TExas GRoundwater Summit ARchives

Thank you for attending the 2024 Texas Groundwater Summit, held on August 20-22, 2024.

View the full program here or the agenda only here.

Recordings of all presentations will be available in October on the TAGD YouTube channel.

 To view the presentation slides, click on the title of the presentation. If the session is not linked below, it did not utilize slides. 

Tuesday, August 20

Groundwater Rights in Texas
Charles Porter, Real Estate & Water Rights Consultant

Panel – Playing by the Rules: GCD Violations & Enforcement
Moderator: Drew Satterwhite, General Manager, Canadian River Municipal Water Authority
John Martin, General Manager, Southeast Texas GCD
Dave Mauk, General Manager, Bandera County River Authority & Groundwater District
Stacey Reese, Attorney, Stacey Reese Law
Patrick Wagner, General Manager, Middle Trinity GCD

Hydrogen Energy Value Chain and Impacts on Water
Ning Lin, Center for Energy Economics Chief Economist, Bureau of Economic Geology

Keynote Address – Communication: The Last Frontier in Science
Dr. “Hurricane Hal” Needham, Extreme Weather and Disaster Scientist, GeoTrek

Panel – All the Small Things: Studying & Managing Minor Aquifers
Moderator: Amy Bush, Hydrologist, RMBJ Geo
Natalie Ballew, Groundwater Division Director, Texas Water Development Board
Blaine Hicks, Staff Geologist, Upper Trinity GCD
Bill Hutchison, Independent Groundwater Consultant
Kevin Urbanczyk, Director of Rio Grande Research Center, Sul Ross State University

Day 2 – Wednesday, August 21

Legislative Interim Update
Sarah Kirkle, Director of Policy & Legislative Affairs, Texas Water Conservation Association

The Ripple Effect of Joint Groundwater Planning on Regional Water Planning
Andy Donnelly, Senior Hydrogeologist, Advanced Groundwater Solutions

Breakout Track A – Fundamentals of Groundwater Management (repeated)

Basics of Bottom-Up Water Planning in Texas
Robert Bradley, Groundwater Technical Assistance Manager, Texas Water Development Board

Demystifying GCD Permitting
Jake Steen, Attorney, Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend

Anatomy of a Well
Joel Pigg, Texas Well Owner Network Coordinator, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Breakout Track B – Waste Not, Want Not: Advancement in Produced Water Reuse

Critical Minerals in Produced Water
Brent Elliott, Associate Research Professor, Bureau of Economic Geology

Land Application of Produced Water
Adrianne Lopez, Technical Research & Development Manager, Texas Pacific Water Resources

New Rules for Oil & Gas Waste Pits and Recycling Facilities
Virginia Palacios, Executive Director, Commission Shift

Breakout Track C – Navigating the Intersections of Local Regulation

Primer on the PUC and Water Providers
Adam Friedman, Partner, McElroy Sullivan Miller & Weber LLP

Annexation and CCN Issues
Emily Rogers, Managing Partner, Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP

Opportunities in Subdivision Regulation
Marisa Bruno, Water Program Manager, Hill Country Alliance

Breakout Track B – Local Science Developments

Hydrostratigraphic Model of the Trinity Aquifer for a Portion of Central Texas
Vince Clause, Texas Groundwater Lead, LRE Water

San Solomon Springs Studies
Rebecca Nunu, Principal Geoscientist, Edwards Aquifer Authority

Planning, Leadership, and Science: Developing the Bandera Well Longevity Model
James Golab, Innovative Water Technologies Manager, Texas Water Development Board

Breakout Track C – Leading Them to Water: Effective Public Outreach

Applying Adult Learning Strategies for Better Engagement
Amy Hays, Assistant Director of Development & Outreach, Oka’ Water Institute

Outreach by Meeting People Where They’re At
Greg Wukasch, External Affairs Manager, San Antonio Water System

Making a Splash With Storytelling
Leah Cuddeback, Storytelling & Public Engagement Manager, Hill Country Alliance

Day 3 – Thursday, August 22

Panel – Emerging Management Issues for Large-Scale Production Permits
Moderator: John Dupnik, Deputy Executive Administrator, Texas Water Development Board
Russell Johnson, Partner, McGinnis Lochridge LLP
Laura Martin, General Manager, Gonzales County UWCD
Carlos Rubinstein, Principal, RSAH2O
Steve Young, Principal Geoscientist, INTERA

Current Legal Issues – Litigation and GCD Action Appeals
Greg Ellis, Attorney, GM Ellis Law Firm
Deborah Trejo, Partner, Kemp Smith Law

Head Above Water: How Professionals Can Avoid Burnout (1-Hour Ethics)
Paul Jacobs, Staff Attorney, Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program

Thank you for attending the 2023 Texas Groundwater Summit, held on August 29-31, 2023.

View the full program here.

Recordings of all presentations are available here on our YouTube channel.

 To view the presentation slides, click on the title of the presentation. If the session is not linked below, it did not utilize slides. 

