WATER NEWS FOR BLANCO COUNTY AND BEYOND #15In This Edition:
a.. Final Approval of Rockin' J Unit #4 Still Not Scheduled
b.. Rockin' J Permit Renewal B-PGCD District Meeting Agenda
c.. Rockin' J Authority for Public Water and Sewer Operation Still on Hold
d.. REMINDER - Texas: State of Springs Thursday Night at 8:00 on PBS
e.. Groundwater Management Area #9 and University of Texas to Conduct Public Hearings on Groundwater Management
f.. Preserve Our Water Announces Availability of Presentation
g.. Did You Know - Groundwater Facts
Final Approval of Rockin' J Unit #4 Still Not Scheduled
As reported in December and again in January, final consideration of the "Rockin' J" Unit #4 plat request has been further postponed with no target now set for consideration of that final approval.
Although Preserve Our Water has sought to determine why the delay is occurring, thus far no reason has been found. We will continue to monitor this matter.
Rockin' J Permit Renewal B-PGCD District Meeting Agenda
On Monday, February 12th, 2007 Preserve Our Water learned that the B-PGCD has renewed the water production permit originally issued on March 16th, 2006 to Rancho del Lago for the Rockin' J development. The following day we obtained copies of documents prepared by the District's General Manager in support of his decision.
Although the Rockin' J permit appears on the agenda for the Feb. 15th District meeting, the board is not expected to vote on matter. As a result, the Public Comment period specified in connection with the topic is not an opportunity for citizens to offer input, concerns or protest.
We provide reasons for these conclusions below.
In the package of materials prepared by the District General Manager, the memo outlining his reasons for approving the permit renewal application cite one of the new District rules adopted by the board on August 15th, 2006.
That at rule places all decision making authority for permit renewals in the hands of the General Manager. The General Manager, under that provision, is the only party that has authority to bring a permit to the Board for review and approval.
There are only specific situations in which these rules, drafted under the supervision of the General Manager, allow for referral to the board. One is where a permit is modified to allow increased volume, another pertains to wells located in areas designated by the District as being "Priority Groundwater Depletion Areas" and finally in
situations in which the well owner has violated District rules or state water law.
The permitted pumping remains at 185,000,000 gallons per year, Blanco County has no Priority Depletion Areas and the General Manager's memo cites no violations.
When the current rules were being considered, Preserve Our Water did considerable research examining the practices in other Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs), the laws of Texas and advice of others serving in GCDs. We submitted detailed, fully referenced comments, suggestions and objections to the rules.
One of the most critical of the changes to which we objected, based on this research, was granting of full authority to a single employee for decisions of this sort - permit renewal being only of several such changes in authority. It is because of exactly what has now transpired that we voiced those objections. It is also why other GCDs have
chosen not to act in this manner.
Not only is it poor public policy to entrust such critical decisions to one individual, particularly when that individual has no direct accountability to the public, but equally important because it serves to block public awareness and participation in decisions that have a lasting impact on all of us.
Readers may recall that many promises were made at the conclusion of the March 16th hearing on this permit. Study and investigations were to be conducted to address the wide range of concerns and issues presented to the board that night.
Among those issues was impact on nearby wells, the ability to recharge the aquifer under such intense use and the matter of runoff - something prohibited by state law and the District rules, both before and after their revision. A review of the materials prepared by the District Manager may leave one wondering where those research results are provided.
Curiously though, clear evidence of runoff, constituting prohibited waste, is presented - but ignored. It is important to remember that had this violation, observed by the General Manager in July, been acted upon, it would
have triggered board review of this permit renewal.
Readers may also recall that on August 15th, board Vice President Bobby Wilson committed to a Public Hearing before granting renewal of this permit. That commitment has not been honored.
The permit renewal takes effect on March 16th. It is unlikely, though not impossible, that further consideration of this permit will occur.
Rockin' J Authority for Public Water and Sewer Operation Still on Hold
In order to use the water the B-PGCD has permitted the Rockin J to pump for its public water and waste water systems, the developer must have what is called a "Certificate of Convenience and Necessity" (CCN) from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The application for that authorization has been in process for almost two years and is not yet approved.
Several local residents had lodged protests of the CCN for a variety of reasons. In some cases, long negotiations were finally ended by settlements in which the Rockin J developers agreed to several provisions designed to protect ground and surface water from contamination.
However, Preserve Our Water has learned that staff members at the TCEQ are still very concerned about contamination from either watering operations on the golf course, the operation of the waste water system or other sources. Another hearing on the CCN is scheduled for early March. For more information, contact us at
pow "at" moment.net.
