Gonzales County faces critical water fight as GBRA seeks record-high groundwater permit

The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) is pushing to amend its groundwater permit, seeking to increase its allocation from 15,000 acre-feet per year to 24,000 acre-feet per year from the Carrizo Aquifer.

Despite significant flaws in the application, the Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation District (GCUWCD) board members have repeatedly failed to deny GBRA's request, keeping it on the monthly agenda for months.

Local landowner Ted Boriack, along with the Water Protection Association (WPA), urges residents to demand the board reject GBRA’s permit amendment to prevent the unsustainable export of Gonzales County groundwater.

The GCUWCD’s inaction follows a troubling pattern. On May 13, 2025, the board voted 4-1 to renew a groundwater export permit for the San Antonio Water System (SAWS), allowing it to pump 11,688 acre-feet per year out of Gonzales County.

This decision ignored SAWS’s habit of wasting massive amounts of groundwater. A 2023 audit submitted to the Texas Water Development Board reported losses of 21.3 billion gallons (65,344 acre-feet per year) due to main breaks, leaks, inaccurate metering, theft, and other causes. The SAWS waste alone amounts to 5.5 times its GCUWCD permit.

The GCUWCD board barely deliberated, failing to review SAWS’s waste or require conservation measures before voting to renew the permit. The district has permitted 92,205 acre-feet per year from the Carrizo Aquifer, with 77% (70,990 acre-feet per year) allocated to exporters like SAWS and GBRA, leaving only 23% for Gonzales County towns, farms, and businesses.

GBRA’s proposed 24,000 acre-feet per year would be by far the GCUWCD's largest permit, accounting for roughly 25% of the total permitted volume and further straining the aquifer.

Motions and filings submitted to both the State Office of Administrative Hearings and the GCUWCD Board of Directors in opposition to the GBRA permit application show how it is significantly flawed. It lacked sworn statements, violating Texas Water Code §36.113(b), and did not have completed and signed application forms until nearly two years after being submitted originally in May 2022.

GBRA has refused to pay $129,023 in costs for transcripts, computer modeling, and legal fees, potentially burdening Gonzales County taxpayers. GBRA's application included no mitigation plan (ignoring GCUWCD Rule 10.E.3) and had no assessment of existing wells that would be impacted by GBRA's intended pumping and requiring mitigation.

Further, the GBRA application fails to address future water needs or potential well mitigation needs for towns like Gonzales, Nixon, Smiley, or the Gonzales County Water Supply Corporation.

GBRA’s pumping threatens family farms and ranches, causing excessive drawdowns without compensation — a potential unconstitutional taking of groundwater rights. GBRA provided no analysis of subsidence risks, and its project, originally a California-based venture (Texas Water Alliance Ltd) sold for a $12.5 million profit in 2017, seeks more water before fully utilizing its initial 15,000 acre-feet per year.

A January 18, 2025, groundwater study by Daniel B. Stephens & Associates shows permitted pumping far exceeds the Modeled Available Groundwater volumes established by the Texas Water Development Board, pushing water levels below Desired Future Conditions level for the Carrizo aquifer at 5 of the 10 monitoring wells by 2030, and at 7 of the 10 monitoring wells by 2040. GBRA’s additional 9,000 acre-feet per year would worsen this, threatening aquifer sustainability.

Yet, the GCUWCD board, advised by attorney Greg Ellis, seems intent on ignoring this recent groundwater modeling despite the "best available science" requirement of the Texas Water Code and continues approving exports despite significant waste by permit holders such as SAWS, conflicting with the district’s mission to “conserve, preserve, protect, and prevent waste of groundwater.” An open records request to GCUWCD revealed that board member Mike St. John of Precinct 2 signed a 140-acre groundwater lease with Schertz-Seguin Local Government Corporation in 2000. Additionally, board member Barry Miller of Precinct 4 stated during the GBRA contested case hearing on March 11, 2025, that he had a conflict of interest originally with the GBRA project and had engaged in ex-parte communications during the protested hearing.

The public is urged to attend the GCUWCD meeting on June 10, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. at the Gonzales County Courthouse, Gonzales, and demand the board vote NO on GBRA’s permit amendment to protect local water resources.

Ted Boriack is a Gonzales County resident and landowner. The WPA has fought since 2006 to protect the rights of Gonzales County citizens and to safeguard groundwater and surface water resources. Donations to WPA are welcome: PO Box 122, Gonzales, TX 78629.