The date for the 2019 Milam and Burleson Counties Groundwater Summit has been set for August 14, 2019 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All are encouraged to attend.
The Summit is free and open to the public with lunch provided. It will be held at the Caldwell Civic Center at 103 TX-21 in Caldwell, Texas. Please RSVP to our Office 512-455-9900 or at your local Texas A&M Agrilife office in Milam county 254-697-7045 or in Burleson County at 979-567-2308.
We will have 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. Sarah oversees the of 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.
Wayne Wilson of Bryan Texas is the owner of Wilson Cattle Company, a diversified stocker operation. He currently is the Chair of the Region G Regional Water Planning Group. In addition, he served as the former board chair of Aggieland Pregnancy Outreach, Brazos County AgriLife 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 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 the Chair for Groundwater Committee for Region G, Gary also serves on the Bylaws Committee. Westbrook said, “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.”
The Master of Ceremonies, 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, Leah also participated in Colorado’s statewide water planning process
Gary Westbrook, General Manager of Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District, said, “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.”
Citizens of Milam and Burleson Counties, as well as surrounding areas, can benefit from attending the Groundwater Summit. Post Oak Savannah GCD organizes the event and invites groundwater experts from across Texas to come speak at the local level. It is a great opportunity for people to come and learn about the state’s requirements on local groundwater management and stay up-to-date on current groundwater issues.
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 any questions, please contact the POSGCD office at 512-455-9900, or email at admin@posgcd.org. Please RSVP to your County Extension office by August 8th. Burleson County, 979-567-2308. Milam County, 254-697-7045. For a detailed agenda of the Summit, please visit https://posgcd.org/outreach/2017-milam-burleson-counties-groundwater-summit/.