Groundwater Management Area #9 and University of Texas to Conduct Public Hearings on
Groundwater Management
The following press release was issued by the B-PGCD on Feb. 12th. Preserve Our Water encourages all citizens to attend this meeting to voice their views and concerns about the future of groundwater resources in Blanco County.
"In 2005 the Texas Legislature required that Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs) work cooperatively to identify "desired future conditions" of local aquifers as part of a regional groundwater management area planning process. At the invitation of the Hill Country Groundwater Management Area (GMA-9), a research team from The University of Texas at Austin (UT) has been studying groundwater issues in the Hill Country for the past several months to help the local GCDs develop and consider options for desired future conditions for Hill Country aquifer use. The research team seeks advice on future groundwater use from people who live in the Hill Country. There will be two public meetings, one on February 19 in Johnson City (in the Pedernales Electric Cooperative Auditorium, 201 S. Ave. F, Johnson City) from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, and a second on February 20 in Kerrville (in the Upper Guadalupe River Authority Auditorium, 125 Lehmann Dr., Kerrville) from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Staff from the Texas Water Development Board, GMA-9 and The University of Texas research team will provide a brief summary of their activities to date, prior to inviting public advice and comment.
UT staff encourages everyone in the community to attend and express their views on what should be done with groundwater in the Hill Country. For more information about the UT project on groundwater management in the area, please contact: anniebricker "at" yahoo.com."
REMINDER Texas: State of Springs Thursday Night at 8:00 on PBS
A documentary on water resources in Texas, produced by Lee Smith of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, will air at 8:00 PM Thursday, Feb 15. Both San Antonio's KLRN and Austin's KLRU will carry the broadcast.
The report features an interview with Blanco County's J. David Bamberger about his award winning efforts in range and water resource restoration and conservation. Also included is a segment on historic White Springs located very close to the Rockin' J development.
So tune in or set your recorders; those who have been fortunate enough to see previews report that this is a truly excellent documentary about our water resources.
Preserve Our Water Announces Availability of Presentation
Preserve Our Water has prepared a presentation to help fellow citizens benefit from the research and study that the organization has undertaken over the past year. The presentation, titled "Water, Water Everywhere." covers:
a.. The water cycle
b.. Overview of Texas Aquifers
c.. Characteristics of aquifers
d.. Blanco County's water resources
e.. What it takes to keep our aquifers filled
f.. How ground and surface water is managed in Texas
g.. The future of water in Blanco County
Civic or educational groups are encouraged to take advantage of this plain language presentation by a Preserve Our Water board member. For more information or to schedule the presentation for your group, contact us at 830-868-9055 or by email at pow "at" moment.net .
Did You Know - Groundwater Facts
Ever hear of something called a "PGMA"? Most folks have not.
Those initials stand for "Priority Groundwater Management Area". In 1991 the State of Texas took a close look at the status of water resources in Texas. One of many results of that research was creation of a designation known as "Priority Groundwater Management Area" (PGMA).
Unlike the similarly named "Priority Groundwater Depletion Area" that is used by a local GCD, the PGMA designation is made by the state.
An area designated as a PGMA is one the state expects to suffer critical water shortages within 25 years. This prediction is based on projections of demand resulting from population growth and a best available understanding of existing groundwater resources.
Blanco County was among the first to be designated a PGMA. For us, well over half of that 25 year period has already come and gone.
Where Is My Water?After viewing "State of our Springs" on television last week about the springs in Texas drying up, it is beginning to hit home a little bit more. This is especially true here in Blanco, where we could not find enough water to support about a thousand or so city folk; so we bought more in from Canyon Lake at considerable expense.
Do we have plenty now?
The development at Rockin J has a permit to pump 185,000,000 (That is right, million) gallons of water a year! Most of it, I guess, is to support a golf course and property owners who will build there.
Have you driven out there to see all the activity going on? It is a ghost town but there IS a golf course going in with big piles of dirt and big sprinklers running day and night with waste water running all over neighboring ranches.
A marketing sign at Rockin J advertises " Central Water and Sewer". What does that mean?
If property is selling at the Rockin J, you might expect to see many houses going up, many paved roads and storm drains going in but I don't see much going on at all. My wife and I built a house in an area very similar to the Rockin J in Bastrop and the development was called Tahitian Village.
There were few paved roads and not many storm drains. Every rain storm was a disaster.
The developer, from Houston, finally declared bankruptcy. We were lucky to sell and get out without a big loss. I wish the Rockin J owners were more enlightening about their progress.
Our local county commissioners and ground water officials have foolishly been far too lenient with the rules approving Units 2 and 3 for over 1,000 homeowner lots without proof the developer can handle the original Unit 1 to the satisfaction of all concerned. The public has a stake in this too and there is a lot more going on that we don't know
about.
Gene Guthrie
Ranch Rd. 165
Blanco, TX