Tuesday, August 30

Welcome Address
Leah Martinsson, Executive Director, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

TexMesonet: a Statewide Earth Observation Data Collection Network
Nathan Leber, TexMesonet Manager, Texas Water Development Board

Managing Groundwater in Drought (panel discussion)
Moderator: John Dupnik, Deputy Executive Administrator, Texas Water Development Board
Kody Bessent, Chief Executive Officer, Plains Cotton Growers, Inc.
Charlie Flatten, General Manager, Hays Trinity GCD
Amy Hardberger, Director, Texas Tech Center for Water Law and Policy

Advances in Irrigation Management
Brent Auvermann, Center Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center at Amarillo

Keynote Address
David Yoskowitz, Ph.D., Executive Director, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

Lessons from Arizona
(Click here to view the groundwater movie mentioned in the presentation)
Sarah Porter, Director, Arizona State University – Kyl Center for Water Policy

Correlative Rights or Correlative Wrongs? (panel discussion)
Moderator: Robert Mace, Executive Director, The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment
James Beach, Principal, Advanced Groundwater Solutions, LLC
Britney Britten, General Manager, Panhandle GCD
Kelley Cochran, General Manager, Guadalupe County GCD
Kristen Fancher, Attorney, Fancher Legal, PLLC

Day 2 – Wednesday, August 30

Welcome & Opening Remarks
Amber Blount, President, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

Beneath the Surface of Regional Water Planning
Jason Afinowicz, Principal and Vice President, Freese and Nichols

Legislative Debrief (panel discussion)
Moderator: Leah Martinsson, Executive Director, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts
Sarah Kirkle, Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, Texas Water Conservation Association
Bryan McMath, Government Relations Director, Texas Water Development Board
Hope Wells, Water Resources Counsel, San Antonio Water System

Keynote Address
Glenn Hegar, Texas Comptroller

Legislator Perspectives (panel discussion)
Moderator: Leah Martinsson, Executive Director, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts
Senator Pete Flores, District 24, Texas Senate
Representative Tracy King, District 80, Chairman of House Natural Resources Committee
Senator Charles Perry, District 28, Chairman of Senate Agriculture, Water, & Rural Affairs Committee

Breakout Track A – Groundwater Fundamentals for GCD Board & Staff Members

Modeling – the What, Why, and How
Jevon Harding, Groundwater Modeler, Texas Water Development Board

Understanding Well Spacing and Production Limits
Amy Bush, Hydrologist, RMBJ Geo

Conflict Rules and Avoidance
Barbara Boulware-Wells, Principal/Partner, The Knight Law Firm, LLP

Breakout Track B – Aquifer Science

Simulating Potential Alluvial Aquifer Impacts from Conversion of an Open-Pit Mine to a Water Supply Reservoir
Sorab Panday, Principal Engineer, GSI Environmental Inc.

Impacts of Groundwater Pumping for Hydraulic Fracturing on other Sector Wells in Aquifers Overlying the Eagle Ford Shale
Peter Knappett, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University

Clearwater Groundwater Management Model
Philip Webster, Hydrologist, RW Harden & Associates

Breakout Track C – Thinking Outside the Box

Quickstart Guide to Groundwater Availability Certifications
Alyson McDonald, Senior Hydrologist, Collier Consulting

An Introduction to Weather Modification in Texas
Jonathan Jennings, Project Meteorologist, West Texas Weather Modification Association

Transboundary Aquifers: The Complete Map and Binational Implications
Rosario Sanchez, Senior Research Scientist, Texas A&M University

Breakout Track A (repeated) – Groundwater Fundamentals for GCD Board & Staff Members

Breakout Track B – Data, Data, and More Data

Predictive and Adaptive Groundwater Management Strategies
Kelly Close, Client Technology Officer, LRE Water

Investing in Water Level Data
Chuck Dunning, VP Hydrology, Wellntel

Aquifer Characterization using Texture2Par (slides coming soon)
Vivek Bedekar, Senior Scientist, S.S. Papadopulos and Associates, Inc.

Breakout Track C – Hot Topics in Groundwater Protection

Eliminating Orphan Wells & Pollution Sites in Texas
Virginia Palacios, Executive Director, Commission Shift

Anticipating and Preparing for PFAS Regulation
Daniel Haddock, Director of Water Utility Services, INTERA

Geothermal Development and Considerations for Groundwater
Ken Wisian, Associate Director, Bureau of Economic Geology

Day 3 – Thursday, August 31

Making DFCs Matter (panel discussion)
Moderator: Stacey Steinbach, Executive Director, Texas Water Conservation Association
Billy Howe, Associate Director of Government Affairs, Texas Farm Bureau
Bill Hutchison, Independent Groundwater Consultant
Vanessa Puig-Williams, Texas Water Program Director, Environmental Defense Fund
Gary Westbrook, General Manager, Post Oak Savannah GCD

Carbon Capture & Sequestration: What Does Water Have to Do With It?
Ramón Treviño, Program Manager, Bureau of Economic Geology

“All of the Above”: An ASR, MAR, and Reuse Future (panel discussion)
Moderator: Neil Deeds, Principal Water Resources Engineer, INTERA
Scott Reinert, Water Resources Manager, City of El Paso
Kristi Shaw, Senior Professional Associate, HDR
David Smith, ASR Discipline Leader, CDM Smith
Steven Walden, Principal, Steven Walden Consulting

Keynote Address
L’Oreal Stepney, P.E., Board Member, Texas Water Development Board

Current Legal Issues (panel discussion)
Madison Huerta, Associate, Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend, P.C.
Emily Rogers, Managing Partner, Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta
Shauna Fitzsimmons Sledge, Attorney/Partner, SledgeLaw Group

Thank you for attending the 2022 Texas Groundwater Summit, held on August 30-September 1, 2022.

View the full program here.

Recordings of all presentations are available here on our YouTube channel.

 To view the presentation slides, click on the title of the presentation. If the session is not linked below, it did not utilize slides. 

