November 17, 2010

Will Water Rights Be on the Legislature’s Agenda?

Next legislative session, during the few minutes not taken up with the budget, redistricting and immigration, an old stand-by of an issue could creep onto the agenda: water. Observers say legislative proposals on groundwater rights are probable, given that Texas is just wrapping up a controversial process for planning the allocation of water from aquifers, while environmentalists will be pushing more measures for water conservation. Read more from the Texas Tribune here.

November 15, 2010

Animating Groundwater Issues

The Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District developed an animated video explaining the complexities of Hill Country aquifers and groundwater management. As Milan explains, “Here’s a modern educational tool that will serve well to increase the understanding of the behavior of something that many years ago was considered “mysterious and occult” by Texas law-groundwater.” Read more

October 20, 2010

Travis County commissioners ban development that uses Trinity Aquifer water

Travis County commissioners unanimously approved a one-year ban Tuesday on nearly all new development in western parts of the county that would rely on water from the Trinity Aquifer. Read full Statesman.com article here.

October 10, 2010

Environmental Stewardship calls for citizen action – to keep groundwater for local use

The water marketers have taken steps to get Bastrop and Lee county groundwater against our wishes.” The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) and the South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group (Region L) move towards a $400 million pipeline from Bastrop, Lee and Burleson counties to San Marcos and San Antonio. Learn more here.

October 5, 2010

Water Symposium will air Sunday, October 10th on TPR

Last week’s water symposium sparked conversation about the rule of capture, water marketing and rainwater harvesting. Listen to Representatives Hilderbran, Callegari and Miller discuss water policy on Newsmaker at 8:00 pm, October 10th, KSTX 89.1. More about the Texas Water Symposium here.

September 15, 2010

Two questions hold key to future of the aquifer

If the 26 members of the Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program can reach a compromise in the next two weeks on two cantankerous issues, they may solve a two-decade-old dispute about the allocation of water from the aquifer. Read full San Antonio Express article here.

August 31, 2010

Texas Completes Key Groundwater Planning Step

An intensive process to plan out the maximum depletion of aquifers over the next half-century has been completed just ahead of the Sept. 1 deadline. Read full Texas Tribune article here.

August 18, 2010

TCEQ recognizes need for Hays, Travis, Comal Groundwater District

The TCEQ issued a report that draws the conclusion that an order be issued to create a Groundwater Conservation District to include Western Travis, Hays and Comal Counties. The report was filed June 30th and is available online here. More information here. A hearing has been set for set for October 28, 2010 at the Hays County Courthouse at 10:00 a.m. Click here for details.

TWCA Fall Meeting Scheduled for October 13-15

State Representative Doug Miller and TWDB Board Member Thomas Weir Labatt III will headline the fall meeting of the Texas Water Conservation Association (TWCA), scheduled for October 13-15, 2010, at the Crowne Plaza Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio. The program will also include numerous presentations on surface and groundwater management. Registration information and a full agenda should be available on the TWCA website by mid-August.

August 10, 2010

GMA 9 Releases June 26th minutes

Minutes from the GMA 9 meeting to determine “desired future conditions” are posted here. The GMA 9 DFC resolution can be uploaded here.

August 5, 2010

Viewpoint: Comal County needs groundwater conservation district

In the state of Texas, the state owns surface water, including lakes and rivers. But groundwater is a private-property rights matter. In this regard, the state has declared that the preferred method of managing groundwater in Texas is by a groundwater conservation district. (Comal) county has no such groundwater conservation district atop the Trinity Aquifer, which spans about two-thirds of our county. Read full San Antonio Express community articlehere.

July 30, 2010

The Future of Water: GMA 9’s 30-foot drawdown decision could crimp future growth

After nearly four years of hydrology modeling and politicking, representatives from groundwater districts in Kendall and eight other Hill Country counties decided Monday to limit the drawdown of aquifer levels to no more than 30 feet over the next 50 years. Read full Boerne Star article here.

July 21, 2010

Future Water – Guest Article re: critical Hill Country groundwater decision on July 26th

Beneath many places in the Texas Hill Country, more groundwater is being pumped out than can be replaced through the water cycle. “What does a Desired Future Condition (DFC) have to do with your water?” On 26 July 2010, you can comment on this question. Read more here.

July 20, 2010

KUT News highlights the Hill Country Groundwater Dilemma

This month, parts of Central Texas will decide how much water will be in the aquifers below the land for the next 50 years. The decisions will affect Dripping Springs, Johnson City, Wimberley and other towns south and west of Austin that rely on groundwater supplies. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports,click here.

July 13, 2010

Critical Groundwater decisions are being made now – participate locally

Hill Country Groundwater Districts are meeting over the next few weeks to prepare for the Regional GMA9 meeting on July 26th. Local groundwater districts need your input. The Hill Country region is about to establish a Desired Future Condition (DFC) for groundwater supply. What will this mean for your well? For spring flow? For your ranch? Read more here.

June 14, 2010

GMA 9 Public Meetings to examine progress on the DFC process

Groundwater Conservation Districts in the Texas Hill Country are jointly planning a “Desired Future Condition” (DFC) goal for groundwater resources in our region. Public meetings will be held June 21 in Kerrville, June 23 in Boerne and June 24 in Dripping Springs. Learn more here.

