Solving the Major Issues Concerning the Lifeline of Water

West Texas is a microcosm of a world where water issues are a concern to its populations throughout the history of its human occupation. The region is economically driven by agriculture. Farmers and ranchers are aiding in Texas Tech University's scientific research into the entirety of water issues.

Conservation of water long has been essential in the American West, and now, across the globe, populations are facing shortages of water. The Ogallala Aquifer and playas comprise the hydrogeology of West Texas.

For the region and the world, geographers, engineers, plant and soil scientists, law researchers, international scholars, biologists, and agriculture researchers at Texas Tech are working together to understand how to preserve water – the precious source of life on Earth.

Kippra D. Hopper, Editor

Winter 2007

The Water Century

Texas Tech University researchers are working against time to save the world's water supply, which is becoming more and more precious across the globe and will be the major issue for current and future generations.

The Life of a Playa

The Southern High Plains are home to about 22,000 playas, the largest concentration in the world, of these valuable ecosystems.

Learning to Conserve

Agricultural producers and researchers together are working in a demonstration project to address the conversation about conservation.

Mapping the Ogallala

Studying an age-old question: How long lasting is the Ogallala Aquifer as the main source of groundwater for the North American Great Plains?

A Perchlorate Puzzle

A mystery about the contamination of drinking water supplies from perchlorate in parts of West Texas has researchers solving similar issues worldwide.

The Playas of the Ogallala

The unique wetland system of playas dotting the landscape is vital in serving as the primary source of water recharge to the Ogallala Aquifer.

Clean H2O

Wastewater is cleansed for astronaut's safe consumption in space. The same applications can be used on Earth to extend the water supply.

Semiarid Sanctuary

The city of Seminole in West Texas is the first community to adopt the new technology of wind-driven water desalination systems.