Tuesday, August 30

Welcome Address
Leah Martinsson, Executive Director, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

Panel – The “S” Word: Sustainability in Groundwater
Moderator: Vanessa Puig-Williams, Texas Water Program Director, Environmental Defense Fund
Robert Mace, Executive Director, Meadows Center for Water & the Environment
Wade Oliver, Texas Water Resources Lead, INTERA Inc.
Mitchell Sodek, General Manager, Central Texas GCD
Deborah Trejo, Partner, Kemp Smith Law

Managing for the Future: El Paso Water
Scott Reinert, Water Resources Manager, El Paso Water Utilities

Keynote Address
Jeff Walker, Executive Administrator, Texas Water Development Board

Update on Produced Water Consortium
Rusty Smith, Executive Director, Texas Produced Water Consortium

OpenET and Possibilities in Texas
Garshaw Amidi-Abraham, Senior Outreach Specialist, OpenET

Panel – Water Data: People and Purpose
Moderator: Sam Marie Hermitte, Assistant Deputy Executive Administrator, Texas Water Development Board
Amy Bush, Hydrologist, RMBJ Geo
Ashley Greuter, Program Manager, Harris-Galveston Subsidence District
Joe Yelderman, Professor and Geosciences Department Chair, Baylor University

 

Wednesday, August 31

Welcome Address
Amber Blount, President, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

What’s the Deal With WOTUS?
Julie Nahrgang, Executive Director, Water Environment Association of Texas

Legislative Interim Update
Brian Sledge, Managing Partner, SledgeLaw Group

Panel – Groundwater Management When Everyone Wants a Piece of Texas
Moderator: Natalie Ballew, Groundwater Division Director, Texas Water Development Board
Scott Brooks, Director, Clearwater UWCD
Bill Dugat, Partner, Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP
Mike Keester, Principal, RW Harden & Associates
Lon Shell, Commissioner, Hays County
Micah Voulgaris, General Manager, Cow Creek GCD

Legislator Panel
Moderator: Leah Martinsson, Executive Director, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts
Senator Sarah Eckhardt, District 14, Texas Senate
Representative Kyle Kacal, District 12, Texas House of Representatives
Representative Tracy King, District 80, Chairman of House Natural Resources Committee
Senator Charles Perry, District 28, Chairman of Senate Agriculture, Water, & Rural Affairs Committee

Keynote Address
Garry Merritt, Chief Executive Officer, Great Springs Project

Groundwater Data 101
Heather Dodson, Groundwater Data Team Lead, Texas Water Development Board

Best Practices for Effective Board Meetings
Natasha Martin, Shareholder, Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody

Monitoring and Tracking DFC Compliance
James Beach, Principal, Advanced Groundwater Solutions

Approaches to Evaluating Socioeconomic Impacts
Quinn McColly, Conservation Finance Director, Texas Water Trade

When There is No GCD: Setting DFCs
Velma Danielson, Senior Project Manager, Blanton & Associates

Groundwater Use Estimation and Footprinting
Rohit Goswami, Principal Engineer, RRG Professional Engineering

The GULF 2023 Model: Modeling Advances and Preliminary Results
John Ellis, Supervisory Hydrologist, United States Geological Survey

Model-data Fusion of Hydrologic Simulations and Satellite Observations to Estimate Changes in Water Table Depth
Dimitrios Stampoulis, Lead Scientist, Southwest Research Institute

Nuts and Bolts of Management Plans
Robert Bradley, GMA Liaison/Senior Geoscientist, Texas Water Development Board

Working with Landowners Effectively
Alyssa Balzen, Geoscientist, Edwards Aquifer Authority

Inspiring, Engaging, and Supporting Youth Water Leaders
David Smith, 4-H2O Program Coordinator, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Future of ASR in Texas: TWDB ASR Supporting Studies
Azzah AlKurdi, Engineering Specialist, Texas Water Development Board

Managed Aquifer Recharge Using Stormwater: Lessons from the Harris County Pilot Study
Gretchen Miller, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University

Impacts of Regenerative Ag on Water Storage and Soil Health
Katie Lewis, Associate Professor, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape
Daniel Oppenheimer, Land Program Director, Hill Country Alliance

Land for Water: Texas Land Conservancy Easements
Mark Steinbach, Executive Director, Texas Land Conservancy

Texas Playa Conservation Initiative
Rachel Fern, Wetland Program Leader, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

 

Thursday, September 1

10 Years of EAA v. Day
Gregory Ellis, Attorney, GM Ellis Law Firm
Russell Johnson, Partner, McGinnis Lochridge

Panel – Issues in Water Quality
Moderator: Diana Thomas, General Manager, Sterling County UWCD
Vince Clause, Hydrogeologist, Allan R. Standen LLC
Marc Friberg, Executive Director of External & Regulatory Affairs, Edwards Aquifer Authority
Janet Guthrie, General Manager, Hemphill County UWCD

The New GCD Index
Julia Stanford, Programs & Operations Manager, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

Keynote Address
Emily Lindley, Commissioner, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Panel – Navigating the Journey To and Through a Contested Case Hearing
Moderator: Mike Gershon, Principal, Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend
Bill Hutchison, Independent Groundwater Consultant
Stacey Reese, Attorney, Stacey Reese Law
Blayne Stansberry, President, Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District
Jim Totten, General Manager, Lost Pines GCD

Thank you for attending the 10th Annual Texas Groundwater Summit, held on August 31-September 2, 2021.

View the 2021 Texas Groundwater Summit agenda here.

Full recordings of all presentations are available here on our YouTube channel.

