Elyssa Rodriguez Presents to High School Peers

Elyssa Rodriguez (Hidalgo Co.) gave presentations to her AP Environmental Science and AP Statistics Class at Edinburg North High School. She talked about all the places we visited and things we learned during this summer's 4-H2O Leadership Academy.

If you are looking for opportunities to present, consider talking to your teachers. Also, leading waer education activities for younger age groups is an excellent way to practice your leadership skills.

Thanks Elyssa for your leadership!

Elyssa Rodriguez recap her 4-H2O Leadership Academy experience.

Elyssa's AP Environmental Science class.

Childers and Glover Collaborate with Middle Trinity GCD for Comanche Pow Wow

The 4-H Water Ambassadors Program would not be possible without the generous support of groundwater conservation districts. Not only do many groundwater conservation districts sponsor our Program, but they can provide you with many opportunities to educate your communities about water.

Myla Childers and Sehrsha Glover (Erath Co.) recently teamed up with Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District at the Comanche Pow Wow, where they helped by giving away rain gauges, water information, bumper stickers, pens, fans, and bags. They also had a sign up sheet for water well plugging/water quality testing.

Sehrsha Glover assists with Middle Trinity GCD booth.

Myla Childers assists with Middle Trinity GCD booth.

Corpus Christi Moves Forward with Desalination Project - By Grant Miller

As Water Ambassador, it is important to keep informed of emerging water issues in your communities. Grant Miller (Nueces Co.) recently participated in a meeting in Corpus Christi to discuss the status of the desalination plant construction. Here's what Grant reported from this meeting.

Grant Miller participates in desalination project update meeting in Corpus Christi.

"In August, I attended a meeting hosted by the Coastal Bend Bays and Fisheries Foundation who gave an update on the desalination project in Corpus Christi. The meeting was informative and made sure that all parts of the project were covered during the meeting. Overall, the meeting gave me a sense of confidence in seeing how far along the project is coming. I am excited to see where this project will go and how it will affect our community.

So far, the project is moving along quickly. However, they have not started construction yet. The purpose for this is because of the location. The proposed location is bordering a popular local fishery by the name of Redfish Bay. Many fishing guides run a service out of this fishery and are concerned that the desalination plant will leak "chemicals" (as brought up by an attendee of the meeting) into the water and ultimately cause more red tide, eventually putting an end to the great resource.

One of the reasons that a desalination plant would greatly benefit our area is because right now the city is having to pump water in through multiple pipelines in order to keep up with the population. With a desalination plant, we would not have to rely on other sources of water as much as we do. After hearing from the city leaders, I am very confident in our city's water supply and hopeful for the future."

Tyann Phillips Attends Texas Alliance for Water Conservation Field Day

Tyann Phillips (Floyd Co.) recently participated in a field day in Muncy which focused on agricultural irrigation management and efficiency.

The event was organized by the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation (TAWC) - a project administered by Texas Tech University, and funded through a grant from the Texas Water Development Board.

TAWC is "a partnership of area producers, data collection technologies, and collaborating partners that include: industries, universities, and government agencies. The project uses on-farm demonstrations of cropping and livestock systems to compare the production practices, technologies, and systems that can maintain individual farm profitability while improving water use efficiency with a goal of extending the life of the Ogallala Aquifer while maintaining the viability of local farms and communities."

January 17, 2019, TAWC will host the 5th Annual Water College in Lubbock, where more than 200 area producers, consultants and Ag industry leaders will discuss the latest in water management technologies and practices. There will also be a trade show. Perhaps this is an opportunity to have a 4-H Water Ambassadors booth, and manned by some of you in the area? I will check into it. Here is a link to the agenda.

Rowdy Kunz Presents at Colorado County Fair

Rowdy Kunz (Colorado Co.) recently participated in the Colorado County Fair in Columbus where he put together an impressive poster display about his 4-H2O Leadership Academy experience. Rowdy also built a model stream table and shared information about stream flow principles.

Great poster presentation Rowdy!

Rowdy Kunz creates poster presentation highlighting 4-H2O Academy experience.

Rowdy Kunz shares what he learned during Academy and demonstrates stream table.

A couple months ago I shared with each of you a Dropbox folder containing many photos taken during the Academy. This folder is still accessible if you are looking for good content for posters or presentations.

Elyssa Rodriguez Gets Up-close Look at Regional Water Planning Process

On August 1, Elyssa Rodriguez (Hidalgo Co.) participated in the Region M - Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group meeting in Weslaco.

Elyssa Rodriguez (Hidalgo Co.) and Dr. Askar Karimov at Region M Water Planning Group Meeting

Every 5 years the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) develops a State Water Plan based upon the input from 16 regional water planning groups. These regional planning groups each attempt to balance the current water supply with future water demands. Planning group members are made up of roughly 20 members who represent a diversity of interests such as agriculture, industry, environmental, business, municipalities, and water districts.

