Currently, the Institute has initiatives in three major Texas river basins - the Rio Grande , the Guadalupe, and the Colorado rivers.

• Rio Grande River Basin
• Guadalupe River Basin
• Colorado River Basin

Rio Grande River Basin

In March of 2001, the Rio Grande stopped flowing into the Gulf of Mexico . This episode was the culmination of several years of extreme drought along the border, resulting in severe reduction or complete cessation of the water releases which feed the river from reservoirs in Mexico . Disputed water supplies from the Rio Grande now constitute one of the greatest sources of stress between the United States and Mexico .

In partnership with the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the Environmental Protection Agency, Sul Ross University , and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Institute is leading efforts to identify stakeholders and establish a central clearinghouse for information, data, and ongoing activities throughout the Rio Grande basin. With anticipated additional support from the United Nations Environment Programme, a major objective of this project will be to collect, compile, and analyze the relevant data needed to conduct hydrologic, environmental, and socioeconomic analyses within a comprehensive and holistic scientific framework.

Building upon this effort, the Institute is also working with Sul Ross University along with sister institutions of the Texas State University System to generate a clear picture of the groundwater usage, water quality and quantity, biological integrity, and land use along the Rio Grande in a spatially explicit geographic framework.

The ultimate goal of both projects is to develop and apply a holistic
management approach for sustainable water use within the Rio Grande basin. This will include development of a dynamic geospatial picture of the Rio Grande depicting the past, present, and predicted hydrologic environment and related conditions throughout its basin. The result of the projects will then be used to assist researchers and decision makers to:

• secure the involvement of all major stakeholders;
• assess critical water needs, flows, and uses;
• locate significant economic, environmental, and cultural resources;
• evaluate the environmental and social impacts of predicted conditions upon these resources;
• develop a natural resource management plan; and
• monitor the long term results of these efforts.

Guadalupe River Basin

The Institute’s Guadalupe Basin Initiative will provide a laboratory and framework for integrated water management in one of the nation’s most rapidly urbanizing and ecologically significant regions.

The Institute has formed a partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Texas to complete an ecological characterization of and develop conservation strategies for the Blanco River watershed, a primary tributary of the San Marcos River , which in turn feeds the Guadalupe River . This joint effort includes identification of key conservation targets, sources of stress to the system, strategies necessary to abate stresses, monitoring and improving the health of the area, and socio-economic analyses.

The Institute has strengthened monitoring and research at San Marcos Springs on the Texas State campus to ensure their long-term viability and increase our knowledge about this most significant resource, one of the nation’s largest springs.

The Institute has begun to assess the impacts of economic development and population growth on water quality and biodiversity in the Guadalupe River basin . The goal is to create a holistic perspective of the basin, expressed through advanced geographic visualization technologies. This methodology will create a dynamic picture that identifies critical environmental areas within the basin such as wetlands, riparian areas, and recharge zones.

Colorado River Basin

Scientific Review Panel for the LCRA-SAWS Water Project

The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) in Region K and San Antonio Water System (SAWS) in Region L are studying the feasibility of a plan to help meet future water needs in both regions by capturing stored or unused Colorado River flows in an off-channel storage facility and conveying that water to San Antonio . The project is also looking at reducing agricultural irrigation demands for water with conservation practices and measures, such as laser-leveling fields, improving canals and growing more water-efficient rice. In addition the project is looking at using a limited amount of groundwater for agriculture when surface water isn't available.

LCRA and SAWS are in the fourth year of a six-year study period to find out if the project makes sense. The studies will provide important data about the basin’s water supplies and environmental needs, the river’s socioeconomic value, and the project’s impact. The studies also will identify options to mitigate, or offset, adverse impacts from constructing, operating and maintaining the project. This could include impacts to the environment, groundwater supplies and property tax revenues.

PEDERNALES RIVER PROJECT 

Beginning in May 2007, The River Systems Institute (PI: Andrew Sansom and Co-PIs: Tim Bonner, Vince Lopes, Joanna Curran, Al Groeger) in collaboration with the Nature Conservancy of Texas are developing a conservation plan for the Pedernales River. This project will provide an integrated assessment of the watershed, analysis of the spatial and temporal pattern of the drainage fish assemblage, determine the hydraulic geometry, and study the water chemistry and quality of the river.

Background 

For more than 100 miles the Pedernales River winds its ancient Hill Country course, cutting through deep, mossy canyons and towering, limestone cliffs before joining the Colorado River at Lake Travis west of Austin . The Pedernales is one of Texas ’ most pristine and beautiful rivers - vast stretches of the river are lined by privately owned ranches and remain largely free of development, making the Pedernales a top priority conservation area.

Objectives

The Nature Conservancy is collaborating with the River Systems Institute to implement a multi-disciplinary research program to address the most glaring information needs in the watershed and to evaluate the impacts of current land and water management and develop strategies for integrated watershed management, including groundwater and surface water management.

Historical land uses in the Pedernales River watershed have affected the current ecology and condition of the river, and effects are likely to worsen as the watershed continues to urbanize and water demand increases. This project will investigate the current watershed status and evaluate the likely effects of future land and water use change on water quality and quantity and instream habitat quality to inform development patterns and land and livestock management in the watershed.

This study will also provide information for water management decisions in the Pedernales River watershed. The Texas Instream Flows Program (TIFP) is developing a multi-disciplinary framework to determine the instream flow needs of a river. The TIFP framework will form a new foundation for the way all Texas state agencies inform current policies, allocation, use, and water management processes (e.g., water rights review, regional water planning, watershed protection planning, etc).

This research will also relate explicitly to groundwater management efforts affecting the Pedernales River watershed (e.g., the relevant groundwater conservation districts and Groundwater Management Area) and will build upon previous water management models and analysis by the Lower Colorado River Authority and other entities in the Pedernales River.