legislative Oversight Committee in 2011. Born and raised in the Hill Country, Doug is a graduate of Texas State University.
 

Andrew Sansom - Andrew Sansom is one of Texas’ leading conservationists. He is a former Executive Director of The Texas Nature Conservancy and the Texas Parks and Wild-life Department and the author of five books and numerous Magazine Articles. He is currently the Executive Director of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University-San Marcos.
 

Raymond Slade, Jr.– Is a certified, registered Professional Hydrologist with the American Institute of Hydrology and served as Hydrologist for 33 years with the U.S. Geological Survey in Texas. He has authored more than 100 reports concerning Texas water re-sources. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Austin Community College and is on the Advisory Board and Technical Advisory Committee for the Hill County Alliance.
 

Joe Beal– Raised in Texas, Joe earned his degree in civil engineering from Texas Tech University followed by a master’s degree in business administration in municipal finance from the University of Texas at Austin. Joe worked for the Texas Water Quality Board, and then for the engineering and environ-mental consulting firm, Espey, Huston. In 1995 he came to LCRA to lead Water Services. Joe was LCRA’s General Manager from 2000-2007. Currently he is a consulting engineer and banker.
 

Paul Tybor– Has been the general manager of the Hill Country Underground Water District since 1989. A graduate of University of Houston in Geology and graduate studies in Hydro-Geology at UTSA. Prior to joining the Underground Water District, Paul was involved in the Oil and Gas sector. He is a member of the Lower Colorado Regional Water Planning Committee, Region K.

Behind the scary water headlines

TEXAS IN DROUGHT: STATE WATER POLICY 

Mary Kelly, former Environmental Defense Fund lawyer who heads the environmental consulting firm Parula, LLC.

By Mary E. Kelly 

It’s hard to look at any media in Texas today without being confronted by a dire outlook on the state’s water future. The jarring effects of a deep drought and the steep price tag attached to the state’s water plan definitely make for attention-grabbing copy. But for those who care about sustainable management of our limited water resources, property rights and fiscal discipline in the state budget, it’s worth a look behind those headlines.

There is little disagreement that it is time for action. However, instead of throwing money at unnecessary, expensive reservoir projects that would inundate productive private lands, state funding should come with a clear set of priorities that focus on water efficiency, land stewardship and developing the science and technology that we need for a sustainable future.

Layered upon the eye-opening stories of drought are predictions that Texas population may grow by more than 80 percent by 2060. Based on that projection — which may itself be overstated — the state water plan proposes at least $53 billion in new water supply projects, including over 20 proposed new reservoirs, with half of that cost to be picked up by state taxpayers. The staggering price tag is based on a projected increase in annual statewide water use, from about 14 million acre-feet today to over 22 million acre-feet by 2060 (at current rates of use, an acre-foot is roughly enough water for three Austin households for a year).

Appropriating billions of dollars to “fund the water plan” won’t bring the rain our land, lakes, rivers and aquifers need to recover from drought. Instead, we have to recognize the stark, if unpleasant, reality: a growing Texas is faced with the challenge of learning to live within our water limits.
Nevertheless, there is an important role for state funding in moving Texas towards a more sustainable water future. Here is a proposed four-point approach:

First: Get realistic about projected water demand. The Legislature should not take the inflated projections of the water plan as our inevitable fate.

The municipal sector accounts for the bulk of the increased use projected by the state plan. Adding up the forecasts made by regional water planning groups results in a projected 2060 municipal use of 8.4 million acre-feet per year, more than double the 2010 use of 4.1 million acre-feet per year reported by the Texas Water Development Board.

One region of the state (centered on the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex) accounts for almost a third of the projected municipal water demand increase by 2060. Many cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area project that each customer will still be using about the same amount of water in 2060 as a customer does today (well over 200 gallons per capita per day). Regional planners then added a 25 percent “contingency factor” to bump up projected demand even further. This contrasts with 2060 per capita projections in El Paso, San Antonio, Houston and other cities of less than 150 gallons per capita per day. Not coincidentally, the DFW region is proposing big-ticket reservoirs and pipelines as necessary to meet demand by 2060.

The legislature should not encourage these and other overinflated demand projections by allocating state funds now for condemning productive private lands for reservoirs that may never be necessary. Instead, the state should be willing to allocate taxpayer funds only to those projects that meet demonstrable, near-term water needs in a cost-effective manner and where local funding is insufficient to pay the project cost. Furthermore, the Legislature should require the Texas Water Development Board to review per capita projections made by the various regions to determine whether or not they are reasonable.

Second: Focus on efficiency. The clear trend over the last couple of decades shows that improved efficiency can help Texas live within its water limits, and efficiency strategies are almost always much cheaper than big new infrastructure projects. If there is going to be state money allocated, a sound fiscal approach means that it should first go to the literally hundreds of conservation strategies identified in the state water plan. We can serve many more people with the same amount of water.

Third: Support private land stewardship that benefits water resources. The farms and ranches at the heart of our state’s natural and cultural heritage give rise to the water flowing in our rivers and filling reservoirs and aquifers. These lands have suffered mightily during the recent extreme drought. The legislature should enact cost-effective, market-based incentives to help private landowners manage their properties in ways that build resilience to drought and enhance overall water supply for all Texans.