May 14, 2010

Public hearing set June 14 on new groundwater rules

After a months-long, sometimes contentious process to formulate new groundwater rules for Kendall County, a public hearing on the matter has been set for the board’s regular meeting June 14. Read full Boerne Star article here.

May 4, 2010

Reality of Drought-An Update

“…to sustain these flows, the efforts of private property owners, whose land stewardship practices can reduce runoff and improve recharge, are directly linked to the responsibilities of a Groundwater Conservation District, through which locally elected Directors strive to equitably manage this resource for all.” Read the report and preceding articles here.

GMA 9 Joint Planning Meeting Monday May 10 in Kerrville

Hill Country Groundwater District boards and staff meet regularly to work towards common desired future conditions for this region. On this agenda, to be held in May 10th in Kerrvile, planners will be briefed from Texas Water Development Board staff about recent progress with water availability models. Stay informed. Read full agenda here.

April 22, 2010

A Watershed Case

On the surface, it’s a case about an oat-and-peanut farm and two South Texas men who wanted enough water to operate it. But underneath lies a century-old tug-of-war over who really owns the water beneath the land. At the core of the case is how the court will interpret Texas law, which currently acknowledges not only landowners’ rights to water beneath the land but also the authority of groundwater districts to regulate it. Read full Texas Tribune article here.

April 20, 2010

TWA calls for Legislature to reaffirm groundwater as a vested, real property right

TWA President Tina Y. Buford on Thursday told members of the House Committee on Natural Resources that TWA strongly believes it is in the best interests of the citizens of our state to continue to recognize this right because this vested, protectable right promotes conservation and management of our groundwater. Read more here.

April 14, 2010

GMA 9

The GMA 9 “desired future conditions” process continues. Ron Fieseler recently released a status report for the GMA 9 process as of April 2010, click hereto read. Texas Water Matters is always an excellent resource on groundwater and surface water planning.

Hays Trinity GCD featured on KDRP Saturday April 17th

During the drought Groundwater Management in the Texas Hill Country was a topic of conversation everywhere you turn. We have to keep that conversation alive while creeks are flowing; managing groundwater for our growing region remains a challenge. Learn about the history and intentions of the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District with Jack Hollon on “Cedar Lady” this Saturday morning at 9:00 am on 99.9 FM, orhttp://www.kdrplive.org.

April 1, 2010

Public input sought on water plan

Today in Victoria is the first of seven meetings that will be held across South Texas to gather the public’s input about the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan to collectively manage Edwards Aquifer and ensure protection of the ecosystems that those species and people depend on for clean water. Read full San Antonio Express News article here.

February 28, 2010

State aims to make groundwater rules more uniform

With just about every drop of river water already spoken for, suppliers, especially in Central Texas, are turning to underground water in counties to the east as the next big source. But they face a problem because groundwater districts, set up as individual fiefdoms meant to reflect local histories and philosophies about water and land use, have different permitting rules and sensibilities. Read full Statesman.com article here.

February 24, 2010

GMA9 decides on more public hearings

The board of GMA9 has decided to hold three more public hearings — in Kerrville, Wimberley and Boerne — in the coming months before it establishes new Desired Future Conditions for the Edwards Aquifer. Read full Kerrville Daily Times article here.

February 13, 2010

Cow Creek GCW plans to challenge GMA ruling

In an effort to protect Boerne’s surface water sources, the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District board approved a resolution Monday challenging the Texas Water Development Board’s recent decision that the desired future conditions adopted by the executive committee of Groundwater Management Area 9 are unreasonable. Read full Boerne Star article here.

January 29, 2010

Texas Water Development Board earns “Atta Boy”

Preserve Our Water commends the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) for its decision regarding the protest of the Groundwater Management Area 9 Desired Future Condition (DFC) for the Edwards/Trinity aquifer component. Read full Preserve our Water release here.

January 22, 2010

Texas Water Development Board finds GMA 9 future conditions unreasonable

In a special meeting Thursday in Austin, the Texas Water Development Board said the desired future conditions adopted by the executive committee of Groundwater Management Area 9 are unreasonable. The board of directors of the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District has strongly backed the GMA-9 position and Cow Creek Board President Tommy Mathews is a member of the GMA-9 executive committee. Thursday’s ruling was a significant blow to local water planners. Read full Boerne Star article here. Read comments about this article here.

January 18, 2010

Groundwater Conservation Districts

Most of the water consumed in Texas is groundwater. As the demand for this precious resource grows, so does its need for management and protection. Read full TECQ article here.

January 11, 2010

The Desired Future Conditions Conference – Jan 20-21 in Austin

The Texas A&M Graduate Water Program, Texas Agrilife Extension and the Texas Water Development Board have planned a conference addressing pumping limits for Texas’ aquifers and the desired future condition process. Read about the details and how to register here.

January 7, 2010

Attorney Calls For Centralized Groundwater Management In Texas

“I am convinced that the current system of groundwater management in Texas is an obsolete model and has no place in Texas in the 21st century.” That was one of the opening remarks offered by Steve Kosub, water resource counsel for the San Antonio Water System, at a recent Texas Water Law conference sponsored by the University of Texas School of Law. Read full Livestock Weekly article here.