WATER NEWS FOR BLANCO COUNTY AND BEYOND #14In This Edition:
a.. Final Approval of Rockin' J Unit #4 Still Not Scheduled
b.. Peter Holt Not Planning Development
c.. Big "Thank You" to the Save Our Springs Alliance
d.. Preserve Our Water Streamlines Suit
e.. Hill Country Alliance Legislative Initiative Endorsed by Preserve Our Water
f.. How Is Your Well Doing?
g.. Did You Know - Groundwater Facts
Final Approval of Rockin' J Unit #4 Still Not Scheduled
As reported in December, final consideration of the "Rockin' J" Unit #4 plat request has been postponed to January, according to County Judge Guthrie's office.
The request was originally scheduled for action at the December 12th Commissioners Court meeting. As of Monday, January 8th, the matter had still not been set for hearing, according to the Judge's office. Preserve Our Water will continue to monitor this situation, closely.
Inquiries are in progress to determine the reason for the delay in consideration of this expansion of the already dense development.
******* CORRECTION ********
Peter Holt Not Planning Development
In the December 12th newsletter we reported on a new residential development in southern Blanco County.
This report originated from Country Commissioner Paul Granberg and was conveyed to a Preserve Our Water supporter. Commissioner Granberg stated San Antonio businessman and Blanco County property owner Peter Holt was planning an 8,000 acre development.
Peter Holt, Sr., the senior member of the family, has bluntly denied the report. Further, Mr. Holt is said to have expressed considerable annoyance at the false report. Such annoyance is certainly understandable.
We apologize to the Holt family and our supporters for any inconvenience we have caused by disseminating this incorrect information.
Big "Thank You" to the Save Our Springs Alliance
Shortly before the close of 2006, a representative of the Austin based Save Our Springs Alliance contacted Preserve Our Water. It turns out this long established water conservation organization had some funds, earmarked for aiding other water conservation groups in the Hill Country, remaining in their 2006 budget.
We are delighted to report some of those funds were awarded Preserve Our Water in a 50% matching grant.
This grant, delivered without restrictions or "strings attached", is an important addition to Preserve Our Water's 2007 budget. We want to convey our sincere appreciation to the Directors of Save Our Springs for authorizing this grant.
A special thank you is in order to Marcia Lucas, Blanco County resident and Save Our Springs board member, for her role in promoting this grant.
And finally, a big think you to the hundreds of you who have given generously to the cause of protecting Blanco County's water from unwise use and the ravages of overdevelopment. The fight is far from over, however, and we hope we can count on your continued support in 2007.
Preserve Our Water Streamlines Suit
In a motion filed with the Blanco District Court, Preserve Our Water has dropped the component of the case pending against the Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District that deals with the conduct of the Public Hearing held March 16, 2006.
The original action lodged by Preserve Our Water in June, 2006 called for the water production permit issued to the Rockin' J to be set aside by the court due to a violation of the Texas Open Meeting law during the hearing held to consider that permit application. Preserve Our Water strongly believes BPGCD, as a public entity accountable to the citizens of Blanco County, should conduct its business in an open and transparent manner.
In October Preserve Our Water modified the original complaint to include the elements of a Motion for Rehearing filed with the B-PGCD and subsequently denied by the B-PGCD's Board on August 15th. That Motion cited 10 serious errors committed by the B-PGCD when issuing the permit to the Rockin' J and renewed the request to the
court that the permit be set aside and the process conducted by the B-PGCD in a lawful manner.
Preserve Our Water Vice-President, Lynne McKirdy, explained, "We have been closely monitoring the B-PGCD Board for the past several months. We are pleased to note their conduct regarding the Open Meeting law has improved dramatically during that time. We are also pleased all Board members have now completed the mandatory
training on that law. As a result and because of the critical nature of the errors we bring to the court's attention in the motion filed in October, we felt it appropriate to drop the Open Meeting component of the suit."
A court hearing on the substantive allegations in the Preserve Our Water suit has not yet been scheduled. For more information on this adjustment, please email us or call at 830-868-9055.
