Regional Growth and Our State Water Planning Process: How You Can Get Involved
The 8th Annual Texas Water Symposium series continues this June in Fredericksburg with a personal conversation between Hill Country water experts about the State’s water planning process and the need for public participation. As Central Texas grapples with population growth, increasing demands on our water supply and cycles of intense drought and floods, it is essential that the public is aware of the water infrastructure planning process that is happening now.
The Symposium series brings together policymakers, scientists, water resource experts, landowners and regional leaders to explore the challenges and complexities of managing water in Texas. The sessions are free and open to the public, and are recorded and aired on Texas Public Radio one week later. The Symposium is a partnership project of Schreiner University, Texas Tech University, Texas Public Radio and the Hill Country Alliance.
Program:
Moderator: Richard Parker, Author, Lone Star Nation
§ Kathleen Jackson P.E.: Board of Directors, Texas Water Development Board
§ Donna Klaeger: Former Burnet County Judge, Region K Representative
§ Paul Tybor P.G.: General Manager, Hill Country Underground Water Conservation District
When: Thursday, June 18, 2015, 7 – 8:30 pm
Where: Hill Country University Center, 2818 Highway 290 East Fredericksburg, TX 78624
The Hill Country is experiencing booming population growth and is expecting a doubling of the current population by the second half of this century. At the same time, there is little being done to plan on a regional level. Where will this growth occur? How will we protect springs that feed our rivers? What are our water supply needs and will they be met?
The State Water Plan is a tool for assessing water supply strategies to meet growing demands based on population growth trends and assumptions. Projects that are included in the State Plan, such as pipelines, reservoirs, aquifer storage and recovery, desalination and conservation, makeup the blueprint for where growth is possible. Residents of the Hill Country have the opportunity to participate in this planning process – happening now – and have a say in the water infrastructure that will shape growth well into the future.
Drafts of the regional water plans were released to the public on May 1 of this year. Comment periods will be open for the next several months, and several public forums have been scheduled to provide the opportunity for residents to ask questions of the planning groups. Our panelists will discuss the challenges of planning for a limited resource in the face of booming growth. Please join us!
The Hill Country Alliance is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to raise public awareness and build community support around the need to preserve the natural resources and heritage of the Central Texas Hill Country. Visit us at
www.hillcountryalliance.org.