About
About TAWS
A non-profit association of the Texas local governments that sponsor federal flood control structures — formed in 1995 and still doing the same job.
Purpose & mission
TAWS exists to keep the Small Watershed Program funded and to keep sponsors connected to each other.
- Strive to secure adequate State and Federal funding for the PL-534, Pilot and PL-566 Small Watershed Program.
- Foster communication between and among its members.
- Disseminate information to legislative, governmental, public and private groups to further the efforts of the Small Watershed Program and its associated benefits.
- Expand its focus to other programs and regulatory or legislative initiatives which have an impact on the Small Watershed Program.
History
In 1995, the Association of Texas Soil and Water Conservation Districts (ATSWCD) agreed to serve as a coordinating group to host the organizational meeting for the establishment of the Texas Association of Watershed Sponsors.
Prior to the ATSWCD annual meeting in Galveston, the Water Resources Committee sent a questionnaire to most of the active watershed sponsors in the state to gauge interest in forming such an organization. The response was positive, and a number of sponsors volunteered names of people willing to serve on the steering committee or as officers.
The twenty-two people attending that meeting voted to form the Texas Association of Watershed Sponsors, then reviewed a draft copy of bylaws prepared by the Chairman of the Water Resources Committee. After considerable discussion and various amendments, the group voted to accept the bylaws as amended and elected its first officers.
Since its creation, TAWS has been effective in influencing the future of the Small Watershed Protection Program in Texas. The association worked with the TCEQ on the development of the current dam safety rules, was instrumental in the initial approval and funding of the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board's Flood Control Program, and works closely with the National Watershed Coalition on watershed issues at the national level.
Officers & Steering Committee
The people who run the association, and how to reach them directly.
Officers
Two-year terms, expiring 2028
Vice President
Larry Lehr
Tehuacana Creek Water Improvement District
3728 Chimney Ridge Dr., Waco, TX 76708
(254) 715-8203larry_lehr@hotmail.comSecretary / Treasurer
Sue Lilly
Lower Brushy Creek Water Control & Improvement District
351 Exchange Blvd, Ste 230, Hutto, TX 78634
(512) 567-5143sue.lilly@lowerbrushycreekwcid.orgSteering Committee
Members serve staggered three-year terms, grouped below by the year each term ends.
Terms expire 2027
- Rooter BriteUpper Elm-Red SWCD #524Bowie, TXjaranch29@gmail.com
- Kevin BurnsWise CountyDecatur, TXcomm2@co.wise.tx.us
- Tom SulakEllis CountyWaxahachie, TXtom.sulak@co.ellis.tx.us
- Jilane CarperCollin County SWCDMcKinney, TXJilane.Carper@tx.nacdnet.net
- Tommy MitchellSan Antonio River AuthoritySan Antonio, TXtmitchell@sara-tx.org
Terms expire 2028
- Jim ClarnoLower Brushy Creek WCIDGeorgetown, TXjim.clarno@lowerbrushycreekwcid.org
- Daniel MeyerPlum Creek Conservation DistrictLockhart, TXdaniel.meyer@pccd.org
- Jerry HendersonJack SWCD #549Jacksboro, TXhjccjerry@gmail.com
- Larry LehrTehuacana Creek Water Improvement DistrictWaco, TXlarry_lehr@hotmail.com
- John ElrodNavarro SWCD #514Corsicana, TXnavarroswcd@tx.nacdnet.org
Terms expire 2029
- Carolann CoradoUSDA-NRCSBowie, TXcarolann.corado@tx.usda.gov
- Aaron HoffTarrant Regional Water DistrictFort Worth, TXaaron.hoff@trwd.com
- Roy D. DeenKaufman-Van Zandt SWCD #505Wills Point, TXdeen.21@icloud.com
- Bill DodsonEllis-Prairie SWCD #504Waxahachie, TXbd1950@sbcglobal.net
- Wacy BeckWise County Environmental ServicesDecatur, TXwacy.beck@co.wise.tx.us
How officers are chosen
The President appoints a Nominating Committee of past presidents, which recommends a slate of officers and Steering Committee members. Members vote on that slate at the annual business meeting. Officers serve two-year terms and Steering Committee members three, staggered so roughly a third of the committee turns over each year.
Bylaws
The bylaws adopted at the 1995 organizational meeting, as amended since.
TAWS Bylaws
Current version, adopted 2025.
Our role with the State Board
Working alongside the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board to keep the Flood Control Program funded.
The flood control structures TAWS members own were built by USDA — about 11,800 across the country, and roughly two thousand of them in Texas. They were built, but they were not endowed. Keeping them safe for the next fifty years falls to the local sponsors, and the money for that runs through the state.
The Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board is the state partner with USDA in funding operation, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation and upgrade work. The Legislature created its Flood Control Program in 2010. TAWS works alongside the State Board to make the case for that programme, and helps sponsors speak for it in their own districts.
That case has become harder to ignore. Around 20 dams a year are reclassified as high hazard by the TCEQ as housing spreads below structures that were built in open country. The obligations on the sponsor change overnight; the structure does not.
TAWS is also a member of the National Watershed Coalition and supports its work at the federal level.
What the State Board is asking for this session
Four items go to the Legislature for the 2027 session, including $4 billionworth of rehabilitation backlog to work against. The detail, and what a sponsor can do about it, is on the Legislative & Funding page.