While as much as 85 percent of the water in the basin of the Rio
Grande River irrigates crops, the area's population and water
demands are growing, and so is the threat of water shortages. That
risk drove a unique effort, by the Texas Water Resources Institute
and other public and private participants, to preserve this
precious resource. Those efforts have earned a Texas Environmental
Excellence Award, the state's highest environmental honor. Texas
Water Resources Institute is one of 12 winners statewide to be
recognized with an award, presented by the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality at its annual banquet April 30, in
Austin.
The Rio Grande Basin Initiative (RGBI) began in 2001.
Participants include 19 state and federal agencies, four
universities and 31 irrigation districts, covering all the cities
and colonias in the entire basin. This diverse coalition is working
together on nine key initiatives aimed at efficiently using current
water resources and creating new water supplies. In addition to
hands-on training with farmers in both the U.S. and Mexico, members
have published more than 530 reports, presentations and papers to
raise awareness about water issues.
The RGBI also targets household water use through conservation
training. In one study, educators worked with 26 families in nine
Texas counties. Through a combination of efforts ranging from
training to the installation of low-flow toilets, water use in the
homes dropped by as much as 3,000 gallons per month.
During 2006-2007, more than one million acre feet of water was
saved, and an estimated four million acre feet has been saved since
2002. To date, the RGBI received a total of $19.7 million dollars
to underwrite the ambitious project, and the hope is to meet the
current conservation goals by the year 2010. In this hot and arid
region, a steady supply of fresh water is the only way to ensure a
prosperous future.
The TCEQ annually presents the Texas Environmental Excellence
Awards to environmental projects across the state that demonstrate
excellence in resource conservation, waste reduction and pollution
prevention. The award-winning programs reflect the goals of the
TCEQ itself: to protect Texas' human and natural resources and
ensure clean air, clean water and the safe management of waste. For
more information or to submit an application for next year's
awards, visit www.teea.org.
