Headlines

Texas Tech Receives Recognition from the Feds

A project involving several Texas Tech University faculty along with the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Geological Survey has received federal recognition from the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), a program run by the Department of Defense in partnership with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.

SERDP is the Department of Defense’s environmental science and technology program which works in collaboration with numerous other federal and non-federal organizations.

According to the SERDP website, the SERDP program encourages the development and application of innovative environmental technologies that support the long-term sustainability of DoD’s training and testing ranges as well as significantly reduce current and future environmental liabilities.

The TTU/USGS/USAF project, “Identification and Characterization of Natural Sources of Perchlorate” has been selected as “Project of the Year” for 2007 in the Environmental Restoration Focus Area.

Andrew Jackson, Ph.D., one of the researchers from Texas Tech associated with this project, describes the research: “Perchlorate, a chemical that can impair thyroid function, is normally associated with historical releases related to solid rocket propellants. Our work focuses on the production and fate of natural perchlorate. Natural perchlorate was almost completely unstudied prior to Texas Tech’s efforts. Our research work will have important implications on future regulatory actions and on clean up efforts by the Department of Defense.”

According to SERDP, each year the program selects one project from each focus area to recognize those projects exhibiting technical excellence and who have helped the DoD achieve its mission while improving its environmental performance. Recognized TTU faculty include Andrew Jackson, Ken Rainwater, Todd Anderson, Moira Ridley and Sandy Dasgupta. The Principal Investigator is Greg Harvey (US Air Force) and the US Geological Survey contact is Greta Orris, Ph.D.

“It’s really a group project and so the whole group deserves the recognition,” reports Jackson.

The SERDP office recognized the project and its team at a symposium in early December at the end of last year.

Sponsored by SERDP and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP), the annual symposium attracted more than 900 environmental professionals over the two days it was held in Washington D.C.

“This SERDP award is one of the highlights of my career,” adds Jackson. “This is a national award so I am honored that our work has been recognized like this.”

Texas Tech Law Receives Federal Funding for Water Law and Policy Study

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison announced that a $433,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant will go to the Texas Tech University School of Law Center for Water Law and Policy for a study to evaluate and recommend revisions to current laws and regulations affecting the quality, use, and ownership of water in Texas and the Southwest. According to Center Director Professor Gabriel Eckstein, the Law School study will coordinate with and build on complementary studies concerning water management, conservation and hydrology currently underway in Texas Tech’s Colleges of Agriculture and Engineering. Law School Dean Walter Huffman, in addition to expressing his appreciation for Senator Hutchison’s support, noted the importance of analyzing the current Texas water laws in light of changing demographics and business practices. “Water is our most important natural resource”, Huffman said, “and ensuring that our laws and policies assist in both meeting the needs of today and protecting the supplies of clean water we will need in the future is equally important”.

New Mexico Water Research Symposium Set

The New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute is accepting abstracts for its 2007 New Mexico Water Research Symposium, scheduled for Aug. 14 in Socorro, New Mexico. The deadline for submitting abstracts for posters or presentations is July 6. Abstracts related to any water research and management topics will be considered and must be submitted online via the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute's homepage. The symposium will cover a variety of topics such as water and wastewater treatment and reuse, erosion and sediment control, and reservoir evaporation. The symposium will be at the Macey Center at New Mexico Tech University. Registration deadline is August 3, and the registration fee is $20. The registration fee will be waived for presenting students. For more information, go to the WRRI website.

Texas Urban Landscape Guide Website Launched

Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas Nursery and Landscape Association, and Texas Water Development Board recently cooperated in developing a Texas Urban Landscape Guide. The guide and its accompanying website is a resource of science-based information on the design, installation, and maintenance of WaterWise landscapes in Texas. A WaterWise landscape is defined as a landscape designed and maintained according to basic good horticultural principles that allow for a beautiful healthy landscape with minimal supplemental irrigation and no adverse runoff from the landscape property. Dr. Don Wilkerson, Extension horticulturist and one of the developers of the urban guide, said the guide targets three audiences—homeowners, horticulture professionals, and municipal government and water utility personnel— with different tracks of information for each audience. Each track contains resources and links to different Web sites with specific information for the target audiences, he said. To continue reading the story, click here.