 To view the presentation slides, click on the title of the presentation. If the session is not linked below, it did not utilize slides. 

Tuesday, August 31

Advances in Texas Water Data
Richard Wade, Deputy Executive Administrator of Texas Natural Resource Information System, Texas Water Development Board

The Future is Now – Enforcing DFCs Panel
Moderator: John Dupnik, Deputy Executive Administrator of Water Science and Conservation, Texas Water Development Board
Dirk Aaron, General Manager, Clearwater UWCD
James Beach, Principal Hydrogeologist, Advanced Groundwater Solutions
Kristen Fancher, Attorney, Fancher Legal

Rural Land Trends and What They Mean for Groundwater
Roel Lopez, Director, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute
Robert Mace, Executive Director, Meadows Center for Water & the Environment

Overruling the Rule of Capture: Lessons from 10 Other States
Gabriel Collins, Baker Botts Fellow in Energy and Environmental Regulatory Affairs at Baker Institute, Rice University

Ownership in Place and the Future of Groundwater Litigation
Amy Hardberger, Director, Texas Tech University Center for Water Law & Policy

 

Wednesday, September 1

Investing in Groundwater’s Future Panel
Moderator: Sarah Schlessinger, Chief Executive Officer, Texas Water Foundation
Meredith Allen, General Manager, Sutton County UWCD
Vanessa Escobar, General Manager, Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District
Steve Walthour, General Manager, North Plains GCD

Legislative Debrief Panel
Moderator: Leah Martinsson, Executive Director, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts
Trent Hightower, Assistant General Counsel, Texas Rural Water Association
Sarah Kirkle, Director of Policy & Legislative Affairs, Texas Water Conservation Association
CJ Tredway, Consultant, Texas Oil & Gas Association

Keynote Address: Don’t Mess with Texas – Water Edition
Brooke Paup, Chairwoman, Texas Water Development Board

Considerations of the American Recovery Plan Act and Texas Water
Carlos Rubinstein, Principal, RSAH2O LLC

The Nuts and Bolts of Chapter 36
Greg Ellis, Attorney, GM Ellis Law Firm
[Click here to view a bookmarked file of Chapter 36 from Greg Ellis]

Technical Tools in the GCD Toolbox
Amy Bush, Hydrologist, RMBJ Geo

Mapping and Modeling Faults in the Middle Trinity Aquifer
Michelle Sutherland, Groundwater Resource Engineer, Michelle Sutherland LLC

Groundwater Data Analysis and Visualization – Understanding and Communicating the Status of Your Aquifers
Micaela Pedrazas, Hydrogeologist, LRE Water

GCD and County Tools for Addressing Growth
Zach Holland, General Manager, Bluebonnet GCD

District Dilemma: Mandates, Monitoring, and Finding Funding to Pay for It All 
Trey Gerfers, Board President, Presidio County UWCD

Groundwater Well Assistance Program: A Public Benefits Tool
Bobby Bazan, Water Resource Specialist, Post Oak Savannah GCD

Analytical Tools for the Regional Evaluation of Surface Water-Groundwater Interactions
Bill Hutchison, Independent Groundwater Consultant

Development of a Geochemical Framework to Characterize Complex Aquifer Recharge-Discharge Relations
Rebecca Nunu, Scientist, Southwest Research Institute

Brazos River Streamflow Depletion Due to Alluvial Well Pumping
Jordan Furnans, Vice President-Texas Operations, LRE Water

 

Thursday, September 2

More With Less: What Agriculture Can Do to Save Water
Dana Porter, Agricultural Engineering Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

The Future of Produced Water and the Texas Produced Water Consortium
Venki Uddameri, Professor & Director of Water Resources Center, Texas Tech University

After Twin Oaks: Last 5 Years of Aquifer Storage and Recovery Projects Panel
Moderator: Neil Deeds, Vice President-Southern Region, INTERA
Charles Schoening, Principal-in-Charge, Arcadis
Shauna Fitzsimmons Sledge, Partner, SledgeLaw Group
Brian Smith, Principal Hydrogeologist, Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District

Keynote Address
Senator Charles Perry, District 28, Chairman of Senate Water, Agriculture, & Rural Affairs Committee

Legal Issues Panel
Kimberly Grinnan Kelley, Associate, Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta
Natasha Martin, Shareholder, Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody
Monique Norman, Attorney, Monique Norman Attorney at Law
Cole Ruiz, Associate, Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend

 

Thank you for attending the 9th Annual Texas Groundwater Summit, held September 1-3, 2020, as an interactive webinar event. We appreciate all of our sponsors!

 

View the 2020 Texas Groundwater Summit agenda here.

 To view the presentation slides, click on the title of the presentation. View sessions on our Youtube channel here.

