Water becoming an increasingly important matter, drawing concern

By JULIET BRISKIN | Central Texas Edition

Susan Combs, Texas Ag Commissioner, speaks about Texas water issues. -Staff photo by Briskin

June 27, 2002 -- One of the great dilemmas faced by society today is how to conserve and protect water. The Texas Council of Chapters of the Soil and Water Conservation Society gathered in Waco, June 19-21, for its 36th annual meeting to discuss water quality concerns and issues.

Agricultural Commissioner Susan Combs delivered the keynote address in which she addressed concerns for natural resources. "If you look at the entire world, by the year 2025, two-thirds of the population will be faced with a water shortage problem," she stated. "The 2002 State Water Plan says it expects 900 cities and water user groups in this state, which accounts for 38 percent of Texas' population, to face water shortages unless there are additional water resources developed."

Combs said the supplies from existing water resources are expected to decrease by about 19 percent by 2050. According to her municipal demand is forecasted to increase 67 percent, manufacturing demand to increase by 74 percent and agriculture will no longer use the majority of water.

Commissioner Combs stated that brush control across the state is one of the ways to increase captive supplies of water. "Reducing invasive species is another way we can reduce water loss or stream-flow problems," she said. "Whether you are talking about Salt cedar or hydrilla, all of these things have a huge effect on the water supply and flow."

According to Combs, state and federal estimates indicate that cedar, mesquite and various cacti drink up ten million acre feet of water a year. "Salt cedar drinks up approximately 200 gallons of water per mature plant each day," she explained. "Even the species that do not necessarily drink up a lot of the water, will stop water from flowing."

Following Commissioner Combs speech, participants were addressed by State Senator Kip Averitt. According to Averitt, during his first four terms as State Senator, District 22, he did not have to deal with water issues. "For some reason this issue wasn't on the front burner in this district," he stated. "But then last session some things changed. When Mayor Ethridge of Waco was elected she brought this issue to the forefront and let people know that we have a serious water problem here."

Now the hot topic in Central Texas is water quality issues in the Upper Bosque Watershed. Dr. Anne McFarland with the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIERA) in Stephenville spoke to meeting participants about this topic.

McFarland explained that TIERA's science group is currently working to monitor the water quality in the Bosque River. "We consider the Bosque River watershed our outdoor laboratory," she said. "We have a cooperative monitoring program and share information with the City of Waco, the Brazos River Authority, Baylor University, the TNRCC, the State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the Agricultural Engineering Department of Texas A&M University."

The monitoring program McFarland is involved in has 38 sites where biweekly samples are taken, automated storm sample sites, six flood control reservoirs and five sites on Lake Waco.

"You can't get away from the dairy industry in Erath County," said McFarland. "This county is the leading milk producing county in Texas and produces about 124 million pounds of milk per month. There are about 73,000 milking cows in the county."

She continued by emphasizing that the entire drainage of the North Bosque only covers about 40 percent of Erath County. One point made by McFarland is that the dairies are not the only culprits in the water quality dispute. Others include the waste water treatment plants. "These plants continually discharge," she explained. "When we are in a drought, there have been times when the only water in the North Bosque came from these waste water treatment plants."