Regional water planning meetings are usually held 3-4 times per year and are open to the public. I encourage you to find out which Regional Planning Group includes your county, and attend a future meeting to learn more about the water planning process. A link to a map of Regional Water Planning Groups and meeting schedule is located under 'Important Links' to the left of the blog.

To learn more, click on the link to view a TWDB fact sheet titled "Regional Water Planning in Texas".

Regional Water Planning Group Boundary Map

Losoya & Huffman Make Splash at World Champion Goat Cook-off

McCullough County 4-H Water Ambassadors Isaiah Losoya and Noah Huffman set up a water education booth at the World Championship Goat Cook-off held recently in Brady. With the advice of Hickory Underground Water Conservation District, they touched on several important topics. Here's what they had to say about their experience, and the topics they covered ...

"We gave the people who approached us a quick overview of the Hickory Aquifer. We talked about the water cycle through the aquifer and how special it is because of the super absorbent Hickory Sandstone. We then had a fun game where people could guess how many gallons of water go into every ingredient on a pizza. For the children, we handed out stickers, key chains, water cycle posters and water information brochures."

Thanks guys for taking advantage of this opportunity!

Noah Huffman quizzes young lady about how much water it takes to make a pizza.

Isaiah Losoya - 4-H WaterAmbassador (McCullough County)

John Philip Jones Talks Surface & Groundwater Policy in Waller County

As one of the first 4-H Water Ambassadors, John Philip Jones has always looked for opportunities to share his knowledge and experience with others in his community. Recently John Philip tackled perhaps one of the most complex of water issues - surface and groundwater policy. Earlier this month, he presented a PowerPoint on the topic as part of the Lone Star Healthy Stream Program. I asked John Philip to tell us a little bit about his experience, and asked him to share any advice for fellow water ambassadors. Here's what he said ...

"I recently enjoyed presenting to some Waller County residents at the Lone Star Healthy Stream Program. I learned about this opportunity through my county extension agent.  Last year, I asked her to let me know if she saw any opportunity for me to give public outreach.  I was asked to be one of the presenters at Lone Star Healthy Streams and was told I could pick my own topic.  After reviewing what topics the other presenters would be covering that day, I chose to speak about Texas water policy.

When I started creating my presentation, I took into consideration my target audience (their age, knowledge level, and interest in my topic) and my ability to answer questions on what I covered (this is very important to me).  Since my target audience was educated adults who were already interested in water, I made my presentation more technical.  I utilized two primary sources for creating my presentation were: Lloyd Gosselink Law Firm’s presentations on surface water policy and groundwater policy, and Texas Agriculture Law blog articles on “Texas Water: Basics of Groundwater Law” and “Texas Water: Basics of Surface Water Law.”  I also used my notes from the 2017 Leadership Academy.

I received some very positive feedback.  For example, a gentleman who owns a water supply company offered for me to come by his office and see his operation.  I received a challenging question about exportation of water from a GCD, but luckily I knew the answer.

My word of advice to my fellow ambassadors who may prepare a similar presentation is to keep these three things in mind: your target audience and the best way to approach them; create a good PowerPoint, but remember to focus on what you are saying; and don’t forget to prepare for questions (the best way to do this is to do a little more research than is required to build your presentation)."

Good advice John Philip!

Click the link here to download a copy of his PowerPoint presentation Texas Surface & Groundwater Policy.  

Stay Connected with Texas Water Resources Institute's 'Conservation Matters' Newsletter

The Texas Water Resources Institute was established in 1952, and named as the state’s official water resources institute in 1964. TWRI is one of 54 institutes in the National Institutes for Water Resources and is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey. They provide science-based, community-supported solutions for the state’s water quantity and quality challenges through internal expertise and external collaborations. Other roles include:

• project development and management
• stakeholder engagement
• watershed and aquifer assessment and planning
• bacterial source tracking
• water conservation research
• geospatial analysis
• professional training
• public outreach

Conservation Matters is a monthly online publication that provides timely information about water and natural resources news and research at universities and organizations in Texas. I strongly encourage you to visit http://twri.tamu.edu/publications/conservation-matters/ and subscribe to the newsletter. 

The newsletter connects research teams and communities to multidisciplinary expertise by serving as a gateway to a national network of water institutes, The Texas A&M University System and other universities and water resources organizations. It also includes announcements of upcoming meetings and workshops across Texas that you may attend and earn credit towards your Texas 4-H Water Ambassadors service.

Logan West Talks Water at Wilson Co. 4-H Kick-Off

Logan West (Wilson Co.) recently shared information about water conservation at the Wilson County 4-H Kick-off. He also demonstrated the Texas Stream Team water quality testing kit and promoted the Water Ambassadors Program to fellow 4-Hers and parents.

Nice display Logan!

