ARS | Publication request: American-Mexican group met to discuss water conservation

Submitted to: Scientific and Technical Review
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: July 15, 2010
Publication Date: July 31, 2010
Citation: Brauer, D.K. 2010. American-Mexican group met to discuss water conservation. Scientific and Technical Review. Newsletter of the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, July 2010. p 2.

Technical Abstract: A workshop was held on July 7-9, 2010, at the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory in Bushland, Texas entitled "Enhancing Groundwater Sustainability Under Increased Climate Deficits: Policy and Management Alternatives with a Focus on the Calera Aquifer in Zacatecas, Mexico." Attendees were from the ARS laboratories in Bushland, Texas, and El Reno Oklahoma; University of Georgia; Kansas State University; Texas A&M University; U.S. Geological Service; USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service; USDA-Foreign Agriculture Service; Panhandle and North Plains Groundwater Conservation Districts; COTAS (groundwater conservation district in Zacatecas, Mexico); CNA (Mexico's federal agency for water policies); INFAP (Mexico's agricultural research agency); and Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas. The objectives of the workshop were to review water policies in the United States that affect sustainability of the Ogallala Aquifer; described water conservation technologies and practices for the Southern High Plains, and establish water conservation strategies and policies for the Calera Aquifer in Mexico. Presentations on the workshop's first day provided an overview of water policies in Texas and Oklahoma, technical assistance related to irrigation available to farmers, and progress reports from the research team investigating the hydrology and climate of the Calera Aquifer in Zacatecas, Mexico. On the second day, half of the attendees toured the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District office and the Texas AgriLife Research station at Etter, Texas while the other half developed a work plan for future research activities. On the third day, the two groups met to finalize future research plans and tour field experiments at the ARS Laboratory in Bushland, Texas.