From water quality and environmental impacts to ensuring equitable access, UNT researchers are teaming up to find conservation solutions for growing municipal settings.

Text by: Trista Moxley
Photography by: Michael Clements

The Texas Water Development Board estimates that Texas’ existing water supplies will decrease by more than 10% over the next 50 years, while demand will increase by 17%. The greatest increase in demand is in the municipal sector as a result of a growing urban population, which is expected to overtake the agricultural sector by 2070.

Several researchers from across UNT — including biology, philosophy, urban planning and geography — are building upon their efforts in water issues, developing and identifying solutions for policymakers, municipalities and stakeholders throughout the state. UNT has deep roots in urban water studies — nearly 85 years ago, its first funded water quality research was undertaken by biologist J.K.G. Silvey, who studied the microorganisms causing changes in the taste and odor of city water supplies. Today, researchers collaborating within UNT’s Advanced Environmental Research Institute (AERI) are tackling water topics from toxicity to environmental impacts to access, as well as social justice issues that are connected to urban water centers.

“We collaboratively look at different aspects of water and urban water — starting with availability and quality,” Aaron Roberts, professor of environmental toxicology and director of AERI, says. “And how to ensure a sustainable and resilient water future for an increasingly urban and drought-prone state.”

The State Water Plan estimates the costs of water management strategy projects to reach $63 billion by 2070. If Texas does not implement the plan, estimated annual economic losses resulting from water shortages could range from $73 billion in 2020 to $151 billion in 2070.

Ruthanne “Rudi” Thompson, associate professor of biological sciences and codirector of Teach North Texas, hopes that some of the cost can be mitigated by teaching Texas’ youngest citizens about conservation and responsible water use. She has secured more than $7 million in funding from the City of Dallas over the past 13 years, most recently receiving a $2,252,475 grant renewal through 2024, to study raw water bill data and use the information to teach students in pre-K through fifth grade in corresponding zip codes about conservation. Thompson’s Environmental Education Initiative uses hands-on activities such as building mini aquifers in cups.

The results are clear — Dallas has seen annual savings of over $3 million and more than 22 billion gallons of water. Through the program, Thompson’s team provides instruction to students and leads professional development classes year-round for teachers and students in the Dallas, Richardson and Duncanville school districts, as well as local private schools.

“There are two areas in which kids are prone to teach their parents — technology and the other is the environment,” she says. “And we think that’s happening here.”

Irene Klaver, professor of philosophy and religion, founded the Philosophy of Water Project in 2003, with a grant from the Dixon Water Foundation, to study water from socio-political, cultural and environmental perspectives, including social justice issues related to urban water. In the early 20th century, many rivers were heavily polluted and became places for poor communities. The Texas Department of Health called the Trinity River in 1925 the “Mythological River of Death.” After improvements in water quality due to the Clean Water Act (1972), urban river fronts became valuable real estate, places for wealthier citizens, forcing poor residents out.

“For fair infrastructure around urban waterfront development, around drinking water and wastewater, you need public policy interventions,” says Klaver, who was part of a social and environmental justice water panel at the 2020 Denton Black Film Festival. She also participated in a think tank event at the Houston SWA Architecture group to recenter their urban planning around water.

“North Texas is one of the fastest-developing regions in the world,” Klaver says. “That also brings problems such as gentrification around water.”

UNT faculty, funded by the Texas Water Development Board, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and other regional environmental agencies, conduct research to inform environmental policy.

Ed Mager, assistant professor of biological sciences, is currently studying the swimming performance of fish species of conservation concern to inform policy regarding the design and modification of new and existing infrastructure such as road crossings and culverts. Such infrastructure can greatly increase water flow velocity, threatening the survival of resident fish populations.

“If the flow of water exceeds the maximum speed of a fish, it can’t swim upstream,” Mager says. “This can impact migrations critical to their life cycle and fracture habitats.”

He and his team are examining the swim velocities of the Guadalupe Bass (the state fish of Texas), Guadalupe Roundnose Minnow, Guadalupe Darter and Plateau Shiner. The research will be used in the planning of future waterway crossings.

Additionally, David Hoeinghaus, associate professor of biological sciences, is working to better understand how the quantity and timing of water flows in streams and rivers affect ecosystem functioning and spawning success of conservation concern such as Alligator Gar.

“Reservoirs provide many benefits, such as flood control, water supplies and recreation, but they also affect the distribution and timing of river flows with important consequences for ecosystem functioning,” Hoeinghaus says. “Our research informs policy for managing freshwater resources for both human use and resilient aquatic ecosystems.”

While a lack of water can be deadly, so can a surplus. Elyse Zavar, assistant professor of emergency management and disaster science, studies home buyouts — programs that seek to relocate residents out of high-risk areas like floodplains or hurricane-impacted coastlines — and the challenges and successes of open space management by local governments, most recently in areas of Harris County hit by Hurricane Harvey. Federal funds are used to purchase properties, and local government takes ownership with the condition that the land cannot house any structure in the future. And Zavar says those buyouts create opportunities for conservation.

“The deed restrictions on the properties give local communities an opportunity to reimagine how that land is used,” she says. “Some may put in wetlands, parks or soccer fields mitigating not just high water, but potentially impacts from climate change.”

Roberts emphasizes that leveraging UNT’s research expertise and collaborations will not only provide viable solutions for climate change and other urban water issues, but lead to a workforce uniquely trained to address future water issues for the state of Texas.

“Water is an increasingly limited resource,” he says. “It’s fundamental to all Texans to ensure economic growth as well as human and environmental health.”