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The compound impact of limited water accessibility, population growth, economic prosperity, and climate change are the leading causes of water scarcity in Texas and challenges to its long-term water management strategies. This study assesses surface and groundwater scarcities in Texas for past and future periods, using the water footprint concept in municipal and agricultural sectors. The US Geological Survey's monthly water balance model (MWBM) outputs were used to quantify the surface and groundwater availability under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate change scenarios. Also, future water footprints in the agricultural and municipal sectors were calculated based on the 2022 Texas State Water Development Plan. The results indicate that the East Texas and Upper Coast climate divisions are projected to experience the maximum reduction in surface blue water availability. The projected decrease in groundwater availability will lead to substantial agricultural water scarcity in western climate divisions, especially in the High Plains and Trans-Pecos. In addition, the agricultural surface blue water scarcity will exceed 100% in the counties located at Lower Valley, and more groundwater scarcity will be observed at Trans-Pecos and High Plains. The municipal sector is projected to exhibit more than 100% water scarcity in limited counties. This water scarcity analysis integrates future hydrological shifts and water demands in Texas, highlighting critical areas where agricultural and urban water needs intersect and can be further extended to encompass a comprehensive socioeconomic evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proper understanding of scaling and large-scale hydrologic processes is often not explicitly incorporated in the teaching curriculum. This makes it difficult for students to connect the effect of small scale processes and properties (like soil texture and structure, aggregation, shrinkage, and cracking) on large scale hydrologic responses (like watershed runoff). An instructional module that introduces the concept of process-based scaling, as the framework to connect hydrologic processes and properties at different scales, was developed and evaluated. This paper examines how incorporating the concept of scaling into student curriculum impacts students' learning and decision making capabilities. It presents the evaluation of this module in an undergraduate environmental and natural resources engineering course. Evaluation results supported the hypothesis that introducing the concept of scaling and its application (using computer models) into undergraduate engineering courses enhanced students' learning and decision making skills. Students' levels of confidence in their knowledge of hydrologic systems also increased after the introduction of the scaling concept and following computer modeling exercises.