Chronicle of a demise foretold: state vs. local groundwater management in Texas and the high plains aquifer system

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dc.creatorClosas, Alvar
dc.creatorMolle, Francois
dc.date2018-10-30
dc.date2018-11-21T10:18:35Z
dc.date2018-11-21T10:18:35Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T18:42:18Z
dc.descriptionThis paper assesses a case of co-management of groundwater between the state of Texas, pushing for the rationalisation of groundwater management, and local (mainly farming) communities organised in Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs), which are protective of their private groundwater rights. We first describe the main legal and policy steps that have shaped this relationship. The article focuses on the Texan portion of the Ogallala Aquifer in the High Plains aquifer system – an almost non-renewable system covering 90,000 km2 and providing 95% of the irrigation needs in northern Texas. With this example, we further highlight the strategies of both parties, the different political, administrative, legal and regulatory complexities of the struggle around the definition of GCD-level aquifer management rules (the so-called 'Desired Future Conditions'). We end by reflecting on the power balance that has resulted from successive adjustments to a co-management form of governance, the advantages and disadvantages of a multi-layered state water governance system, and whether the de facto 'managed depletion' of the Ogallala Aquifer in Texas should be seen as an achievement or a failure.
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/98272
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/163197
dc.languageen
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceClosas, Alvar; Molle, Francois. 2018. Chronicle of a demise foretold: state vs. local groundwater management in Texas and the high plains aquifer system. Water Alternatives, 11(3):511-532.
dc.subjectgroundwater
dc.subjectgroundwater depletion
dc.subjectwater governance
dc.subjectwater use
dc.subjectlocal communities
dc.subjectwater storage
dc.subjectwater demand
dc.subjectwater policy
dc.subjectwater rights
dc.subjectwater supply
dc.subjectwater conservation
dc.subjectaquifers
dc.subjectlegal aspects
dc.subjectregulations
dc.subjectco-management
dc.subjectpumping
dc.titleChronicle of a demise foretold: state vs. local groundwater management in Texas and the high plains aquifer system
dc.typeJournal Article

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