WATER NEWS FOR BLANCO COUNTY AND BEYOND In This Edition
a.. Current Drought Condition
b.. Rockin' J Permit Dispute Settled
c.. B-PGCD Developments
d.. Rainwater Web Page Up and Running
e.. Texas Water Development Board Announces Rainwater Harvesting Award
f.. March 8 Rainwater Harvesting Information Session
g.. Did You Know - Groundwater Facts
Current Drought Condition
Suspended in July, 2007, the Drought Condition feature of the Preserve Our Water
Newsletter makes a most unwelcome return.
Blanco County drought condition - D2 Moderate (D4 Exceptional highest level)
www.drought.unl.edu/dm/DM_state.htm?TX,S
Rockin' J Permit Dispute Settled
Preserve Our Water and individual plaintiffs issued a press release jointly with the Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District. The item was published in the 1/23-1/24 editions of the Blanco County newspapers. Read it here.
The changes agreed to by the settlement negotiators must be submitted to the
required public process and a vote by the full Board. The changes agreed upon are
structured to assure public awareness of important pending water permit decisions
and to formally structure the Board's role in overseeing decision making by the
General Manager related to permits, drought declarations and investigation of
potential violations by permit holders.
We will issue an alert when the rule change process is established and dates set. We
hope that as many citizens as possible will take an active part in this critical
process.
The full text of the Settlement Agreement [Preserve Our Water, et al vs. B-PGCD Settlement Agreement ], a public document following the B-PGCD Board approval, is available here.
For additional information regarding the settlement of this legal challenge, please
contact Preserve Our Water at pow [at] moment.net .
B-PGCD Developments
Our Groundwater Conservation District has three important efforts it must tackle, in
addition to the rule revision described above. Those efforts are:
a.. Continued work with Groundwater Management Area (GMA) #9 on specification of a
Desired Future Condition (DFC) for our aquifers,
b.. Planning the District's first structured research program, and
c.. Reviewing and revising, as appropriate, the District's Management Plan.
DFC - Work on defining the DFC continues, though little has been accomplished in the
past two months due to continuing delays at the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB)
as they work to run a computer model of what impact the currently proposed DFC will
have. That DFC calls for allowing a drop of 35 feet by the end of the 50 year planning period (on average) in the aquifer water level of the Middle Trinity (serving southern Blanco County), Ellenberger and Hickory (serving northern Blanco County). Some members of other Districts in GMA #9 have expressed concern about this proposal, but until the modeling results are available, many are taking a wait and see position.
Research - At the January 17th meeting, Director Neill Binford and General Manager
Ron Fieseler were directed by the Board to organize a planning workshop where the
District's research program will be defined. Experts from other Districts who have
already conducted much of the necessary, fundamental research will be asked to
participate as will private citizens, particularly those with experience in geology
or research planning. The workshop will be open to the public and hopefully will be
scheduled at a time to allow for maximum participation.
Management Plan - A Groundwater Conservation District's most critical documents are
its Rules, By-Laws and Management Plan. The Management Plan specifies how the
District will manage the allocation of water operating permits and protect the
quality of the groundwater, among other important responsibilities. Most Management
Plans are based on a "water budget" which specifies how much water can be allocated
for use without producing undesired effects like disrupting spring flow or having an
impact on modern wells of current users. The current Management Plan is due for the
statutorily mandated review and revision. A first draft is due to the TWDB by June.
The work to revise the Management Plan will be conducted in public meetings.
Preserve Our Water will publicize the dates and times of the meetings dealing with
the revision process as soon as the information becomes available. Broad citizen
participation is very desirable, considering the importance of this document to the
management of our water resources.
Rainwater Web Page Up and Running
The Rainwater Harvesting section of the Preserve Our Water website is now available!
(Please see links on the upper left side of this page)
In addition to a wide range of information sources the site lists local system
consultants and installers. But what some will find most interesting are the
features about local systems. Two systems are currently featured. One is that
installed at Onion Creek Kitchens. Check out the extensive system that has been
tastefully integrated with the Northern Italian architecture of the buildings.
The other system is the novel and creative system at the home and business of
Bernard and Malissa Mollberg. Ponder how they managed to bury a 35,000 gallon
cistern, at the very top of the ridge line known as the "Divide" - without blasting!
Do you know a rainwater system installer who would like to have their business
listed or do you a have a rainwater system you would like featured on the site? If
so, please drop a note to pow [at] moment.net .
Texas Water Development Board Announces Rain Catcher Award
Are you particularly proud of your rainwater harvesting system? Did you know that
the Texas Water Development Board has established a "Rain Catcher Award"?
If you would like to learn more about the program and how to enter a system in the
quarterly competition, go to this TWDB web site:
www.twdb.state.tx.us/iwt/rainwater/raincatcher.html
March 8 Rainwater Harvesting Information Session
In cooperation with the Blanco County Extension Service, The Natural Resources
Conservation Service and the Nature Conservancy, Preserve Our Water is please to
announce the Spring 2008 Rainwater Harvesting Information Program. The session will
feature Billy Kniffen, Maynard County Extension Agent. Mr. Kniffen is an expert in
rainwater systems, a new program for the Extension Service. We also plan for local
system installers to be available to talk with those interested in installing
systems at their home, business or ranch.
The program will be held on Saturday, March 8th at the PEC Auditorium in Johnson
City. Additional information will be distributed soon, including the starting time
for the session.
Did You Know? - Groundwater Facts
How do aquifers "recharge"?
The simplest answer is, "rain". A more complete answer is more complicated, but
knowing some of the basics of aquifer recharge is critical to understanding how our aquifers work to provide us groundwater.
Those who have followed the "Groundwater Facts' feature of this newsletter may
recall that in the Hill Country, our aquifers only receive about 4% of the rain that
falls. The rest either evaporates, is absorbed by plants, or runs off into surface
water features like stock tanks, creeks or rivers (or storm sewers in town).
Probably the first thing to know about recharge in our aquifers is that the rain
that falls on Blanco County does not end up in the aquifer under us. According to
water aging studies now under way in the Hill Country, what has long been assumed
based on the "lay of the land" and the geology of the area is being supported by the
preliminary results of those studies.
Our aquifer are recharged by rain that falls well to the west of us. The next thing to understand is that rainfall does not directly fill our aquifer from the top, but is more like water entering the bottom of a tank, forcing the water already in the aquifer to rise.
Because average rainfall amounts decrease as one travels west in Texas, we do not
enjoy the benefit of that 33 inch average that Blanco County gets, but rather a
lower average total common to counties further west. So, when we think about how
many acres of recharge surface is required for a single well for a single household,
we need to do our arithmetic using a lower rainfall average, probably more in the
range of 25-28 inches a year.
In a coming edition of Groundwater Facts we will take a closer look at the results
from the water aging studies. It may surprise you to learn that the water pumped
from your well actually fell as rain hundreds, even thousands of years ago!