 

Tuesday, September 1

Groundwater Sustainability & Stewardship

Trey Mixon, Natural Resources Manager, Nestle Waters North America

Innovative GCD Management Strategies Panel

Moderator: Drew Satterwhite, General Manager, North Texas GCD/Red River GCD

Troupe Brewer, Principal, Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend PC

Ty Edwards, General Manager, Middle Pecos GCD

Mike Keester, Project Manager/Hydrogeologist, LRE Water

Produced Water as Water Supply Panel

Moderator: Adam Friedman, Partner, McElroy Sullivan Miller & Weber LLP

Brian Bohm, Environmental Sustainability Advisor, Apache Corporation

Bridget Scanlon, Senior Research Scientist, Bureau of Economic Geology

Trey Gerfers, Board Chairman, Presidio County UWCD

Keynote Address

Brooke Paup, Director, Texas Water Development Board

GAMs, the Next Generation Panel

Moderator: Wade Oliver, Senior Hydrogeologist, INTERA

Natalie Ballew, Groundwater Technical Assistance Manager, Texas Water Development Board

Andy Donnelly, Senior Hydrogeologist, Daniel B. Stephens & Associates

John Ellis, Supervisory Hydrologist, United States Geological Survey

Wednesday, September 2

Legislative Update

Sarah Kirkle, Director of Policy & Legislative Affairs, Texas Water Conservation Association

Transparency Under COVID and Related Issues

Jennifer Smith, Attorney, SledgeLaw Group

Well Drilling Basics

William Gamblin, Groundwater Resources Supervising Engineer, WSP

Underground Disposal Wells and Water Quality Considerations for GCDs

Matthew Uliana, Principal Hydrogeologist, INTERA

Advances in Agricultural Conservation & the North Plains Water Conservation Center

Nicholas Kenny, Agricultural Engineer, North Plains GCD

A Path Forward for Sustainable Crop Production on the Texas High Plains

Ronnie Hopper, Director, High Plains Water District

Diversifying the Water Portfolio for Agriculture in the Rio Grande Basin

Allen Berthold, Senior Research Scientist, Texas Water Resources Institute

The Why and How of Water Communications

Janet Rummel, Public Relations & Communications Officer, NTMWD

Building Effective Education Programs

Melissa Mullins, Environmental Education Specialist, Baylor University

From the GCD Perspective: BGPZ Rules under HB 722

Mary Sahs, Principal, Mary K. Sahs PC

High Plains Dockum Study

Jason Coleman, General Manager, High Plains Water District

TWDB Update on Brackish Groundwater Production Zones

Erika Mancha, Manager of Innovative Water Technologies, Texas Water Development Board

Thursday, September 3

The Past, Present, and Future of Comanche Springs

Robert Mace, Executive Director, Meadows Center for Water & the Environment

Lessons Learned: Accountability and the Petition for Review Process Panel

Moderator: Bill Dugat, Partner, Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP

Tom Koeneke, Board Vice President, Starr County GCD

Kelly Mills, Water Availability Division Assistant Director, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Lynn Smith, General Manager, Mesquite GCD

Keynote Address

Dr. Larry Schooler, Senior Fellow, National Civic League

Current Legal Issues Panel

Moderator: Greg Ellis, Attorney, GM Ellis Law Firm PC

Stacey Reese, Attorney, Stacey Reese Law PLLC

Deborah Trejo, Partner, Kemp Smith Law

Agenda

View the 2019 Texas Groundwater Summit agenda here.

2019 Summit Presentations

To view the 2019 presentation slides, click on the title or an individual speaker’s name to view a PDF of the summit slides. View sessions on our Youtube channel here.

 

Day 1 – Tuesday, August 20

Welcome Address

Leah Martinsson, Executive Director, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

 

County Commissioners & Judges Panel

Moderator: The Honorable Jan Roe, Former Robertson County Judge and Current Board President, Brazos Valley GCD

Tim Brown, Former Bell County Commissioner

Will Conley, Former Hays County Commissioner

The Honorable Joe Shuster, Pecos County Judge

 

The Earth Genome

Glen Low, Founder, The Earth Genome

Finding Meaning in the Numbers: Groundwater Data Panel

Moderator: Glen Low, Founder, The Earth Genome

Erin Atkinson, Vice President, GIS / Technology Practice Leader, HalffAssociates, Inc.

Robert Mace, Interim Executive Director & Chief Water Policy Officer, Meadows Center for Water and the Environment

Suzanne Pierce, Research Scientist, Dynamic Decision Support Systems, Data Management & Collections Group, Texas Advanced Computing Center

Mike Turco, General Manager, Harris-Galveston Subsidence District

 

Water Valuation & Water Markets Panel

Moderator: Carlos Rubinstein, Principal, RSAH2O

Gabe Collins, Baker Botts Fellow in Energy & Environmental Regulatory AffairsBaker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University

Sharlene Leurig, Chief Executive Officer, Texas Water Trade

Harry Seely, Principal, WestWaterResearch

 

Keynote Address

Kathleen Jackson, Director, Texas Water Development Board

 

Day 2 – Wednesday, August 21

Welcome Address

Dirk Aaron, President, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

Adapting to a Changing Landscape: Stakeholders Panel

Moderator: Jason Coleman, General Manager, High Plains Water District

Maurice Hall, Associate VP, Ecosystems – Water, Environmental Defense Fund

Allison Strube, Water Utilities Director, City of San Angelo

Ben Weinheimer, Vice President, Texas Cattle Feeders Association

Karen Work, Water Management Supervisor, ConocoPhillips

 

Legislative Debrief Panel

Moderator: Leah Martinsson, Executive Director, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

Ty Embrey, Partner, Lloyd Gosselink Attorneys at Law

Greg Ellis, Attorney, GM Ellis Law Firm, PC

Brian Sledge, Managing Partner, SledgeLaw Group, PLLC

 

Keynote Address

John Sharp, Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System

 

Legislator Panel

Moderator: Leah Martinsson, Executive Director, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

Representative Tracy King, District 80, Texas House of Representatives

Representative Lyle Larson, District 122, Texas House of Representatives

Representative Poncho Nevárez, District 74, Texas House of Representatives

Senator Charles Perry, District 28, Texas State Senate

 

