Water Wonks Hour: Online Monthly Lecture Series
The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance is pleased to introduce our 2025 Water Wonks Lecture Series. Mark your calendars for 3:30 p.m. on the 4th Wednesday of each month.
Water Wonks will feature a host of experts sharing innovative ideas and details about their work in the world of water. The series is a free community education opportunity.
2025 Water Wonks Hour Lecture Series Topics
Lecture #1: Wednesday January 22nd | 3:30pm CST
The History of flooding. The Edwards Plateau: Land Water and Development. Presented by Char Miller (Pomona College W.M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis and History).
Lecture #2: Wednesday February 26th | 3:30pm CST
The values of the Net Zero Water concept and how it integrates with the adoption of the One Water Framework across Texas. Presented by Chandler Crouch (Texas Water Trade Net Zero Water Engineer).
Lecture #3: Wednesday March 26th | 3:30pm CST
Opportunities in Subdivision Regulation: what groundwater conservation districts, counties, cities and residents can do to protect groundwater in the region. Presented by Marisa Bruno (Hill Country Alliance Water Program Manager).
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Lecture #1: The History of flooding. The Edwards Plateau: Land Water and Development
Wednesday, January 22nd at 3:30pm CST
Pomona College W.M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis and History
Synopsis: The Edwards Plateau is one of the dominant landforms in Texas, encompassing a massive 24 million acres. Its impact extends far beyond its central location, as it is also the source of water for all species inhabiting this rugged terrain and those that draw upon the many rivers and creeks that cut through the Balcones Escarpment and run south and east toward the Gulf of Mexico. Environmental historian Char Miller is as interested in these geological and geographical features as he is by their reciprocal relationships. He is even more engaged by the human experiences of them, from the early twentieth century to the present which he captures through the use of maps and other illustrative material.
REGISTER FOR LECTURE #1
2025 Water Wonks Hour Lecture Series Speakers
Char Miller (Lecture 1 Speaker) is currently the W.M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis and History at Pomona College. Prior to moving to California, he taught at Trinity University for 26 years – and loved almost every minute of it! He is the author of the award-winning West Side Rising: How San Antonio’s 1921 Flood Devastated a City and Sparked a Latino Environmental Justice Movement (2021); San Antonio: A Tricentennial History (2018); and San Antonio: Deep in the Heart of South Texas (2004).
An earlier version of this talk led to one of his current projects, a biography of William. L. Bray, who taught botany and forest ecology at UT-Austin between 1897-1907. Bray’s pathbreaking research and writing on early twentieth century human demands on the Edwards Plateau’s natural resources, and their downstream consequences, have had a profound impact on how we continue to think about this vast terrain.
Chandler Crouch (Lecture 2 Speaker) is a professional civil engineer with nearly a decade in the Texas water industry. His professional tenure includes community based impact while serving in the US Peace Corps and detailed water project implementation for major municipalities across Texas. A native Central Texan, Chandler has a strong awareness of the balance between conservation of our water resources and the population driven development Texas is facing.
Through leading the Net Zero Water Program, Chandler provides guidance and technical expertise to stakeholders and decision makers on applying onsite water reuse and conservation technologies. Chandler holds a BS in civil engineering from Texas A&M University in College Station and lives in Lake Travis, Austin with his wife.
Marisa Bruno (Lecture 3 Speaker) works with local Hill Country partners, including grassroots advocates and elected officials, to promote policies and projects that advance water supply resilience and protect groundwater and surface water flows. She got her start in Texas water as a program strategist for the Texas Water Foundation. She currently serves as an alternate for the Water Conservation Advisory Council and Region L Regional Water Planning Group.
Marisa received her Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of the Environment, where she specialized in water resource management and policy. Her graduate research focused on Texas groundwater management and community water planning.
