Austin, Texas - July 28, 2008 - As local and regional water managers struggle with conservation efforts, states are now passing laws to regulate control of water during drought. The North Carolina house recently approved a bill granting more state control of local water resources.

The bill, given an initial OK by a vote of 84-27, was sought by Gov. Mike Easley, as the state struggles through another year with 96 out of 100 counties in some form of drought. Organizations that run large public water systems have been pushing back on the bill, arguing they best know how to respond to local drought. The House plan would allow state officials to approve or disapprove of local water management plans if they determine they won't reduce water consumption. They could also direct local officials to ramp up their conservation measures.

Lawmakers also approved an amendment opposed by environmental groups that made it optional for water systems to require a separate meter for residents who install in-ground sprinklers.

Drought Irrigation Management.
Droughts, if persistent, will lead to Water Restrictions. Local authorities impose water restrictions that typically restrict irrigation "lawfully" to one or two certain days of the week. But prior to lawful restrictions, local authorities usually ask irrigation professionals to make decisions that will voluntarily impose water restrictions on their managed properties.

Serious Business
Acequia takes drought irrigation management very seriously and is pro-active with our clients to insure environmental concerns and the bottom line by taking waste out of the system. "State and regional water authorities have become more focused on documenting conservation of water by local utility providers than just demand management. We expect to see more states take the control of water to protect a valuable and scarce resource" says Kenneth Cook, Acequia partner.

Closer to Home - Texas
With the passage of Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 4 by the 80th Texas Legislature, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) created Water Conservation Advisory Council (Council). The Council was created to provide the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Legislature, Texas Water Development Board, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), political subdivisions, and the public with the resource of a select council with expertise in water conservation.

Duties of the water conservation advisory council include:

• monitoring trends in water conservation implementation and new technologies for possible inclusion as best management practices
• monitoring the effectiveness of the statewide water conservation public awareness program
• developing and implementing a state water management resource library
• developing and implementing a public recognition program for water conservation
• monitoring the implementation of water conservation strategies by water users included in regional water plans
• and monitoring target and goal guidelines for water conservation to be considered by the TWDB and TCEQ

Acequia has been providing water-saving irrigation-management solutions to commercial property owners since 2002. Acequia developed its advanced proprietary software to provide irrigation scheduling based on real-time environmental data transmitted continuously across the Internet from every control unit to the company's central server for analysis and action.

The selection of our company name has tremendous meaning and history which we feel reflects who we are and how we want to be viewed by our partners. "Acequia" is a term brought to this country via old Spain derived from the formalization of irrigation practices prior to the conquest of the Americas . During this period, Acequia referred to water stewards or overseers assigned to assure that colonies were established in accordance with sound environmental principals. Additional information can be found at www.acequia.com, or 512-637-5172.

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