Track 1: Stretching the Resource: Innovative Projects

Prospects for Managed Aquifer Recharge from Stormwater for Harris County and Beyond

Gretchen Miller, Associate Professor, Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University

Creative Solutions to Meeting the City of Wolfforth’s Water Demands

Darrel Newsom, City Manager, City of Wolfforth

Calculating Recoverability in ASR Projects

Steven Young, PHD, PE, PG, CGWP, Principal Geoscientist, INTERA

 

Track 2: Data: Sometimes You Got It, Sometimes You Don’t

Case Study: Technological and Web-Based Solutions to Data Collection, Analysis, and Application in the Houston-Galveston Region

Jason Ramage, Hydrologist, Texas Water Science Center, US Geological Survey

Estimating Use from Exempt Wells

Natalie Ballew, Manager, Groundwater Technical Assistance, TWDB

Quantifying Potential Changes in Recharge from Changes in Weather Patterns

Nick Martin, Principal Scientist, Southwest Research Institute

 

Track 3: Workshop: Board & Staff Training

Hydrogeology 101

Mike Keester, Project Manager and Hydrogeologist, LRE Water, LLC

Chapter 36 Essentials

F. Keith Good, Shareholder, Lemon Law Firm

Board Governance

Steve Kosub, Senior Water Resources Counsel, San Antonio Water System

Effective Education Programs

Greg Wukasch, External Relations Manager, San Antonio Water System

Track 1: Conserve, Preserve, & Protect: Groundwater Contamination

Reporting Groundwater Contamination. Who’s on first?

Cary Betz, Manager, Permit Support, Compliance, and Groundwater Section, TCEQ

Regulatory Framework Groundwater Contamination from Coal Ash Deposits

Kimberly Mireles, Vice President of Environmental Services, Luminant

Risk Assessment of Oil and Gas Activities on Groundwater Resources

Ron Green, Ph.D., P.G., Institute Scientist, Earth Science Section, Space Science and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute

Track 2: Drilling Down: Water Wells

Tracing the Source of Groundwater Through Well Profiling

Noah Heller, President, BESST Inc.

Innovation Software for Permit, Inspections and Production Reporting

Paul Wickman, Director of Applied Technology, RESPEC

A Lower Trinity PWS Case Study

William Gamblin, Associate Principal, Environmental/Water Resources Manager, Braun Intertec

 

Day 3 – Thursday, August 22

Brackish Groundwater Panel

Moderator: Zach Holland, General Manager, Bluebonnet GCD

Neil Blandford, Senior Vice President and Principal Hydrogeologist, Daniel B. Stephens and Associates

John Meyer, Technical Lead Brackish Resource Aquifer Characterization System, TWDB

Steve Walden, Principal, Steve Walden Consulting

Hope Wells, Water Resources Council, San Antonio Water Systems

 

Where Do You Draw the Line? Surface Water/Groundwater Interaction

Moderator: John Dupnik, Deputy Executive Administrator, Water Science & Conservation, TWDB

James Beach, Senior Supervising Hydrogeologist and Area Manager, WSP

James Kowis, Principal Owner, James Kowis Consulting

Dave Mauk, General Manager, Bandera County River Authority & Groundwater District

Joe Yelderman, PhD, Professor, Department of Geosciences, Baylor University

 

Case Law Panel

Moderator: Mike Gershon, Partner, Lloyd Gosselink Attorneys at Law

Natasha Martin, Attorney, Graves Dougherty Hearon and Moody

Edmond McCarthy, Partner, McCarthy & McCarthy, LLP

Drew Miller, Partner, Kemp Smith

2018 Summit Presentations
To view the 2017 presentation slides, click on the speakers’ name or the panel title to view a PDF of the Summit slides. Video of perentations will be available on TAGD’s YouTube channel here.

Day 1 – Tuesday, August 28

Welcome Address

Sarah Rountree Schlessinger, Executive Director, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

 

Aquifer Boundaries

Moderator: Sarah Rountree Schlessinger, Executive Director, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

Gabriel Eckstein, Director, Program in Natural Resources Systems and Director, International Water Law Project, Texas A&M University School of Law

Robert Mace, Associate Director and Chief Water Policy Officer, The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment

Stacey Steinbach, Assistant General Manager, Texas Water Conservation Association

 

Groundwater Availability

Moderator: Sarah Rountree Schlessinger, Executive Director, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

Van Kelley, PG, Sr. Vice President; Principal Hydrogeologist, INTERA

Darrell Peckham, Principal, Peckham P.G., LLC

Justin C. Thompson, Doctoral Student, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin

 

Keynote Address

Senator Charles Perry, District 28, Texas State Senate

 

Optimizing the Edwards Aquifer: the next 20 years and beyond

Roland Ruiz, General Manager, Edwards Aquifer Authority

Marc Friberg, Executive Director of External & Regulatory Affairs,

Mark Hamilton, Executive Director of Aquifer Management Services

 

Groundwater Management in Denmark

Jacob Vind, Counsel General and Head of the Danish Water Technology Alliance in the US, Royal Danish Consulate General

 

Day 2 – Wednesday, August 29

Opening Remarks

Dirk Aaron, President, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

 

Groundwater Management Toolbox

Moderator: Dirk Aaron, General Manager, Clearwater UWCD

Vanessa Escobar, Senior Regulatory Compliance Coordinator, Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer CD

Greg Sengelmann, General Manager, Gonzales County UWCD

Gary Westbrook, General Manager, Post Oak Savannah GCD

 

Case Law

Moderator: Michael A. Gershon, Principal, Lloyd Gosselink Attorneys at Law

Greg Ellis, Attorney, GM Ellis Law Firm, PC

Stacey Reese, Attorney, Stacey Reese Law PLLC

Celina Romero, Partner, Duggins Wren Mann & Romero, LLP

 

Keynote Address

Representative Lyle Larson, District 122, Texas House of Representatives

 

Groundwater Transactions

Moderator: Kodi Sawin, Principal, Sawin Group

Kristen Fancher, Attorney, Fancher Legal, PLLC

Jason Hill, Attorney, JT Hill & Co.

