The annual Milam and Burleson Counties Groundwater Summit will be held August 17 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Caldwell Civic Center. The Summit is free and open to the public with lunch provided.
This year, the summit will provide a panel to discuss one of the most talked about projects in our district. This panel will discuss many aspects of not only the Vista Ridge Project and other projects like it, but also state law concerning property rights in groundwater and regulation of those property rights by a groundwater conservation district. To view the draft agenda of this year’s Groundwater Summit visit posgcd.org/ groundwater-summit.
PORTER— Charles Porter is an expert in water wights in addition to Real Estate Brokerage Ethics and Fiduciary Duties of Licensees, property management, construction management, a 2016 Doctor of Philosophy, Economics and Business. In 2014 he wrote “Sharing the Common Pool: Water Rights in the Everyday Lives of Texans.” In 2013 Charles received the DeLayne Hudspeth Award for Innovative Instruction from St. Edward’s University. In 2009 he received the Realtor of the Year from Austin Board of Realtors. In 2011 he was the winner of Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Book Award.
MACE— Robert Mace is the Executive Director and Chief Water Policy Officer at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment and a Professor of Practice in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at Texas State University. Robert has over 30 years of experience in hydrology, hydrogeology, stakeholder processes, and water policy, mostly in Texas.
Before joining Texas State University in 2017, Rober t worked at the Texas Water Development Board for 18 years, ending his career there as the Deputy Executive Administrator for the Water Science & Conservation office. While at the board, Mace worked on understanding groundwater and surface water resources in Texas; advancing water conservation and innovative water technologies such as desalination, aquifer storage and recovery, reuse and rainwater harvesting. Prior to joining the Texas Water Development Board, Mace worked nine years at the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin as a hydrologist and research scientist.
Mace has a B.S. in Geophysics and an M.S. in Hydrology from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and a Ph.D. in Hydrogeology from The University of Texas at Austin.
WESTBROOK— Gary Westbrook has served as the General Manager of Post Oak Savannah GCD for more than 15 years, and is a past President of the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts. He graduated with honors from Sam Houston State University in 1981 with a BS in Agriculture Education. He is a native of Milano, where he raised his family of four children with his wife of 38 years, Glenda, and where he still owns Westbrook Angus Farms, established by Gary and his late father, W.G. Westbrook, almost 50 years ago on family-owned land. Past community service includes Past President of the Milam County Community Foundation and 13 years’ service on the Milano ISD School Board. Gary currently represents Post Oak Savannah GCD as its voting representative on both Groundwater Management Area (GMA) 12 and GMA 8, and also serves as voting representative for GMA 12 on the Brazos G Regional Water Planning Group. Gary has also served as a pastor in the Methodist Church since 1999.
DUPNIK— John Dupnik is the Deputy Executive Administrator of the Office of Water Science and Conservation at the Texas Water Development Board and oversees all programs responsible for providing water science and data to support statewide water supply and flood planning in Texas. He is a Texas licensed Professional Geoscientist and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Geology from Texas State University and a Masters degree from the Jackson School of Geosciences at UT Austin, where his research and thesis focused on groundwater management in Texas.
Prior to the TWDB, Dupnik served as the General Manager of the Barton Springs, Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, where he managed the operations of the district, including projects ranging from habitat conservation planning for endangered species to investigations of innovative water supply strategies. He has dedicated his entire professional career to Texas public sector service in the fields of water quality regulation and water resources management with prior experience at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. He also has first-hand experience with Texas water planning from serving as the coordinator of groundwater planning over the Edwards and Trinity aquifers in Groundwater Management Area 10 and as a voting member of the Lower Colorado River Regional Water Planning Group.
HOWE— Billy Howe is the Associate Director of Government Affairs for Texas Farm Bureau where he started in 1999. Before coming to Texas Farm Bureau, he worked in the Texas House of Representatives for six years. In total, he has over 20 years of legislative experience.
Howe assists in coordinating political activities and advocating for priority issues at the federal and state level. He leads the Austin lobby team and has the individual responsibility of advocating on water issues in Austin for Texas Farm Bureau.
For any questions, please contact the POSGCD office at 512-455-9900, or email at admin@posgcd.org. Please RSVP to the Burleson County Extension office by August 9th. Burleson County, 979-5672308 or the POSGCD office at 512-455-9900. For a detailed agenda of the Summit, please visit www.posgcd.org/groundwater- summit/.
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