Texas Water Resources Institute

A jewel of the Texas coast, Baffin Bay is renowned for its world-class fishing and for providing critical habitat for marine life and birds.

Find out how TWRI, Bringing Baffin Back, Harte Research Institute, Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, Baffin Bay Stakeholder Group, Nueces River Authority and numerous local and regional groups have teamed up to help improve and protect the bay - thanks to support from the Texas State Soil & Water Conservation Board, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and more:

Helping Baffin Bay: Researchers and communities team up for water quality - AgriLife Today A group of stakeholders have joined together to preserve the economically and ecologically important Baffin Bay along Texas’ Gulf Coast.

TWRI staff wrapped up the final day of the 2026 Annual Water Resources Conference:

-Program Specialist Mary Michael Lipford Zahed opened up the final day of the conference, moderating a discussion with San Antonio Water System Senior Analyst Gregg Echkardt, "San Antonio Water: Sole Source to Diversity."

-Associate Director Lucas Gregory, Ph.D., took part in a panel about Advancements in Recreational Water Quality Management: Integrating MST and QMRA to Inform Decision-Making.

-Postdoctoral Research Associate Umar Javed, Ph.D., moderated a Lightning Talk session.

-Graduate Research Assistant Ali Niazi presented at that Lightning Talk his research, "Modeling Streamflow and Water Balance Components in the Upper Colorado River Basin Watersheds using SWAT+."

-Associate Director Allen Berthold, Ph.D., moderated the Watershed Management and Planning session, also presenting "Securing Texas’s Water Future: Exploring Alternative Water Sources through State Planning."

-Postdoctoral Research Associate Gabriela Suchiapa Magdaleno, Ph.D., took part in the same session, presenting "Can Grazing be a Way to Offset the Cost of Cover Crops in the Southern Great Plains of Texas and Oklahoma?"

-Research Scientist Michael Schramm moderated a session about Education and Public Perception.

-Director Giovanni Piccinni, Ph.D., spoke at the Agriculture and Water Use session about "Precision Without Complexity: Popularizing Crop Water Use Estimation for Global Agriculture."

Day two brought another full day of presentations and discussions for TWRI staff at the 2026 Annual Water Resources Conference:

-Research Specialist Ed Rhodes moderated a session on Solar Farms and Watersheds: Implications for Management and presented "Analysis of Metals in Stormwater Runoff from a Photovoltaic Facility in Central Texas."

-Research Specialist Amanda Tague was a part of the same session, discussing "Balancing Renewable Energy and Land Conversion: Urban and Rural Patterns of Solar Driven Land Use Change in Texas."

-Research Specialist Michael Schramm participated in a session, Human Dimensions, presenting his research, "Public Perceptions of PFAS and Drinking Water Quality across the U.S."

-Research Specialist Matt Stellbauer, Ph.D., also presented in that session, "Beyond Infrastructure: Linking Multiple-Use Water Services and Experiences with Household Water Insecurity in Rural Mali."

Our recap of day one at the 2026 Annual Water Resources Conference continues.

Throughout the afternoon, TWRI staff contributed to panel discussions, research presentations and poster sessions covering a range of water resources topics:

-Program Specialist Samantha Colunga spoke on the Lessons Learned in Building Partnerships to Fund Conservation panel moderated by Lucas Gregory, presenting "Lessons Learned in Building Partnerships to Fund Conservation."

-Program Specialist Mary Michael Zahed presented "From Plans to Practice: Building Trust-Based Partnerships for Successful Watershed Implementation in the Medina River Watershed," during the same panel discussion.

-Senior Research Scientist Rosario Sanchez, Ph.D., spoke during Lightning Talks: Transboundary Groundwater Aquifers: A Strategic and Vulnerable Resource in the US-Mexico Border.

-Program Specialist Anna Eismont and Research Specialist Shaylynn Postma presented during a Water Quality session, "Evaluating the Mill Creek Watershed After Ten Years of Watershed Protection Plan Implementation," with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Program Specialist Annalee Epps.

-Postdoctoral Research Associate Millicent Oyugi, Ph.D., spoke at a Watershed Extension Efforts about "Predicting Homeowners' Lawn Water Conservation Intentions in Texas: A Theory of Planned Behavior Change Analysis." Millicent also presented later in the day at a research poster session.

Monday was a busy day one for TWRI staff at the 2026 Annual Water Resources Conference! Here's a look at some of the sessions and panels our team took part in throughout the day:

-Associate Director Lucas Gregory, Ph.D., President of UCOWR and conference chair of the event, gave opening remarks and moderated and participated in a panel discussion, "Lessons Learned in Building Partnerships to Fund Conservation."

-Postdoctoral Research Associate Umar Javed, Ph.D., presented during a Modeling session his research, "Evaluating HAWQS as a Decision-Support Tool to Prioritize Watershed Restoration Strategies in Coastal Texas."

-Associate Director Allen Berthold, Ph.D., moderated a session on Innovative Approaches in Extension Outreach and Education.

-Research Specialist Audrey McCrary presented at that same session, "Mailbox Marketing: Use of Direct Mail Campaigns to Fill the Extension Audience Gap in Watershed Outreach and Education." Audrey also took part in a research poster session.

-Director Giovanni Piccinni, Ph.D., moderated the Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability session.

-Program Specialist Saboor Rahmany took part in a Watershed Management session presenting "Urbanization Dominates Watershed Scale Controls on E. coli in Mixed Land Use Sub-Watersheds." He also presented "Understanding Water Security in the United States: A Scoping Review" in a Policy and People session.

Today, the Universities Council on Water Resources and the National Institutes for Water Resources kicked off the 2026 Annual Water Resources Conference in San Antonio.

TWRI Associate Director Lucas Gregory currently serves as president of UCOWR and conference chair of the event, and gave opening remarks this morning to officially begin the three-day event.

We'll be sharing highlights from TWRI staff presenting throughout the conference - stay tuned.

Interested in a career in water? TWRI is hiring a program specialist to join our water team!

To learn more about the position and apply: https://buff.ly/4gPv38L

What is Texas’ drought outlook for the rest of 2026?

As summer begins and a forecasted El Niño approaches, get a big-picture look ahead, from NOAA - National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)'s Joel Lisonbee, Ph.D.:
- "Texas is transitioning out of a La Niña pattern, which will allow for a return to normal rainfall this summer.
- That may feel like the drought is ending in some regions, but it will take more than a few months to make up for 5-6 years of drought, which is what some regions have weathered.
- A forecasted El Niño usually brings above-normal precipitation in late fall and winter.
- Long-range forecasts are predicting a very strong El Niño. We’ve seen strong El Niños before, but this one is occurring at a time when the whole Pacific Ocean is unusually warm. This creates some uncertainty around how the weather patterns will respond, and past El Niño events may not be a good indicator of the next one."

Read more: https://twri.tamu.edu/blog/qa-texas-drought-outlook-with-noaas-joel-lisonbee/

Do you have New World screwworm questions? Our colleagues at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service have answers and resources - stay up-to-date with current information at: tx.ag/NWSHub