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INGRAM, Texas - The Aquifer Monitor: News from the Groundwater Resources Division of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) 

http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/groundwater.
Topics this month:
1. Draft report of the GAM for the Nacatoch Aquifer is posted for review
2. Draft water use estimates for 2006 now posted
3. Doc Edwards to the rescue!!!
4. The 2007 Joint Groundwater Monitoring and Contamination Report now available
5. TCEQ proposes placing all of Dallam County into a groundwater conservation district
6. Upcoming groundwater-related conferences in Texas
X. Fine print
_________________________________________
1. Draft report of the GAM for the Nacatoch Aquifer is posted for review
A draft version of the final report on the groundwater availability model (GAM) for the Nacatoch Aquifer has been posted on the TWDB GAM website   http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/gam/nctc/nctc.htm for review and comment by the public.  If you have any comments, please forward them, in writing, to Ms. Cindy Ridgeway at
 cindy.ridgeway@twdb.state.tx.us
or
Ms. Cindy Ridgeway
Groundwater Availability Modeling Section
Texas Water Development Board
P.O. Box 13231
Austin, Texas 78711-3231
Comments are due before September 29, 2008.
2. Draft water use estimates for 2006 now posted
The Water Resources Planning Division at TWDB has released draft estimates of water use in 2006 for each of the 16 regional water planning areas at this Web site:
 http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/wrpi/wus/2006est/2006wus.htm 
Estimates show total water use by regional water planning area and county and break water use into municipal, manufacturing, mining, steam electric, irrigation, and livestock categories. Use is not broken out by source (for example, groundwater and surface water). For questions and comments, please contact the Team Leader of the Water Use Surveys and Estimates Team, Mr. Kevin Kluge at  kevin.kluge@twdb.state.tx.us or at (512)936-0829.
3. Doc Edwards to the rescue!!!
The Edwards Aquifer Authority has created a character named Doc Edwards to have an Amazing Aquifer Adventure to educate kids about groundwater and the Edwards Aquifer. The online educational materials include a comic book, interactive aids, a coloring book and an Aquifer Explorers' Club.
Please go here to meet Doc Edwards:
 http://www.edwardsaquifer.org/doc/index.html#home 
4. The 2007 Joint Groundwater Monitoring and Contamination Report now available
Prepared by the Texas Groundwater Protection Committee, which was created by the legislature to optimize water-quality protection by improving coordination among agencies involved in groundwater activities, the Joint Groundwater Monitoring and Contamination Report--2007 describes the current status of groundwater monitoring activities conducted or required by each agency. The purpose of this report is to compile and make available to the public information on the status of groundwater monitoring associated with the activities regulated by the contributing state agencies. The report further provides an annual status of documented groundwater contamination, including new cases and previous cases still undergoing enforcement action. The report is broken into five sections: (1) Summary, (2) Groundwater Protection, (3) Users Guide, (4) Description of Groundwater Protection Programs, and (5) Groundwater Contamination Case Descriptions followed by an appendix.
Cases listed in this report have been documented predominately through regulatory requirements for compliance monitoring, the majority of which were identified by release-detection monitoring in the Texas Commission on Environmental Qualitys petroleum storage tank program, as well as cases documented through investigations in response to complaints, permits, or self reporting. Documented in this report are 5,267 groundwater contamination cases. The most common contaminants reported include gas, diesel, and other petroleum products. The number of new cases in 2007 dropped by 5.5 percent from 2006, while the number of completed cases climbed by 20 percent. In addition to reporting cases of contamination the report outlines the state's strategy for groundwater protection as well as each agency's role in ensuring the protection of the state's groundwater.
To view a the report, please go here:
 http://wwwtceq.state.tx.us/comm_exec/forms_pubs/pubs/sfr/056_07_index.html
5. TCEQ proposes placing all of Dallam County into a groundwater conservation district
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality staff recently posted on their agency web site a draft report expressing their draft findings on the necessity for certain areas of Dallam County to join the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District. The Dallam County Priority Groundwater Management Area was delineated and designated by the Texas Water Commission in 1990; however, under the 1990 designation process, the commission was not required to make a formal recommendation for the creation of groundwater management. In 2001 with the passage of Senate Bill 2 the legislature mandated that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ensure all areas within a priority groundwater management area are covered by a groundwater conservation district.
Commission staff are recommending, in this draft report, that the areas in Dallam County not currently in a groundwater conservation district be added to the to North Plains Groundwater Conservation District. Notice of the posted report have been sent to all concerned parties who have until September 25, 2008, to make comments which will be considered when making the final report.
To review the draft report, please go here:
 http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/permitting/water_supply/groundwater/pgma.html
6. Upcoming groundwater-related conferences in Texas
A. "Water ReUse and Desalination", hosted by the Water ReUse Association, will be held September 7 through 10, 2008, in Dallas. For more information:  http://www.watereuse.org/conferences/symposium/23 
B. "Texas Water Law Conference", sponsored by CLE International, will be held September 18 through 19, 2008, in Austin and has a strong emphasis on groundwater. For more information: 
http://wwwcle.com/product.php?proid=1039&page=Texas_Water_Law 
C. "Annual Meeting", sponsored by the Geological Society of America and many others, will be held October 5 through 9, 2008, in Houston. For more information:   http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/ 
D. "Fall Meeting", hosted by the Texas Water Conservation Association, will be held October 8 through 10, 2008, in San Antonio. For more information:    http://www.twca.org/meetings.html
E. "Generations on the Land: Working for Land Stewardship", sponsored by the Sand County Foundation and Texas A&M University's Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, will be held October 24, 2008, in College Station, Texas. For more information:    http://sandcounty.net/programs/landholder/LCA/Generations/ 
F. "Troubleshooting and Problem Solving in Membrane Treatment Facilities: Tools, Tactics, and Techniques", hosted by the South Central Membrane Association, will be held October 27 through 29, 2008, in Austin. For more information:   http://www.scmembrane.org/081027-scmaconference.php 
G. "Quarterly Meeting", hosted by the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts, will be held October 28 and 29, 2008. For more info:   http://www.texasgroundwater.org/ 
H. "Quarterly Meeting", hosted by the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts, will be held January 27 and 28, 2009, in Austin. For more info:  
X. Fine print
The purpose of these periodic emails is to notify groundwater stakeholders in Texas about TWDB products, services, and funding opportunities related to groundwater. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please reply and let me know. If you know of others who want to be on this email list, please have them send their contact information to me.
Robert E. Mace, Ph.D., P.G.
--------------------------------------------------------
Director
Groundwater Resources Division
Texas Water Development Board
P.O. Box 13231
Austin, TX 78711-3231
p: (512) 936-0861
f:   (512) 936-0889
e:   robert.mace@twdb.state.tx.us