Writing a book has been a long-time personal goal, so announcing that I've done it is quite a hoot! I have Geary Schindel (former hydrogeologist with the Edwards Aquifer Authority) and my lack of good judgment to thank for this. A friend of Geary's, the editor of this series, asked Geary if he was willing … Continue reading my book, “Groundwater Sustainability: Conception, Development, and Application”, is out! →

A few weeks ago I turned in the final draft of a book I wrote on groundwater sustainability to the publisher. Editors will now have their way with it and, hopefully, it will come out by the end of the year. It was a neat, but challenging, experience, something that the pandemic allowed me to … Continue reading how much groundwater is OK to take? →

A local television station interviewed me today about a study led by Daniel Scott at the University of Waterloo showing that, under the high-emission scenario, only 1 of the previous 21 host cities of the Winter Olympics would be climate-reliable enough to host again at the end of the century (hello, Sapporo!). Yikes! However, most … Continue reading groundwater snow at the olympics? →

This post will only be up for a day or two. Short Course description PDF of slides (6 per page) PDF of slides (2 per page) PDF of "So Secret, Occult, and Concealed" paper link to surface-water paper

For the most part, the federal government has stayed out of groundwater quantity questions except indirectly where groundwater production has impacted interstate surface-water allocations (for example, see Texas v. New Mexico on the Pecos River [and now on the Rio Grande] and Kansas v. Colorado on the Arkansas River). The federal government doesn't have an … Continue reading mississippi v. tennessee →

Much of West Texas is webbed with concrete-lined dreams of now-abandoned irrigation works that aimed to turn the Pecos River Valley into a Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, whether due to robbing-Peter-to-pump-Paul well drilling, the inherent saltiness of water in these parts, or a river already rustled across the state line, all that is left are … Continue reading imperial forces →

Let's say, hypothetically, you want to sample Comanche Springs. Here are some quick thoughts about that endeavor. As the name suggests, Comanche Springs is series of springs that run up Comanche Creek: After going dry in the late 50s and early 60s, the springs have seasonally returned here and there since the mid-1980s. Over the … Continue reading so you wanna sample Comanche Springs? →

I've always loved art by the ancients, whether its petroglyphs (etchings in stone) or pictographs (paint on rock). I went to college amongst the rock art of New Mexico, and the drawings in the caves of Lescaux, France, made some 16,000 years ago, brought a tear to my eye when I visited them a couple … Continue reading groundwater and the white shaman →

A number of years ago when I worked for the Texas Water Development Board, I was at an all-day meeting with the Corps of Engineers near Denison, Texas, to discuss this and that related to water. At the end of the day, I, along with my co-workers, were invited to eat BBQ somewhere nearby. "No … Continue reading where the sun rises on mr east →

"You may say I'm a dreamer." Looking downstream from the pedestrian bridge. I traveled out to Fort Stockton to check in on Comanche Springs (and talk with the county about flood control) in mid-January. The springs started flowing again on Christmas Day and are now chugging at about 10 cubic feet per second, which is … Continue reading back to the comanche! →