Water Grand Challenges: Institutional Actors for Water in Texas

Abstract

In Texas, surface water and groundwater are governed and managed separately. Governance of surface water is divided primarily among four state agencies: the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), and the Texas General Land Office (GLO). Groundwater Management Areas (GMAs), Priority Groundwater Management Areas (PGMAs), the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA), and Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs) play an important role in implementing local groundwater management strategies.