Fourth: Invest in the science, technology and institutions we need to sustainably manage water resources now and in the future. State agencies are struggling to maintain basic river flow monitoring and water rights administration; budgets for groundwater science have been cut; and many local groundwater districts lack sufficient resources to do their job well. Investing a reasonable amount of state funds in science and vital state and regional agencies to improve management of water is not frivolous spending, it’s essential to solid 21st century water management.

In addition, the state could spur private sector development of new technology. As innovations in El Paso and other areas have shown, both brackish groundwater desalination and water reuse can greatly ease pressure on limited freshwater resources and help drought-proof communities. Giving a modest boost to research and development in these areas would not only assist in meeting genuine water needs, it would likely create good-paying jobs and help Texas companies lead the way to better water management across the country.

As the 2013 Legislature tackles the state’s many pressing needs, water certainly should be on the agenda. The goal, however, must be a fiscally responsible package that promotes sustainable water management.

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Mary Kelly, founder of environmental consulting firm Parula, LLC, is a water lawyer who provides environmental analysis and advocacy services to non-profits, foundations and other organizations. She previously held various positions with the Environmental Defense Fund.

Water for Texas 2012: You and the State Water Plan Part One-Drought Highlights State Water Plan

Part One-Drought Highlights State Water Plan

Milan J. Michalec

With the effects of last year’s drought still lingering throughout much of Texas, water is the issue that would be expected to dominate the 2013 Legislature. But will it?

In the meantime, by increasing our water awareness we can make better choices about the ways we use water as lawmakers consider water needs amongst other competing legislative priorities.

This first of a four-part series begins with the state of our present and future water needs as they are spelled out in the state water plan. In part two, learn what it will cost to implement the plan.

Part three concentrates on the need for Texas as a whole to conserve water in the future while the conclusion to the series presents what you specifically can do to conserve this resource to meet your needs today.

No matter what happens next year in Austin, the cost of investment in water is expected to be significant—huge and the time required to develop “new” water will generally be long—many years. In the near term, there are options to make better use of the water that is available now.

Tipping that scale in your favor, through your action, can lead to your water independence.

Part One-Drought Highlights State Water Plan

The unexpected recent severe drought may have led to an increase of public awareness today, but when considering the years ahead of us, we all must recognize that water will become an even more scarce resource as population swells.

If you think this drought is over, think again. In the most recent climate assessment by the Texas State Climatologist, Dr. John Neilsen-Gammon states: “What was the worst one-year drought on record for Texas has lasted for two years so far.”

Should this drought persist, the newest version of Texas’s State Water Plan, published by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), clearly states the seriousness of what the future may hold.

The primary message of the 2012 State Water Plan is a simple one: “In serious drought conditions, Texas does not and will not have enough water to meet the needs of its people, its businesses, and its agricultural enterprises."

This is because Texas water planning requires applying a “worst case scenario”—the effect of a drought of record on existing water supplies—water that is both legally and physically available.

By definition, the Texas drought of record is generally considered to have occurred from about 1950 to 1957. However, far worse droughts throughout several thousand years of history have been documented in recent tree ring studies.

Fortunately, a number of Texas leaders have realized our lives and livelihood—our economic future, is directly linked to how well we meet our water needs both today and tomorrow. Particularly noteworthy is a repeated call for a “Manhattan-project type water program.”

According to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, the cost to develop a wartime nuclear weapon capability—The Manhattan Project, over five fiscal years, adjusted to 2008 dollars, was $22 billion. To put this in perspective, consider that the estimated capital cost to implement the recommended water management strategies in the 2012 State Water Plan is $53 billion. This represents the cost of the infrastructure that would, or could, treat and move water to an end user.

It is only part of the $231 billion that would be needed to pay for all water related requirements such as the replacement of aging water systems infrastructure, wastewater treatment, and flood control for the next 50 years.

Indeed, it could be said Texas has already initiated its own version of The Manhattan Project.

Of the $53 billion, water providers estimate that $27 billion will be needed in government financial assistance. Of this figure, approximately $16 billion is essentially needed now—from the years 2010-2020.

This leaves roughly $26 billion to be funded from sources elsewhere. That logically would leave either the rate payers or the water industry itself to foot the bill. The alternative is legislative action and something few want to hear—new taxes or new fees to pay for water.

The plan identified 562 "potentially feasible" water management strategies. The completion of each of these strategies is subject to political will and many may never actually be completed.

If you’re wondering about how to track the progress on these strategies, the TWDB currently lacks a formal mechanism to do so. Beginning with the 2016 Regional Water Plans, progress reports will be required and will be included in the 2017 State Water Plan.

Obviously we are not talking about funding for projects to counter the threat of an armed enemy, but we are contemplating investment that could be considered a threat and certainly an enemy—debt.

How much are we willing to pay for the water of tomorrow? The answer clearly impacts our future economic viability and the 2012 State Water Plan illustrates what it will cost should we try to continue to build ourselves out of our water problems.

Michalec is a Director on the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District.

Author’s note: Everyone will have a share in Texas’s water bill. Part two of this series will begin to explain how big it really is.

'Read Part Two, "The Cost of Water"