North Plains Groundwater Conservation District proud to be a

Groundwater Guardian Community

Click here to read the "Declaration of the Groundwater Guardian Nation".

Groundwater Guardian is a community-based program sponsored by The Groundwater Foundation and the U.S. Geological Survey. Through Groundwater Guardian, communities bring business, government, educators, and citizens together to work on the common goal of groundwater protection. North Plains Groundwater Conservation District is proud to be the first groundwater conservation district in the state of Texas to join the program.

Groundwater Guardian encourages communities to begin groundwater awareness and protection activities, supports the communities in their efforts, then recognizes their achievements. This international program began in 1994 with eight test-year communities and has grown substantially. Communities can represent a number of diverse settings including rural areas, large incorporated cities, Indian Reservations, and watersheds in the United States and Canada.

Groundwater Guardians then develop Result Oriented Activities (ROAs) to address the community's groundwater protection concerns. ROAs fall into many categories including education and awareness, pollution prevention, public policy, conservation, and best management practices. To continue with the program, the Groundwater Guardian team submits an ROA Plan to The Groundwater Foundation for each activity they choose to adopt. North Plains Groundwater Conservation District has chosen several projects as annual Result Oriented Activities. These include:

The annual "Water Wonders" Festival for school children.
The donation of water themed books to all public and elementary school libraries in the eight counties of the District.
Badge programs with Girl Scouts.
Xeriscaping and drip irrigation classes.
Distribution of the 4th-5th grade curriculum "Major Rivers" to any interested teacher in the District free of charge.
Teacher workshops to aquaint teachers with Project WET and Major Rivers curriculums.
A water conservation artwork contest for District children, and the production of an annual water conservation calendar that is offered free to the public.
Providing water education computer software and videos to public schools within the North Plains Water District.

By August 31st of each year, communities complete an Annual Report Form detailing their progress during the year. Groundwater Guardian designation is earned by the community when substantive progress is made toward the implementation of activities and accomplishment of goals. Groundwater protection is an ongoing process, and communities re-enter each year as they continue to build on previous successes. The year culminates with a National Groundwater Guardian Designation Celebration held in conjunction with The Groundwater Foundation’s Annual Conference each November. This conference brings together a diverse group of community represen- tatives and their partners to be designated as Groundwater Guardians. Most importantly, the conference is an opportunity to network and share success stories with others who may benefit from their community's experiences. This three-day conference features presentations by community and organization representatives. The highlight of the conference is the designation banquet where community representatives are honored for making substantive progress toward comprehensive groundwater protection in their community.

Groundwater Guardian: Saving the World's Groundwater One Community at a Time