CALDWELL— More speakers have been announced for the annual free Milam-Burleson groundwater summit set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Caldwell Civic Center.
To sign up, RSVP to the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District, 512-455-9900 or Texas A&M AgriLife office in Milam County (254-697-7045) or Burleson County (979-567-2308).
PANEL—A panel of speakers explaining the State Water Planning Process in Texas.
Sarah Backhouse is the Manager of the Regional Water Planning Department at the Texas Water Development Board. She oversees the state’s regional water planning program.
She provides technical and administrative assistance to regional water planning groups, administering regional water planning grant contracts, disseminating planning data, and coordinating a variety of stakeholder activities.
She has over 15 years of experience in water resources planning and data analysis in the public sector.
“Sarah wants citizens to have a better understanding of the state water planning process and learn how they can become engaged,” POSGCD spokesman Doug Box said.
Wayne Wilson of Bryan Texas is the owner of Wilson Cattle Company, a diversified stocker operation.
He currently is chair of the Region G Regional Water Planning Group.
In addition, he served as the former board chair of Aggieland Pregnancy Outreach, Brazos County Agri-Life Extension Beef & Forage Committee, Brazos County Farm Bureau Board, and Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District.
Wilson also served as a past director of Capital Farm Credit.
He is a member of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, Texas Cattle Feeders Association, and the National Rifle Association.
Gary Westbrook of the Post Oak Savannah GCD is a Region G voting representative for GMA 12.
The Brazos G Regional Water Planning Area includes all or parts of 37 counties.
Over 90 percent of the region lies within the Brazos River Basin, with the Brazos River being the region’s primary source of water.
Besides being chair for Groundwater Committee for Region G, he also serves on the Bylaws Committee.
“Development of the state water plan is central to the mission of the TWDB. Based on 16 regional water plans, the plan addresses the needs of all water user groups in the state – municipal, irrigation, manufacturing, livestock, mining, and steam-electric power,” he said.
Emcee Leah Martinson, is the Executive Director of Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts (TAGD).
Martinson recently relocated to Texas from Colorado, where she was a practicing water rights attorney for over 15 years.
She has represented the interests of a wide range of water users–from municipal water providers to agricultural well users.
In addition to obtaining new water rights and protecting existing rights for her clients, Martinson also participated in Colorado’s statewide water planning process
“Leah is great addition to Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts (TAGD). She also is steeped in understanding groundwater, as she does an excellent job of leading TAGD through this period of evolving groundwater legislation,” Westbrook said.
In addition, there will be presentations about Groundwater Availability Models (GAMs) and how they are developed and used, an overview of Desired Future Conditions (DFCs), an introduction to Post Oak Savannah’s new Rainwater Harvesting Grant Program, and an update on the POSGCD well-monitoring system.
For questions, please contact the POSGCD office at 512-455-9900, or email at admin@posgcd.org.
Box said attendees must RSVP to their County Extension office by Aug. 8. Numbers are listed at the beginning of this story.
For a detailed agenda of the summit, visit http://posgcd.org/outreach/2017-mi-lam-burleson-counties-groundwater-summit/.
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