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surface -water irrigation systems exist within many of the western tributaries. Increasing <br />demands in rapidly growing urban areas highlight increasing competition for limited <br />supplies in these predominantly and areas. Competition among numerous Indian tribes, <br />irrigators, municipal demand, recreational users, and environmental concerns are <br />heightening water rights issues in the basin. <br />11 Arkansas- White -Red Region - -The Arkansas- White -Red Region includes Oklahoma, <br />Arkansas, and parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Texas, Missouri, and Louisiana. <br />In the arid western portion of the region, the surface -water resource is very limited and <br />sustained withdrawals of the ground -water resource that has supplied the area cannot <br />continue at the present rate. In the High Plains aquifer, the major water resource in the <br />area, ground -water levels have decreased significantly and have affected the supply of the <br />surface -water resource. Irrigation of crops is the largest water use and has not increased <br />for several decades. The natural water - quality problem of saline water also limits the use <br />of the scarce resource in many areas and affects downstream users in the eastern part of <br />the region. The eastern part of the region has an abundant surface -water resource that is <br />managed with a large number of reservoirs. However, as population pressures increase, <br />the allocation of that stored water is becoming increasingly difficult among competing <br />uses. This has become apparent during the severe seasonal droughts that have occurred in <br />the past decade. Increased pumping of ground water also is affecting flow of water in <br />streams and springs as water levels decrease. <br />12 The Texas -Gulf Region —The Texas -Gulf Region includes the southeastern part of <br />New Mexico and most of Texas, with the exception of the Rio Grande Valley in West <br />Texas, the Panhandle of North Texas, and a small area of northeastern Texas. The Texas <br />Water Development Board (TWDB), through 16 regional planning groups, has identified <br />long -term water - availability needs for most of the Texas -Gulf Region. Periodic drought <br />has a dominant effect on water availability in this region. One key finding of the TWDB <br />planning effort is that if the drought of record were to occur today, 20 percent of <br />irrigation water needs and 7 percent of municipal water needs could not be met. TWDB <br />projections indicate that by 2050, current water sources will be inadequate to meet the <br />water - supply needs of nearly 900 cities in the region in times of drought. Other key <br />findings regarding the 50 -year planning horizon are that water demands are expected to <br />increase 18 percent, while water supplies from existing ground -water and surface -water <br />sources are projected to decrease by 19 and 18 percent, respectively. The TWDB has <br />recommended that continued assessments of water availability be conducted. <br />13 Rio Grande Region —The Rio Grande Region includes most of New Mexico and parts <br />of Colorado and Texas, as well as encompassing over half of the international boundary <br />with Mexico. As in other areas of the Southwest, the area has experienced rapid <br />population growth in recent years with most domestic and municipal water needs <br />supplied by ground water. Albuquerque, El Paso, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe are among the <br />cities in the region with concerns about the long -term sustainability of their ground water <br />supplies. In these areas adverse effects such as significant water -level declines, reduced <br />20 <br />