HARRIS-GALVESTON SUBSIDENCE DISTRICT WINS 2024 EPA WATERSENSE® SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE AWARD
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On September 26, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense Program awarded the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District with a Sustained Excellence Award for the District's continuous dedication to water efficiency at the American Water Works Association's WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition. This award is the highest honor the WaterSense program provides, with awardees that include prestigious names like The Home Depot, Kohler Co., and KB Home.
“The District is honored to be recognized on a national level with our first Sustained Excellence Award and fourth overall EPA WaterSense award. When incredible organizations partner together to educate, advocate, and inspire water-efficient best practices, we are able to create a sustainable water future for generations to come.”
– Mike Turco, General Manager, Harris-Galveston Subsidence District
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HGSD PRESENTS AT AEG ANNUAL MEETING |
| | HGSD’s Director of Research and Water Conservation, Ashley Greuter, presented at the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists’ Annual Meeting in Philadelphia last month. Her presentation focused on the importance of collaboration with long-standing scientific agencies, like the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), to perform surveys that help us understand the vertical movement of benchmarks and monitor land surface deformation in our area. To uphold the surveying legacy and assist the NGS with recent elevation data, HGSD initiated the 2022 Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) survey. This survey involved the reoccupation of over 140 benchmarks across ten counties in Southeast Texas in less than one month. All benchmarks were processed in OPUS Projects, according to NGS standards and specifications, and were published in NGS’s Integrated Database. The use of repeated surveys on benchmarks helps us maintain a long history of data that can be used in many beneficial research projects.
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JOINT REGULATORY PLAN REVIEW BOARD WORKSHOP |
The progress that HGSD has made in mitigating subsidence rates in the greater Houston area is made possible by reducing reliance on groundwater utilizing a Regulatory Plan. This plan has evolved throughout the years and continues to be reviewed to ensure the regulations are reasonable, obtainable, and effective in minimizing subsidence.
The District initiated a Joint Regulatory Plan Review (JRPR) to estimate future changes in population and water demand, assess the availability of future alternative water supplies, review and update predictive subsidence models, and evaluate planned regulatory requirements on future subsidence rates. Better data leads to improved understanding and, ultimately, to more successful planning. The preliminary results of the review were presented to the HGSD Board of Directors during a JRPR Board Workshop on September 11, 2024.
HGSD's Rules Committee will use the results of the JRPR as the basis for any future regulatory plan modifications. Should there be a need for a modification, a public hearing will be held.
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TWDB's SUBSIDENCE LUNCH TIME SPEAKER SERIES | Join us on November 14, 2024, at noon as our Director of Research and Water Conservation, Ashley Greuter, presents recent research focused on subsidence in the greater Houston region during the Texas Water Development Board’s “Subsidence Lunch Time Speaker Series.” This free webinar can be accessed by clicking here. Advanced registration is not required. | | | |
SCIENCE & RESEARCH PROGRAM | |
DISTRICT RESEARCH: InSAR LAND SURFACE MONITORING |
The District is collaborating with technical experts at the Conrad Blucher Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to develop an application for InSAR analysis as a subsidence monitoring tool that will allow for the tracking and detection of land surface deformation over time throughout the region.
This project will involve the integration of multidisciplinary datasets for a regional and holistic approach to monitoring changes in the land surface and is estimated to be completed in the summer of 2026.
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The District maintains a network of Global Positioning System (GPS) stations to measure land surface deformation over time to determine local and regional subsidence trends and understand the impact of changes in groundwater use on the occurrence of subsidence. The data obtained from these stations is published each year in the Annual Groundwater Report and is used to create maps to better visualize the magnitude and location of subsidence in the region.
Last year, HGSD began upgrading our subsidence monitoring network to allow for the continuous monitoring of land surface movement by initiating a Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) conversion project to improve our datasets that measure and monitor subsidence. This project involves installing Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) equipment on these stations to acquire continuous data that tracks land surface movements at that site rather than rotating the equipment amongst all stations. Upon project completion in 2024, HGSD will have a total of 20 CORS stations in the greater Houston area that will measure the land surface continuously with GNSS technology.
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WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM | |
Join our Water Conservation Program Coordinator, Denise Ma, on November 7, 2024, to learn about HGSD's Water Conservation Grant Program! This free webinar will include an overview of the program, previously awarded projects, applicant eligibility, and instructions for completing the application. At the end of the presentation, attendees will be able to ask questions during a Q&A session. | | | |
2025 GULF COAST WATER CONSERVATION SYMPOSIUM | |
The District is proud to announce that we will host the next Gulf Coast Water Conservation Symposium on May 21, 2025, in Houston, TX. This symposium brings together local water utility and resource managers, engineers, architects, educators, communicators, and community members to learn about water resource management and water conservation. The one-day program will provide information on implementing successful water conservation programs, funding opportunities for water conservation projects, effectively engaging customers, and planning for the future.
The keynote speaker will be Drew Molly, P.E., Chief Operating Officer for the City of Corpus Christi. If you are interested in presenting, email us with a summary of your topic of discussion by Friday, November 29, 2024, for a chance to be a #GCWCS25 speaker!
Sponsorship opportunities are now available. All sponsors will receive prominent recognition before, during, and after the symposium. View sponsorship levels and benefits here and secure your sponsorship online by clicking here before Friday, February 28, 2025.
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SCHOOL PROGRAM 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR SUMMARY |
The Water Conservation School Program, H2O LAB!, was implemented in 220 schools reaching nearly 20,000 students across Harris, Galveston, and Fort Bend counties during the 2023-2024 school year.
This program educates 3rd-6th grade students on Texas water while empowering them through hands-on activities that save water and help prevent subsidence. Both teachers and students have exciting opportunities to win cool prizes as they complete activities and receive a free take-home water conservation kit filled with products that save each home 9,400 gallons of water annually.
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Join us in celebrating the following staff anniversaries:
- October 2024
- Kino Rodriguez - 16 years
- Noe Veldanez - 5 years
- November 2024
- Ronald Geesing - 28 years
- Vivian Jones - 2 years
- December 2024
- Karimah Hasan - 3 years
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Subsidence is the sinking of the ground caused by excessive groundwater withdrawal. It has been a long-standing problem in Texas’ Gulf Coast Region that has contributed to flooding, infrastructure damage, and faulting. In 1975, the Texas Legislature created the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District (HGSD), the first political subdivision of its kind in the United States. HGSD was authorized as a groundwater regulatory agency to cease ongoing and prevent future subsidence in Harris and Galveston counties.
The District continues its mission to prevent subsidence in our area by enforcing reasonable groundwater regulation, providing water conservation programs, and conducting science-based water planning so that future water demands can be fulfilled while minimizing the risk of subsidence.
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