John Tracy, Ph.D, Director, Texas Water Resources Institute

TexMesonet Update

Kantave Green, Texas Water Development Board

Workshop: Board & Staff Training

Board Governance Training

Steve Kosub, Senior Water Resources Counsel, San Antonio Water System

Personnel and Employment Policies for GCDs

Jennifer Smith, Attorney, SledgeLaw Group PLLC

FAQs on the Public Information Act & Open Meetings Act

Kimberly Grinnan Kelley, Attorney, Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP

 

Groundwater Data & Technology

Texas Water Data Initiative

Sam Hermitte, Assistant Deputy Executive Administrator, Water Science & Conservation, TWDB

GCD Databases

Erin Atkinson, Vice President, Halff Associates

Enabling Your Groundwater Data through Dynamic Web Applications & Visualization Tools

Daniel Pearson, Data and Spatial Studies Chief, US Geological Survey

 

Know Your Aquifer

Aquifer Modeling 101

Wade Oliver, PG, Senior Hydrogeologist, INTERA

Using Remote-Sensed Data to Improve Recharge Estimates

Ron Green, Ph.D., P.G., Institute Scientist, Earth Science Section, Space Science and Engineering Division, SwRI

Single District Groundwater Quality Studies

Paul Kirby, Project Geologist, Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc.

 

All the Wells & Whistles

TDLR Rules Training

Adam Foster, Hydrologist, WWD/PI Program, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation

Transducers & Telemetry

Raymond Straub, President, Straub Corporation

Water Well Drillers FAQs

Bobby Bazan, Water Resource Specialist, Post Oak Savannah GCD

Pete Brien, Owner, Brien Water Wells

 

Emerging Groundwater Management Trends

Managed Recharge – Beyond the ASR Well

Stephanie Moore, Senior Hydrologist, Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc.

Aquifer Subsidence Vulnerability

Mike Keester, Project Manager and Hydrogeologist, LRE Water, LLC

How and Why GCDs Might Support the Oil and Gas Wastewater Recycling Efforts

Adam Friedman, Associate, McElroy, Sullivan, Miller & Weber, LLP

 

Day 3 – Thursday, August 30

Conservation & Stewardship in Texas Groundwater

Moderator: Vanessa Puig-Williams, Puig-Willaims Law, PLLC

Grant Ellis, Natural Resources Manager, Parks and Recreation Department, City of San Antonio

Blair Fitzsimmons, Chief Executive Officer, Texas Agricultural Land Trust

Roel R. Lopez, Ph.D., Director, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute

Lori Olson, Executive Director, Texas Land Trust Council

 

Legislator Panel

Senator José Rodríguez, District 29, Texas Senate

Representative Paul Workman, District 47, Texas House of Representatives

 

GCD Innovation & Inspiration: Stories from the field

Moderator: Ronnie Hopper, Board Member, High Plains Water District

 

North Plains Master Irrigator Program

Kirk Welch, Assistant General Manager-Outreach, North Plains GCD

 

Horizontal: An Innovative Supply Well

Jason Coleman, Manager, High Plains Water District

 

Visualizing Your Aquifer using Geophysical Characterizations at Multiple Scales

Scott Ikard, Hydrologist, Texas Water Science Center, US Geological Survey

Layne Marlow, Field Technician, South Plains GCD

Mitchell Sodek, General Manager, Central Texas GCD

Andrew Teeple, Hydrologist and Geophysics and Subsurface Analysis Unit Team Lead, Texas Water Science Center, US Geological Survey

To view the 2017 presentation slides, click on the speakers’ name or the panel title to view a PDF of the Summit slides. If there is a presentation missing that you’d like added or if there is a problem with the file, please email groundwater@iemshows.com. View sessions on our Youtube channel here.

 

Day 1 – Tuesday, August 29

 

 Welcome Address & Opening Remarks
Sarah Rountree Schlessinger, Executive Director, TAGD

100 Year Anniversary of the 1917 Conservation Amendment
Moderator: Ken Kramer, Water Resources Chair and Legislative Advisor, Sierra Club – Lone Star Chapter
Carole Baker, President/CEO, Texas Water Foundation
Karen Guz, Conservation Director, San Antonio Water System
Carlos Rubinstein, Principal, RSAH2O, LLC
Andy Sansom, Executive Director, The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment
Thales Smith, University of Texas School of Law

The Value of Groundwater: Market Valuation & Assessment

Peter Lake, Director, Texas Water Development Board
Amy Hardberger, Esq., Associate Dean, St. Mary’s University School of Law
Charles R. Porter Jr., Ph.D., College of Education, St. Edward’s University
David W. Yoskowitz, Ph.D., Associate Director & HRI Endowed Chair for Socio-Economics, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Groundwater Users – Correlative Rights, Existing Use, & Curtailments

