Analysis of four governance factors on efforts of water governing agencies to increase water reuse in the San Antonio Region
2019
Aldaco-Manner, Lindsey | Mohtar, Rabi H. | Portney, Kent E. | Department of Agriculture | Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS) | American University of Beirut
Securing sources for water reuse and coordinating efforts of water governing agencies to do so are critical to realizing the potential of reused water to provide nearly 24% of the water demand of the San Antonio Region, defined as regions “L” and “K” by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). This research identifies key governance factors that contribute to increasing water reuse within the water planning sector and tests four governance-related hypotheses for their impact on efforts to increase water reuse in the Region. Variables tested include: the type and scale of water governance agency, the agency's frequency of communication with the TWDB, and the agency's familiarity with the TWDB water strategy supplies as defined in the Texas State Water Plan of 2017. A questionnaire addressing these variables was sent to water governing agencies in regions L and K; the response rate was 39.5%. Each variable was cross-tabulated with agency efforts to increase water reuse. Seven regression analysis models were calculated among the factors to test for statistical significance and impact on increasing water reuse efforts. Results indicate that nearly 70% of agencies in the regions have efforts to increase water reuse by as much as 10%. Among the tested hypotheses, frequency in communication with the TWDB was statistically significant for increasing agency efforts to reuse water. Results from these hypotheses are expected to help water managers identify key, governance-related factors that contribute to increased water reuse. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.
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