Water + Fire = Pressure

Water is a really "fiery" issue here in Blanco, Texas

As everyone knows, when you put fire and water together, you get steam.

And Steam means Pressure.

This is a good thing if you're trying to run a steam engine.

It's not so great when neighbors are head to head.

So before you go thinking about enlarging your stock pond for water skiing by pumping from your well, remember all the folks you're sharing the aquifer with.

The growth Blanco is experiencing in the last several years is so much greater than it has been in the past 20 years (heck- even the past 50 years!), we don't quite know how to handle all the details yet.

There's a saying in the Hill Country-

"I'm here now; Let's shut the gates!"

Obviously, we don't really want to do that, but it is IMPORTANT, even CRUCIAL, that we make sure to draft laws and ordinances that will allow Blanco (City and County) to grow in a sustainable way.

I don't know about you, but I'm planning to be here awhile.

And I want to have water to drink and wash with.

[Swimming's nice, too. Check out this video of a Texas Water Park... Hill Country Style]

The Gift of Water from the Skies

The long-term answer is probably rainfall catchment (and I'm saving for a rainfall collection system myself), but as it stands now, those set-ups are way too rare.

The City of Blanco has traditionally taken water from the Blanco River for municipal use and returned the treated effluent back to the river, downstream from town.

[Don't fret if you like to swim in the river. The water quality tests show that the treated water going back INTO the Blanco River is cleaner than it is upstream, where the water treatment plant first takes it out]

And now the City of Blanco has made a deal with the Canyon Lake Water Supply Corporation (pdf will open in a new page).

We've built a huge pipeline from Canyon Lake to Blanco, so that we'll (hopefully) never want for water, in town at least.

But you hear a lot of horror stories about Texas water issues, especially in the rural areas - catfish farms, Ozarka buy-outs, golf courses - these are things we've not had to deal with in Blanco until recently.

Texas has long been a state of independent thinkers.

And we need to think long and hard about what direction we want our city and county to head in the years to come.

Please educate yourself on this situation, decide how you feel, and become part of the project.

Let's build Blanco, Texas in a way that will assure a continued magnificent landscape.

And that's gonna take water.

PreserveOurWater.org
Local non-profit group intent on keeping the integrity of our groundwater intact.

BlancoCountyGroundwater.org
Our local Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District website.

What's Your H2O IQ?
A statewide survey indicates that many people know little about their water before it comes out of the tap.

The Water Cycle
Here's a bit of review on the the way the Water Cycle works on our planet in general (thanks to a little help from the United States Geological Survey) and in the Texas Hill Country in particular.

Drought
Concerns about the effects of droughts are likely to increase as more people move into the Blanco area, requiring more groundwater and surface water resources.

Best Management Practices: A Tool for Protection
Most Best Management Practices (BMPs) are structural measures used to protect a drinking water source.

Saving Begins at Home
If everyone would save water at home, our aquifers would stay in better shape.

Protect Groundwater at Home
One of the ways you can protect groundwater at home is by switching to non-hazardous cleaning products.

Protect Groundwater in Our Community
Our community can protect groundwater by educating the public about the importance of water resources.

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