Preserve Our Water Endorses Hill Country Alliance Legislative Initiative
The Hill Country Alliance (HCA) is promoting an initiative with the new Texas legislature to expand powers granted county governments to manage and regulate development and growth within their boundaries. While cities have long had considerable statutory authority to manage various aspects of growth within their city limits, little power has been granted counties; primarily because the need was not present in most counties.
However, with explosive growth in areas like the Hill Country, that has changed and county officials are hamstrung by antiquated state law. Although the Legislature has taken some steps, primarily for those counties having parts of a metropolitan area within their boundaries like Hayes County for example, others like Blanco, Gillespie or Comal have received less attention. The HCA initiative would seek to expand those powers more uniformly.
Preserve Our Water, Inc enthusiastically supports this initiative.
Regrettably, our Groundwater Conservation District is not getting on board with this important effort that could also provide them greater authority. Although General Manager Ron Fieseler was present at the most recent Groundwater Management Area #9 meeting (B-PGCD is a member of this group), when Hill Country Alliance Executive Director, Christy Muse, presented the initiative and had an opportunity to read the proposal, he seems to have failed to grasp its intent or specifics.
Unfortunately, in a recent letter to all GMA #9 members and Ms Muse, Mr. Fieseler indicated he could not support the proposal nor advocate it to the B-PGCD Board because he thought it inappropriate to give HCA a "blank check".
The initiative has nothing to do with granting power or authority to the not-for-profit Hill Country Alliance but deals only with established, official government bodies. Hopefully our Groundwater Conservation District Board will better inform itself on these matters. Preserve Our Water will certainly seek to aid in that effort.
How Is Your Well Doing?
Preserve Our Water is preparing for the upcoming (though not yet scheduled) Public Hearing on renewal of the Rockin' J water production permit, as promised by B-PGCD Board Vice-President Bobby Wilson during their August 15th meeting. We need your help.
Have you experienced difficulties with your well since June, 2006?
If so, we want to hear from you, regardless of where you live in the county. The kinds of problems we are interested in learning about include changes in water quality (for the worse), reduced flow, a need to lower the well or the well simply going dry.
If you live within 3 miles of either "The Landing" or the "Rockin' J", we particularly need to hear from you. The Hayes/Trinity Groundwater Conservation District commissioned a research project to investigate the relationship between development and well performance during drought.
The study finds that wells located near high water use developments fair considerably more poorly during drought than wells not near developments. Although the B-PGCD has not chosen to conduct similar research, Preserve Our Water is seeking to help fill in some of the blanks regarding water well performance during this extended drought.
If you have a well that has had problems or know of someone who has such a well, please get in touch by writing us or call 830-833-9951.
Did You Know - Groundwater Facts
Did you know there are two major types of aquifers that store groundwater? There are "contained" aquifers and "uncontained" aquifers.
Contained aquifers are those that hold water captured thousands of years ago. These aquifer cannot be "recharged" - that is refilled - by rainfall. The primary contained aquifer in Texas is the Ogallala that serves homes, farms and businesses in West Texas, the Panhandle and all the way to Canada. The pumping technology
necessary to get the water in the Ogallala was not available until the early 1950s.
Since then use has been so great that hydrologists estimate 40% of the water has been used. As a contained aquifer, short of a major geological event, that water can never be replaced.
Uncontained aquifers are those that can be recharged by rainfall.
In Blanco County we are served primarily by the Trinity aquifer. Some folks in the northern part of the county get water from the Ellenberger and a smaller number yet from the Hickory. All of these are uncontained aquifers.
However, it is important to know that only about 4% of the rain that falls makes its way into our aquifers. The rest is either used by plants, runs off into streams or creeks or evaporates before soaking far enough into the ground to begin the long journey to the aquifer. So, much of the water we rely on in Blanco County is relatively old.
In a study of water age in the Trinity (yes, it is possible to determine how old water is!), commissioned by the
Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District in Kerr County, water in the Trinity has been dated as being from a few years to hundreds of years old. So, we can see how important it is not to take the water out faster than rainfall can replace it!
