Texas Water Development Board approves $560,000 in agricultural grants and solicits annual agricultural water conservation grant applications

For immediate release. Contact: Media Relations at 512-463-5129

AUSTIN – (December 11, 2014) – The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today approved grant contracts in the amount of $560,000 from the Agricultural Water Conservation Fund. The recipients of the grants are Brewster County Groundwater Conservation District, Gulf Coast Water Authority, Cameron County Irrigation District No. 6, and Texas A&M University – Kingsville. The assistance will finance agricultural water conservation metering and agricultural irrigation system improvements.

The funding for Brewster County Groundwater Conservation District will help offset the cost of metering equipment by up to 50 percent. The Gulf Coast Water Authority will use the funding to install water use monitoring equipment for real-time water use data and to implement conservation pricing. Cameron County Irrigation District No. 6 will use the grant funding to replace an open canal with a pipeline which will conserve 275 acre-feet of water annually and educate producers on water conservation practices. The grant for Texas A&M University – Kingsville will continue the funding of research at the Citrus Center in Weslaco and will also fund a 15-acre field with demonstrations of low-cost water conserving irrigation practices and a 15-acre control site using traditional border flood irrigation and drip and micro-spray irrigation systems.

Additionally, the TWDB publishes an annual request for grant applications to fund agricultural water conservation projects. The TWDB is currently soliciting applications for projects from eligible groundwater conservation districts.

Available funding includes $1,490,000 million for cost sharing of metering equipment in groundwater conservation districts that have rules requiring metering of groundwater withdrawals.

Applications are due by noon on March 11, 2015, with an anticipated award date in mid-June. Current requests for applications and application instructions can be viewed online.

For more information, contact the Agricultural Water Conservation Team at 512-936-6090 or agconservation@twdb.texas.gov. Please visit the TWDB Agricultural Conservation webpage to learn more about our programs and to see examples of projects previously funded through the TWDB Agricultural Water Conservation Grants Program.

The TWDB is the state agency charged with collecting and disseminating water-related data, assisting with regional planning, and preparing the state water plan for the development of the state's water resources. The TWDB administers cost-effective financial assistance programs for the construction of water supply, wastewater treatment, flood control, and agricultural water conservation projects.