Conference Success
RGBI participants highlight 2007-2008 outcomes
By Danielle Supercinski
More than 100 participants attended the 2008 Annual Rio Grande Basin Initiative (RGBI) Conference held July 14-17 in Las Cruces, NM at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. Project participants highlighted their accomplishments and discussed plans to continue ongoing efforts or initiate new activities through the Efficient Irrigation for Water Conservation in the Rio Grande Basin project.
“Even though the Rio Grande Basin is prone to frequent droughts and July always brings lizard-scorching temperatures, the RGBI group was well cared for by our New Mexico hosts and comforted by the excellence of project outcomes presented,” said B.L. Harris, RGBI project director and associate director at Texas A&M AgriLife Texas Water Resources Institute.
The opening session began with welcoming comments from Dr. Allan Jones, director at Texas A&M AgriLife Texas Water Resources Institute, and Brad Rein, national program leader at U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service. Texas AgriLife Research, Texas AgriLife Extension Service and New Mexico State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service administrators also addressed the attendees on the importance of water conservation and lauded the success of the RGBI project.
New Mexico regional water issues were discussed by Judge Jerald A. Valentine, presiding judge at the New Mexico Lower Rio Grande Basin Adjudication, and Gary Esslinger, general manager of the Elephant Butte Irrigation District. In addition, luncheon speaker Edmund “Ed” Archuleta, manager at El Paso Water Utilities, talked about El Paso’s award-winning efforts in conserving water.
The remainder of the conference allowed both Texas and New Mexico RGBI task leaders and participants to present overviews of 2007-2008 accomplishments and outcomes and the impacts these projects have on the Rio Grande Basin stakeholders.
“It is very important for research scientists and Extension personnel to come together to discuss collaboration opportunities and help set priorities for these multi-state integrated research and Extension programs as well as bringing outside partners into the mix,” Harris said.
Urban water conservation studies continue to help homeowners save water by using more efficient practices in their homes and landscapes. On-farm irrigation management research, demonstrations and comparisons continue providing growers with precise and efficient irrigation methods.
In addition, aquatic weed management is demonstrated to irrigation districts, and researchers are testing chemical and biological controls to manage weeds such as hydrilla, saltcedar and Arundo donax. Engineers use remote sensing, regional evapotranspiration estimation models, “smart” controller irrigation, automation/telemetry, canal seepage loss testing and other methods to find areas of water loss in irrigation delivery systems and rehabilitate the infrastructure. RGBI economists develop and update economic models to analyze the cost-benefit of such improvements to irrigation infrastructure as well as the cost effectiveness of alternate water-producing methods such as desalination.
The final session highlighted the RGBI County Extension Programs in both Texas and New Mexico. Extension specialists and agents are actively involved in teaching youth and adults how to conserve water. Numerous demonstration gardens and rainwater harvesting demonstrations are established for children and the public to view and learn more about water saving practices. Specialists and agents also work together to conduct irrigation trainings and workshops to better educate growers on the best water-saving irrigation techniques available.
“The conference showed that the participants had coped well with the ‘07 funding issues and had been able to sustain significant efforts despite the funding hiatus,” said Allan Jones, director at Texas A&M AgriLife Texas Water Resources Institute. “We’re glad to see funding back on track in 2008. We expect the programs to continue their rapid progress over the next few years.”
A field tour of local aquatic areas of interest followed the conference. Esslinger lead the group to EBID irrigation canal sites to demonstrate precision water management instrumentation and overall canal and water management. Craig Runyan, water quality and RGBI program coordinator at New Mexico State University (NMSU), then lead the group to the Zhul Geologic Collection and the Windmill Farm at the NMSU Alumni Center.
“RGBI has been one of the most successful projects ever conducted in Texas and New Mexico and the water savings resulting from these efforts will have far-reaching impacts throughout the Basin for many years,” Harris said.
Conference presentations, notes and photos can be found on the conference Web site at http://riogrande-conference.tamu.edu/.
