While as much as 85 percent of the water in the basin of the Rio Grande River irrigates crops, the area's population and water demands are growing, and so is the threat of water shortages. That risk drove a unique effort, by the Texas Water Resources Institute and other public and private participants, to preserve this precious resource. Those efforts have earned a Texas Environmental Excellence Award, the state's highest environmental honor. Texas Water Resources Institute is one of 12 winners statewide to be recognized with an award, presented by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality at its annual banquet April 30, in Austin.

The Rio Grande Basin Initiative (RGBI) began in 2001. Participants include 19 state and federal agencies, four universities and 31 irrigation districts, covering all the cities and colonias in the entire basin. This diverse coalition is working together on nine key initiatives aimed at efficiently using current water resources and creating new water supplies. In addition to hands-on training with farmers in both the U.S. and Mexico, members have published more than 530 reports, presentations and papers to raise awareness about water issues.

The RGBI also targets household water use through conservation training. In one study, educators worked with 26 families in nine Texas counties. Through a combination of efforts ranging from training to the installation of low-flow toilets, water use in the homes dropped by as much as 3,000 gallons per month.

During 2006-2007, more than one million acre feet of water was saved, and an estimated four million acre feet has been saved since 2002. To date, the RGBI received a total of $19.7 million dollars to underwrite the ambitious project, and the hope is to meet the current conservation goals by the year 2010. In this hot and arid region, a steady supply of fresh water is the only way to ensure a prosperous future.

The TCEQ annually presents the Texas Environmental Excellence Awards to environmental projects across the state that demonstrate excellence in resource conservation, waste reduction and pollution prevention. The award-winning programs reflect the goals of the TCEQ itself: to protect Texas' human and natural resources and ensure clean air, clean water and the safe management of waste. For more information or to submit an application for next year's awards, visit www.teea.org.