Texas Water Development Board approves $1 million in financial assistance to the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District for an agricultural conservation loan program

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

AUSTIN – (November 2, 2016) - The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today approved by resolution financial assistance in the amount of $1 million to the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District (Armstrong, Carson, Donley, Gray, Hutchinson, Potter, Roberts, and Wheeler counties) from the Agriculture Water Conservation Loan Program to provide financing for a water conservation equipment loan program.

The District could save approximately $210,000 over the life of the loan by using the Agriculture Water Conservation Loan Program.

The Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District will use the funds to provide loans to area producers to purchase efficient irrigation equipment. The District's primary agricultural production includes wheat, corn, milo, peanuts, soy beans, sunflowers, hay crops, cotton, and beef cattle. These funds will allow producers to increase their water conservation efforts.

The District estimates the activities funded through the loans will improve the application efficiency on existing irrigation systems by 15 to 20 percent.

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.