Moderator: Alan Day, General Manager, Brazos Valley GCD
Charles Bowers, Ag Producer and Board Member, Panhandle GCD
David Coleman, Director of Water Services, City of College Station
Ronald Gertson, Board Member, Texas Rice Producers Legislative Group
Lara Zent, Executive Director and General Counsel, Texas Rural Water Association

Planning Ahead: Current Groundwater Projects for Tomorrow’s Needs

Moderator: Bobby Bazan, Water Resources Management Specialist, Post Oak Savannah GCD
David Collinsworth, Regional Manager, Brazos River Authority
Dana Porter, Program Leader and Associate Dept. Head, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Services
Tom Ray, Water Resources Programs Manager, Lockwood, Andrews & Newman, Inc.
John Seifert, Project Manager, LBG-Guyton Associates

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2 – Wednesday, August 30

 

Welcome & Opening Remarks
Joe B Cooper, President, TAGD

Keynote Address

Senator Charles Perry, District 28, Texas State Senate

Similar Rules: a Discussion with Groundwater Management Areas
Moderator: Sarah Rountree Schlessinger, Executive Director, TAGD
Ronald Fieseler, General Manager, Blanco-Pedernales GCD
Dave Mauk, General Manager, Bandera County RA & GD
Jim Totten, General Manager, Lost Pines GCD
Gary Westbrook, General Manager, Post Oak Savannah GCD

Keynote Address

Honorable Nathan L. Hecht, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Texas

Legislative Debrief

Moderator: Sarah Rountree Schlessinger, Executive Director, TAGD
Greg Ellis, Attorney, GM Ellis Law Firm PC
Ty Embrey, Attorney, Lloyd Gosselink Attorneys at Law
Monique Norman, Attorney
Brian Sledge, Attorney, SledgeLaw PLLC
Hope Wells, Corporate Counsel, San Antonio Water System

Luncheon Keynote Address

Dr. Leyon Greene, Hydrologist and Meteorologist, TexMesonet, TWDB

Breakout 1, Track 1: Groundwater Research and Science

Moderator: C.E. Williams, General Manager, Panhandle GCD

Water Level Monitoring Networks and Analysis of Data for Assessing DFCs
Jevon Harding, P.G., Hydrogeologist, INTERA

Use of Coupled Surface Water/Groundwater Models in Managing Water Resources

Ronald Green, Ph.D., P.G., Institute Scientist, Southwest Research Institute

Influence of Urban Pumping on Groundwater Quality
Peter Knappett, Assistant Professor, Department of Geology & Geophysics, Texas A&M University

Breakout 1, Track 2: Getting Deep: Water Wells
Moderator: Steve Walthour, General Manager, North Plains GCD

Look Before You Drill
Doug Laymon, Geophysical Services Manager, Collier Consulting, Inc.

Protecting Your Groundwater Assets

Dan Haddock, Principal Engineer, INTERA

Educating the Well Owner

Drew Gholson, Water Resources Program Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Breakout 2, Track 1: GCD Board Member Training
Moderator: Zach Holland, General Manager, Bluebonnet GCD

The Intricacies of Chapter 36

Shauna Fitzsimmons, Attorney, SledgeLaw PLLC
Russ Johnson, Attorney, McGinnis Lochridge

Application of Oil & Gas Principles to Groundwater Law
Bill Dugat, Attorney, Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta

Board Member Responsibility & Liability

Drew Miller, Attorney, Kemp Smith LLP

Breakout 2, Track 2: Groundwater Databases & Data Collection

Bobby Bazan, Water Resources Management Specialist, Post Oak Savannah GCD

How Technology Can Help GCDs Fulfill Their Missions

Michael Keester, P.G., Project Manager and Hydrogeologist, LRE Water, LLC
Dave Colvin, P.G., Project Manager, LRE Water, LLC

Using Your Data Efficiently and Effectively

Suzanne Pierce, Research Scientist, Texas Advanced Computing Center, UT Austin

Day 3 – Thursday, August 31

Welcome Address & Introductions
Sarah Rountree Schlessinger, Executive Director, TAGD

The Impact of DFC Monitoring & Implementation on Planning

James Beach, Senior Vice President, LBG-Guyton Associates

DFC Tracking Panel

Moderator: James Beach, Senior Vice President, LBG-Guyton Associates
Dirk Aaron, General Manager, Clearwater UWCD
Greg Sengelmann, General Manager, Gonzales County UWCD
Steve Walthour, General Manager, North Plains GCD

Case Law Update

Moderator: Susana Canseco, Attorney, Branscomb PC
Troupe Brewer, Attorney, Lloyd Gosselink Attorneys at Law
Kristen Fancher, Attorney, Fancher Legal, PLLC
Vanessa Puig Williams, Attorney, Puig Williams Law
Emily Rogers, Attorney, Bickerstaff Health Delgado Acosta LLP

Advanced Groundwater Technology Panel
Moderator: Sarah Rountree Schlessinger, Executive Director, TAGD

Texas A&M ASR Initiative

Dr. Gretchen Miller, Water Management and Hydrological Science Program Faculty, Texas A&M University

Brackish Desal – Beyond the Bad Water Line

Stephen Hoff, GIS Analyst, Bexar County Information Technology

3-D Modeling, Visualization, and Management

Gabe Collins, Baker Botts Fellow in Energy & Environmental Regulatory Affairs, James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University
Bill Mullican, Principal, Mullican & Associates
Michelle Sutherland, Independent Researcher, Michelle A. Sutherland LLC
Nathan Toll, Senior Research Scientist, Southwest Research Institute
Michael Turco, General Manager/CEO, Harris-Galveston Subsidence District