Dr. Ken Rainwater - State water rules need some modification

Dr. Ken Rainwater, the Director of the Water Resources Center, gave a presentation at an SPE meeting in Midland, Texas on May 24, 2007. A reporter from the Midland Reporter-Telegram wrote an article based on the presentation; the article is available here.

TWO Graduate students receive TWRI Grants

TWRI funds the grants as part of the National Institutes for Water Research annual research program that is Congressionally funded through the U.S. Geological Survey. Students are able to support their research projects and education through this federal program. As a result, TWRI will publish articles and reports about the progress of these studies and their benefit to Texas water resources. Steve Oswalt (advisors: Dick Auld, Thomas Thompson) received funding for his project "Optimizing irrigation of oilseed crops on the Texas High Plains" and Nithya Rajan (advisor: Stephen Maas) received funding for his project "Comparative evaluation of actual crop water use of forage sorghum and corn for silage."

GE and Texas Tech partnership harnesses wind to desalinate water

April 2007 - From parched desert plains to bustling urban centers, water is a commodity in increasingly short supply. In many arid and populous regions – Texas, for example – the scramble for fresh water sources has commenced as demand surges and water tables drop. Texas Tech University and General Electric’s Global Research Center have teamed up to create what could provide an affordable and abundant new supply of drinking water to meet future demand. [read more]

TPWD Water Documentary on PBS

February 2007 - "Texas the State of Springs," the latest department video program about water resources, will air February 15 on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) stations statewide. The website www.texasthestateofwater.org has PBS station listings, a short preview of the program, and other information related to water issues.

ICASALS 2006 International Conference

November 2006 - The 2006 International Conference on Water in Arid and Semiarid Lands, held on November 15-17, 2006, was a success. The conference provided policymakers, educators, researchers, students, and practitioners with information about state-of-the-art dryland research, advances in technology, and new field practices applicable to arid and semiarid lands with an emphasis on water resource management. Currently plans are being made for the 2007 conference.

Dr. Don Ethridge - Water Saving Goals

August 2006 - Dr. Don Ethridge of the CASNR Water Center published a guest editorial entitled "Water saving goals not attainable by technology, management alone" in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal regarding water conservation. To view the article, click here.

Dr. Ken Rainwater sourced in San Antonio Express-News

August 2006 - Dr. Ken Rainwater talks about groundwater conservation districts in "Starting to run on empty." To view the article, click here.

Professor Gabriel Eckstein Cited in San Antonio Express-News

August 2006 - Professor Gabriel Eckstein speaks about the value of groundwater in an article entitled "Water on way to being liquid gold in the state." To view the article, click here.

Texas Monthly Ad & Texas tech Water Microsite

June 2006 - The Office of Communications and Marketing created a small website to complement a Texas Monthly ad. The site contains blurbs to stories regarding water source protection, water planning and policy, and environmental and human health. The water microsite is located at www.water.texastech.edu.

Perchlorate research chosen as top science paper of 2005 by environmental science & technology journal

February 2006 - Environmental Science & Technology, one of the American Chemical Society’s premier peer-reviewed journals, has selected a manuscript by Texas Tech University researchers as the journal’s best science paper published in 2005. The research, supported by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency, focused on naturally occurring perchlorate in West Texas groundwater and how it could be formed. Researchers discovered perchlorate in a 60,000-square mile area during testing. [read more]

Water, Water Everywhere?

Texas is known as a dry place when it comes to water. Faucets or fountains, most people know that their water is not far away. A serious business in the state, water is vitally important to agriculture and industry – and, of course, to state residents. Managing this precious resource is critical for the future. Researchers at Texas Tech University are working to make water management in Texas more efficient than ever. Texas Tech’s Department of Economics and Geography is working with the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 — the oldest and largest ground water district in Texas — to develop a computerized database and software application to manage more than 72,000 water wells within the district’s boundaries, which cover more than 10,000 square miles in 15 counties. [read more]

TTU Water Initiative

Google Search Box