4-H Ambassador/State Council Service Opportunity at State Fair

I just learned from the State 4-H Office about an opportunity for state council/Ambassador groups to assist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Booth (specifically the DreamWorks booth) at the State Fair in Dallas the weekend of Sept. 29-30.

The DreamWorks booth is located in the Go Texas Pavilion. There are currently about 6 slots open each day currently for volunteers.  There are several shifts available.  One shift from 9:45am-2:00pm, one from 1:45-6:00pm, and one full day shift from 9:45am-6:00pm.  Depending on which shift you sign up for, you will work with DreamWorks from 10am-3pm and then work in the AgriLife booth after 3:00pm until 6:00pm.  Both spaces are in the same building.  

It will be first come, first served.  If you are interested, you must sign up online to work at https://www.volunteersignup.org/M8PCA. Liz Rudd, Dallas County Extension Agent, will communicate with you and get you passes when you arrive at the fair for entry and parking.  There may only be enough passes to accommodate the gate entry for the youth volunteer. It is not known whether there will have enough gate passes to accommodate parents who may accompany you.  All passes will need to be returned at the end of their shift for use by others the next day.

Ramthum & Dague Participate in the 2018 Milam and Burleson Counties Groundwater Summit

Gabriel Ramthun (Milam County) and Kolby Dague (Bell County) participated recently in the 2018 Milam and Burleson Counties Groundwater Summit in Caldwell, Texas. Thanks guys for representing the 4-H Water Ambassadors Program!

The Summit was hosted by one of our great sponsors - Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District. There were many terrific speakers! Visit the Summit web page at https://posgcd.org/groundwater-summit/ to watch videos of the presentations. For some speakers, presentation slides are also available.

Gabriel Ramthun (Milam Co.) works check-in table at Summit.

Gabriel Ramthun (Milam Co.) helps GCD staff with Summit logistics.

Optional Assignment for all Water Ambassadors

During this year's Tier I 4-H2O Leadership Academy kick-off reception, I placed a list of questions on each table to illustrate the range of topics to be covered during the Academy (tour) and your service as water ambassador.

I have posted a link under 'Assignments' called "Post 4-H2O Academy Quiz". The quiz is (10) questions taken from the list provided at the reception. Though the quiz is optional, I highly recommend that you complete the assignment. The main purpose is to reinforce your understanding of surface and groundwater rights in Texas.

Submit your answers on-line as indicated on the assignment instructions to receive (3) hours of service.

Water Ambassadors Thank Sponsors at Texas Groundwater Summit

The 4-H Water Ambassador Program would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Last week, several ambassadors got a chance to meet with and thank many of our sponsors at the Texas Groundwater Summit in San Antonio. Many groundwater conservation districts were given plaques and certificates of appreciation. I was also allowed to address the entire conference and recognize those ambassadors in attendance. You can view my address here https://youtu.be/zTJSKm3Xqj0.

I encourage each of you to meet and get involved with groundwater districts in your region. These are great people who understand about the impact of safe, reliable water resources and sound water policy to local communities. They can also assist you with finding opportunities to educate others about the importance of water.

Here are some pictures from the Summit ...

Logan West, Gerardo Garcia, and Jovana Pena present to Angelina Deans (Hickory UWCD)

Roxanna Reyna-Islas, Alfonso Islas, Marlys Baldwin, and David Smith present to Ty Embrey (Lloyd-Gosselink)

Alfonso Islas and Marlys Baldwin present to Mitchell Sodek (Central Texas GCD)

Logan, David, Gerardo, Jovana, Maggie Garcia, and Roxanna present to Kathy Turner Jones (Lone Star GCD) 

David Smith presents to Jim Conkwright (Prairielands GCD)

Molly McKinney and David Smith present to Julia Stanford (North Plains GCD)

Askar Karimov, Molly and David present to Dirk Aaron and Board Members of Clearwater UWCD 

Molly presents to Zach Holland (Bluebonnet GCD)

Registration Now Open for October Water Ambassador Retreat

Registration for the 4-H Water Ambassador Retreat is now open! Registration closes October 15 so sign up early.

Location: Texas 4-H Conference Center, 5600 FM 3021, Brownwood, Texas 76801
Time/Dates: Arrive between 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm October 26. Depart by 10:30 am October 28.
Cost: $70.00 for Water Ambassadors (includes 2-nights lodging/meals/activities)

Goal: Demonstrate and practice with water education activities and projects that water ambassadors can do back in their communities. Our time together will include fun and fellowship as we join District 4-H Council campers in games and other activities!

To register, visit  https://texas4hcenter.tamu.edu/services/youth-camps-and-retreats/ and select 'Register Now >>'.

Then be sure to select the camp "Water Ambassador Retreat Youth". After signing up you will receive a follow-up email and a link to the required Health Statement Form which you will need to complete and bring with you on the day of your arrival. You will also need to bring a copy of your medical insurance form.