WATER NEWS FOR BLANCO COUNTY AND BEYOND #22In This Edition:
a.. Current Drought Conditions
b.. Rainwater Harvesting
c.. Letter to the Editor - Groundwater District rules against Rockin' J
d.. What the heck is a "DFC" and why should I care?
e.. B-PGCD Lawsuit status
Current Drought Conditions
Sadly, conditions require that we reinstate this feature of the Newsletter.
Hopefully its return will be brief.
US Drought Monitor, D0 - Abnormally dry
(Highest level is D4: Exceptional)
www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
Rainwater Harvesting
Technical difficulties are delaying the completion of the rainwater harvesting section of the Preserve Our Water website. We hope to overcome these difficulties soon.
In the meantime, for more information or for information about local installation experts, please contact us at pow "at" moment.net .
Letter to the Editor - Groundwater District rules against Rockin' J
The following letter, applauding a meritorious decision and action by the Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District appeared in the Blanco County newspapers last week. One point not addressed in the letter is the way in which Preserve Our Water learned of the issue.
We have a cooperative working relationship with the Hill Country Alliance. An HCA board member monitors all filings with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and notified us of this development. Hats off to HCA for this important help!
Dear Editor,
At its November meeting, held Thursday the 15th, the Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District (B-PGCD) took action to protect and conserve our water resources and did so in an exemplary manner. Preserve Our Water offers its appreciation and commendation to the Directors and their staff for this action.
A couple of weeks ago it came to our attention that the owners of the Rockin' J Ranch had filed an application with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to maintain two dams on its property. These dams would create two "vanity ponds"; water features that serve only to enhance the appearance of a piece of property as opposed to watering livestock, wildlife or other productive purposes.
These ponds would hold several hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. The application cited the B-PGCD permit for annual production of 185,000,000 gallons of groundwater as the water source for these ponds.
Last year, at the urging of the current B-PGCD President, Bobby Wilson, the district established a rule prohibiting the use of groundwater for filling and maintaining vanity ponds in excess of 50,000 gallons; a desirable and prudent rule change.
Because of this rule, Preserve Our Water notified Neill Binford of the TCEQ application. Mr. Binford is the B-PGCD director representing the precinct in which the Rockin' J is located. Mr. Binford immediately contacted district staff and requested an investigation.
The staff promptly conducted the investigation and confirmed the developers did intend to use groundwater in this manner. The staff reported to the Board and recommended the B-PGCD issue a letter to the TCEQ notifying them that the proposed use is prohibited and asking that the Rockin' J application be denied.
The Board voted unanimously to follow the staff recommendation.
These actions by our Groundwater Conservation District; responsiveness to citizen concerns and information, prompt action, and adherence to rules well crafted to protect our water resources are exactly what the tax payers of this county should expect for their tax dollars.
Well done!
What the heck is a "DFC" and why should I care?
"DFC" stands for "Desired Future Condition". This is a term used by many states and applies to environmental goals or targets in general and is frequently applied to water use planning in particular.
In 2005 the Texas legislature adopted the term in a new groundwater planning requirement under the Texas Water Code affecting Texas Groundwater Conservation Districts. If you rely on groundwater you should care about a DFC as it defines how much water will be available to you for the next 50 years.
This change to the water code does three important things.
First, , the legislature has finally officially recognized that planning for groundwater use should be coordinated for an entire aquifer. Second, it establishes a deadline of Sept.1, 2010 for the first aquifer-wide planning effort. (with renewal and revision, if new or better data indicates, each five years thereafter). Third, it requires that once the
plan is complete all water designated as available for use is to be Permitted "to the extent possible".
Planning responsibility for each major aquifer falls to a new, unfunded entity called a "Groundwater Management Area" (GMA). Each GMA is comprised of the Groundwater Conservation Districts within the GMA. Blanco County is in GMA 9.
The Board President of each District is designated as the representative to the GMA. In some cases the President has delegated that responsibility to another elected official in the District or to a senior staff member. In the case of the B-PGCD that responsibility is delegated to the General Manager, who also currently serves as Administrator for GMA 9.
For a Desired Future Condition to be established and accepted by the state, 2/3rds of member Districts must vote for the DFC.
A DFC goal becomes useful through a Groundwater Availability Model (GAM), a computer program used to make educated guesses as to how much water is available, how it flows into springs, creeks and rivers and how the aquifer reacts to pumping and drought conditions. The Texas Water Development Board provides and operates this
computer model.
Based on this model and the DFC, a projection of the volume of water available to be managed is calculated - that is, water that can be Permitted for use. Each District receives a specific "water budget" that is then to be used as the basis for their Management Plan; the primary legal tool available for managing the water in its jurisdiction.
GMA 9 has directed that two, separate DFC goals be modeled.
During the summer a "run" of the model for our primary aquifer, the Middle Trinity, was conducted with a DFC goal of maintaining 90% spring flow throughout the 50 year planning period. For technical reasons, the results of that xercise were inconclusive.
Another model run is in progress using a DFC specifying that the aquifer be permanently lowered by an average of 35 feet. The results of this exercise are due from the Texas Water Development Board soon.
Some GMA 9 officials are anxious to adopt the "35 foot drawdown" DFC. Others would like to see additional computer projections conducted to test other DFC goals. They want to use as much time as necessary under the law to make sure this first DFC statement and the "water budget" it produces is as scientifically sound as currently
possible.
At least one of the member Districts has stated that it will support no DFC that does not adequately protect spring flow.
The B-PGCD voted in early October to adopt the 35 foot draw down, with the reservation that should the computer model produce troubling results, they would re-examine the issue.
