Water is critical, not only to meet personal water needs, but to support a healthy economy and to meet the challenges of food for an ever growing world population.  Increased climate variability, increasing the probability of flooding as well as droughts, and competing demands for our existing water resources requires us to fundamentally rethink how we should manage water.  We must insure that use of our groundwater and surface water resources for energy production and economic well-being does not come at the cost of limited potable water availability, food security and environmental quality. , Moreover we must effectively manage the threats of flooding and droughts, both of which can limit the availability of high quality water for urban, industrial as well as agricultural uses.<br/>These challenges will be explored using examples from the Southern high plains where there is intense competition for water for agricultural crops, energy development, municipal requirements and ecological needs.  Additional stresses on water quality and availability associated with the worst single year drought in Texas recorded history (2011) and flooding due to Hurricane Harvey in southeast Texas will also be emphasized.  Potential solutions in the form of more resilient management of existing water supplies and the exploitation of new water supplies will be summarized.<br/>

Meeting future water needs: Addressing the challenges of water quality and availability

255th National Meeting (2018)

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