The future of surface water and groundwater in Texas will be discussed among leaders in a variety of related fields at an upcoming conference, “Rethinking Texas Water Policy,” on April 5-6.
Held at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center of the Bush School of Government and Public Service, the two-day conference will open up discussion among water experts, politicians and policy makers in hopes of sparking a movement of sustainable practices for the future of Texas.
James Griffin, Bob Bullock Chair and Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the George Bush School, lead planner for the conference, said the event is unique from similar conferences.
“What distinguishes it from other water conferences is it’s more of an academic conference,” Griffin said. “The focus is long term, finding ways to provide water at reasonable prices for future generations.”
Griffin said the conference is not to be concerned with short term policy views, such as the next legislative session. Instead, the focus will be on long term solutions for the future.
“We’re not really trying to get down into the weeds of individual proposals,” Griffin said. “The basic idea is that before we can fashion good political solutions, we need to understand the legal constraints, the scientific constraints in the form of hydrology, we need to understand the economic constraints, and then we need to understand the social and environmental issues that constrain our choices.”
According to Griffin, there will be a diverse group of speakers from Texas A&M and other institutions, as well as high-ranking professionals in their selected fields.
“I think it’s going to be a very interesting conference,” Griffin said. “I expect, personally, to learn a lot from it.”
To learn more about the conference, visit http://bush.tamu.edu/mosbacher/events/txwater/.