Texas Water Atlas

Introduction

Water is essential for life. Abundant, reliable, and highquality water resources are necessary for the health of humans and wildlife and for agricultural and economic development. Texans need to have critical information about and a fundamental understanding of their water resources if the state is to prosper. To help reach this essential goal, the Texas Water Atlas is a unique educational guide. The Texas Water Atlas is organized into seven chapters that feature more than 150 color maps and graphics highlighting the state’s climate, water resources and hazards , and projections for future water needs. The Texas Water Timeline traces water uses and hazards principally of European settlements through the state’s current water challenges, and a glossary explains key terms and frequently used abbreviations for governmental agencies. Accompanying the Texas Water Atlas is a County Data Table that focuses on future water projections and pollution sources and can be freely downloaded from www.geo .txstate/texasatlasproject/texaswaterdata. Chapter 1 of the Texas Water Atlas details the state’s climate, which is so important to producing the water that fills Texas rivers and aquifers. Chapter 2 paints the patterns of surface water and groundwater resources that have been fought over for decades and for which different legal frameworks exist. Water hazards, as elucidated in chapter 3, seriously affect humans and ecosystems, as floods and droughts pummel Texas all too frequently. Chapter 4 illuminates how Texans have dealt with imperative water quantity and quality issues. Important Texas water projects , major sources of water pollution in the state, and the agencies that have responsibility to protect the precious water resources are the central themes of chapter 5. Chapter 6 celebrates water recreation and the fun times that Texans have in enjoying the state’s large variety of water bodies. The state’s water prospects are charted in chapter 7 through an array of water supply projections that incorporate the future demands of a rapidly growing population for Texas water. Introduction TEXAS WATER ATLAS ...