Feb. 16, 2007

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COLLEGE STATION – The Rio Grande Basin Initiative recently received a national award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The initiative is a joint project between the Texas Water Resources Institute, part of Texas A&M Agriculture, and New Mexico State University College of Agriculture and Home Economics.

The Rio Grande Basin Initiative was recognized for its accomplishments and achievements, said Dr. Michael O'Neill, national program leader for water resources at USDA-Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.

The award was presented to Drs. Allan Jones, Texas Water Resources Institute director, Harris and Craig Runyan of New Mexico State University at the USDA National Water Conservation in January.

"The success of the Rio Grande Initiative is due to the combined efforts of dedicated faculty and staff of Texas and New Mexico Extension and Experiment Station personnel working collaboratively and the many partnerships they have formed with stakeholder groups, irrigation districts, county and city personnel, farmers, urban residents and other water users in the (Rio Grande) Basin," said Dr. Bill Harris, associate director for the Texas Water Resources Institute.

The initiative has been ongoing since 2001. Projects cover the basin from northern New Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico. Joint projects have been carried out in Mexico as well.

Key projects include economic and engineering studies of irrigation district infrastructures, development of precision irrigation practices, riparian saltcedar control and in-home water conservation, Harris said.

The project has received four major awards including this one because of the success in meeting project objectives in a manner utilizing widely recognized collaborations and partnerships, he said.

More information is available at http://riogrande.tamu.edu/ .