Drought and the future of Texas water resources will be topics of discussion during the inaugural Texas Water Journal Forum Nov. 21 in Austin. (Texas Water Resources Institute photo)
AUSTIN–The Texas Water Journal, an online, peer-reviewed journal about Texas water issues, will present the inaugural Texas Water Journal Forum, “Water, Politics and Drought,” Nov. 21 in Austin.
The forum is free and will provide perspectives from policymakers. scientists, water resource experts and regional leaders on current water issues, coordinators said. It will be held in Room CLA 0.128 of The University of Texas Liberal Arts Building, and will begin at 7 p.m. Attendees may park for a fee in the university’s San Jacinto Garage.
“The drought has reminded Texans of the value of water to our state,” said Dr. Roel Lopez, interim director for the Texas Water Resources Institute and Texas Water Journal board member. “With the state’s limited supply of water to satisfy the current needs of municipal, industrial, agricultural, recreational and environmental use, the forum will provide an opportunity to examine how the state will continue to provide water as the population nearly doubles to 46 million by 2060.”
The November forum will focus on the Proposition 6 vote, the next legislative session, how courts are remaking Texas water policy and the ongoing drought, he said.
Forum panelists will include Brad Castleberry, a principal in the law firm of Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend, P.C.; Ken Kramer, volunteer water resources chair and legislative advisor for the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club; Dean Robbins, assistant general manager of the Texas Water Conservation Association; and Stacey Steinbach, executive director of the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts.
A question-and-answer session will follow the panel discussion.
“These are particularly critical issues that need continued dialogue,” said Dr. Todd Votteler, the journal’s editor-in-chief and executive manager of science, intergovernmental relations and policy for the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority. “We invite the interested public to join the panel as we explore the complexity and challenges in providing water for Texans in this century.”
Votteler said this forum is the first of many the journal hopes to present at different universities that highlight priority and emerging water issues in Texas. The University of Texas at Austin’s Environmental Sciences Institute is hosting this forum.
The Texas Water Journal journal is published jointly by the Texas Water Journal, a nonprofit organization, and the Texas Water Resources Institute. The institute is a part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
For more information, contact Votteler at thvotteler@gmail.com. To read the journal, visit texaswaterjournal.org.
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