Preserve Our Water has asked the GMA 9 officials to move deliberately but with prudence - do not rush but also do not delay a decision unnecessarily.
Because of the requirement to make available all water designated for future use through the planning process, the outcome of the GMA 9 effort has implications for every citizen who relies on groundwater, either from a private well or from a groundwater dependent public water supply like that of Johnson City.
Preserve Our Water will continue to monitor this process, closely. Expect updates as the process continues. For more detailed information, please contact us at pow "at" moment.net .
B-PGCD Lawsuit Status
The long pending lawsuit entered negotiations in September facilitated by a professional mediator. The negotiations are ongoing. We will report any developments as soon as it is possible to do so.
Jim Chastain
President, Bandera County River Authority & GCD
P. O. Box 177
Bandera, TX 78003November 28, 2007
Dear Mr. Chastain,
I am writing on behalf of Preserve Our Water regarding the efforts of GMA 9 to establish a "Desired Future Condition" (DFC) for our aquifers. To begin, we wish to express our appreciation for the hard work to date. This is an extremely challenging undertaking. It is clear to the citizens who have stayed close to this issue that all will benefit from the improved communication and collaboration among the Groundwater Conservation Districts in GMA 9.
As with any new process, particularly one requiring new working relationships and modes of communication, some confusion and occasional miscommunication has occurred along the way. A couple of recent examples will illustrate the point. Sample questions GCD Directors may wish to anticipate from constituents follow these examples. We offer the examples and questions not to criticize but simply to illustrate the predictable and understandable challenge confronting us all. It is against that backdrop that Preserve Our Water renews its request that GMA 9 approach the development of its DFC statement with all due deliberation and avoid acting in haste.
Over the past months there was encouragement for GMA 9 representatives to meet a January 1 submission deadline. Some thought that meeting this deadline would avoid an enforcement vulnerability arising from not having the Managed Available Groundwater (MAG) value from a DFC in their region's water plan. But, after consulting with Dr. Robert Mace of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), it was learned that concerns about diminished enforcement capability were groundless.
Another example surfaced at a recent workshop held by the Cow Creek GCD. At that meeting Andy Donnelly of the TWDB revealed that GMA 9 is the only Ground Management Area in the state to incorporate demand growth projections in its Groundwater Availability Model (GAM). Dr. Mace subsequently confirmed this and explained that demand growth projections are not mandatory, although some in GMA 9 had previously expressed the understanding that such projections are required.
A final example arose during the November GMA 9 meeting. Prior to that meeting the general understanding was that the next version of the GAM would only add modeling capability for the Lower Trinity aquifer and perhaps accommodate new geological and hydrological information pertaining to northern Bexar County. However, Rima Petrossian of the TWDB said that additional features were now being planned. Yet, later in that same meeting, still another opinion of the planned enhancements was offered by a private consultant working with the Bexar County GCD and the TWDB.
During the November GMA 9 meeting, Mary Ellen Summerlin, President of Headwaters GCD, made a critical point. She observed that the ability of a GCD to enforce its Management Plan and Rules relies in large part on acceptance by the public, based on the inherent reasonableness of the DFC. So, in that context, Preserve Our Water offers a sampling of the kinds of questions that GCD Directors should both anticipate from their constituents and be prepared to answer convincingly and confidently - regardless of what DFC is ultimately agreed upon or when that agreement occurs. The natural uncertainties arising from this new process should not be allowed to interfere with the ability to assure the public of the reasonableness of the final decision.
Sample questions:
I have a well XXX feet deep. Will it be OK?
My great-granddad's folks built the stock tank on my spring. What is this decision going to do to my tank?
We are in an area they say is going to have lots of water problems, a "Priority Groundwater Management Area," I'm told. Does this fix that?
So, how many new homes and businesses will this support?
I have a wildlife tax valuation. What does this mean for wildlife?
My revenue from this land is from hunters. How is this going to affect the creek that waters the deer and turkeys?
I heard this allows for growth in this new water plan. How much growth is that going to be? Is this how the planning is being done all over the state?
Down the road a way, is this going to affect the water permit I have? My business depends on that permit.
I just read that the Hill Country may get a lot less rain. Was that eventuality figured in?
We hope that when your decision is made, it is made with as solid an understanding of the implications as is reasonably possible. Because of that hope, Preserve Our Water renews the request we presented at the Wimberley Public Hearing. Please make full use of the time available to assure that the very best job possible is done in setting this initial DFC. While we certainly do not advocate "waiting until the last minute" to reach a decision, we do share the view Ms Summerlin conveyed on behalf of her board: "the case for haste has not been made."
Sincerely,
Dave Collins
President, Preserve Our Water, Inc.
cc: GMA 9 Groundwater Conservation District Presidents
Ron Fieseler, GMA 9 Administrator
Jim Chastain
Bandera County River Authority & GCD
P. O. Box 177
Bandera, TX 78003
Bob Larsen
Barton Springs - Edwards Aquifer CD
1124 Regal Row
Austin, TX 78748
Bobby Wilson
Blanco-Pedernales GCD
P.O. Box 1516
Johnson City, TX 78636
Tommy Matthews
Cow Creek GCD
216 Market St. Suite 105
Boerne, TX 78006
Andrew Backus
Hays Trinity GCD
P. O. Box 1648
Dripping Springs, TX 78620
Mary Ellen Summerlin
Headwaters GCD
125 Lehmann Dr. Suite 102
Kerrville, TX 78028
Thomas Boehme
Medina County GCD
1613 Ave K Suite 105
Hondo, TX 78861
Brad Groves
Trinity Glen Rose GCD
6335 Camp Bullis Rd Suite 17
San Antonio, TX 78257
