George Rice

Region: Hill Country

Topics: Aquifer, Hydrology, Geology, Water pollution


Mr. Rice is a groundwater hydrologist with over 20 years' experience in hazardous waste investigations. He has designed and installed monitoring wells, performed aquifer flow tests, sampled for contaminants, simulated aquifers' behavior in computer models, and provided third-party review of environmental documents.

In Texas, much of his work has been focused on understanding and mitigating any solvent and radionuclide contamination that might have entered the Ogallala aquifer from the Pantex weapons plant outside Amarillo, on tracking and recovering solvents spilled at the Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, on monitoring uranium in-situ mine effects on groundwater near Kingsville, and on characterizing and modeling the effects of the Alcoa strip mine's dewatering on the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer near Bastrop.

Outside his professional work, Mr. Rice has also been active in protecting groundwater, both as a public official and private citizen.  He was elected in 2002 as a Green Party candidate to serve as an elected board member of the Edwards Aquifer Authority, where he has been advocating impervious cover limits and bans on hazardous material storage on land over the Aquifer's recharge zones.  He also is a leader of the volunteer group, Save Our Aquifer Coalition, which fought a large subsidized development known as PGA Village slated for construction over the recharge zone.

February 16, 2006
San Antonio, Texas
Reels 2336 and 2337