Texas Environmental Flows Initiative honored by White House

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
March 24, 2016

The Texas Environmental Flows Initiative, a joint effort among The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University and several other organizations, has been honored during the White House Water Summit.

The Water Summit, held March 22 in Washington, D.C., worked to raise awareness of the national importance of water, and to highlight new commitments and announcements that the administration and non-Federal institutions are making to build a sustainable water future.

The Meadows Center, along with initiative partners Harte Research Institute, National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, was honored for committing to the development of the foundational science and market analysis to launch a water-transaction market in Texas for the benefit of bays and estuaries. Over the next two years, the initiative will execute at least one significant water transaction with demonstrable benefit to ecological resources injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and also lay the groundwork for market development in three bay systems whose ecological health and commercial fishing productivity are imperiled by declining freshwater inflows.

Safe, sufficient and reliable water resources are essential to the functioning of every aspect and sector of U.S. society, including agricultural and energy production, industry and economic growth, human and environmental health and national security. As climate change affects the nation’s water supplies, and the population continues to grow and shift, it will become increasingly important to build a sustainable water future. To reduce and mitigate the incidence and impact of water stresses on U.S. communities, it is essential to develop, implement and deploy the type of sustainable, integrated and long-term water-management strategies that were be highlighted during the Water Summit.