WPA urges better efforts to preserve groundwater

A groundwater rules workshop was held at the Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation District (GCUWCD) office Saturday, Jan. 18. The workshop was attended by GCUWCD board members, landowners, and representatives of the groundwater transporters.  Also in attendance was state Rep. Mr. Alan Schoolcraft, who represents District 44, which includes Gonzales and Guadalupe Counties.

The transporters include various water entities such as San Antonio Water System, Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, Canyon Regional Water Authority, Schertz-Seguin Local Government Corporation and Alliance Regional Water Authority. Landowners of family farms and ranches raised concern about the goundwater district rules and the massive pumping and export of groundwater from Gonzales County to outside cities.

The GCUWCD had a groundwater study prepared by a groundwater consultant (Daniel B. Stephens & Associates) to evaluate the impacts of pumping at the amounts granted by GCUWCD permits. The consultant presented the results of the study at the workshop. The results showed groundwater pumping at the amounts already granted by the GCUWCD permits cause the Carrizo Aquifer to go below the “Desired Future Conditions – DFC.”

The DFC definition is a bit complicated, but in general is used as a limit for allowable reduction of the aquifer, and per Texas Water Code, is supposed to be considered by the groundwater districts for planning and granting of permits. The consultant report states the DFC for the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer is that 75 percent of the saturated thickness of the outcrop at the end of year 2012 remains in year 2080.

The “outcrop” of an aquifer refers to the area where the geological formation that contains the aquifer is exposed at the earth's surface, allowing direct access to the groundwater without drilling, and where the aquifer has direct contact with rainwater for refill (recharge) of the aquifer underground.

The GCUWCD has already permitted 97,716 acre-feet/year from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, according to the consultant’s report. This is a massive amount of water and far in excess of the amount the Texas Water Development Board shows would be necessary to meet the DFC (47,584 acre-feet/year in year 2020; 61,365 acre-feet/year in year 2030) for the Carrizo aquifer.

These amounts are the “Modeled Available Groundwater” (MAG), which is defined by the Texas Water Code as "the amount of water that the executive administrator determines may be produced on an average annual basis to achieve a desired future condition established under Section 36.108."

The vast majority of the groundwater permits approved by the Groundwater District (over 77 percent) are for exporting the ground water out of the Groundwater District, with only a small portion (less than 23 percent) for use by our own towns, agriculture and businesses.

Groundwater districts in Texas are required by law (Texas Water Code Section 36.1131(d)) to “…consider the desired future conditions adopted under Section 36.108 when issuing permits or developing management plans." Groundwater permits are managed by the GCUWCD which includes most of Gonzales County and a southeast portion of Caldwell County where the two counties meet.

Obviously the GCUWCD has permitted far in excess of the MAG values by granting numerous hefty permits to transporters. In addition, another transporter (GBRA) has filed a permit amendment asking for another 9,000 acre-feet/year of Carrizo water in addition to its already permitted 15,000 acre-feet/year.

The GCUWCD is currently revising the groundwater rules that it applies to the permitting of wells and exporting of water.  It’s important that our civic leaders and landholders get involved and submit their concerns to the GCUWCD about excessive pumping and transport of groundwater outside the district.

It’s time the GCUWCD stopped approving permits for transporters and started protecting our aquifers and our local stakeholders and water rights. The GCUWCD has a monthly board meeting every second Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. at the GCUWCD office, the public is encouraged to attend and voice concerns. Let’s not go the way of California by destroying our most precious asset (our water resources), leaving our own towns, farms and ranches in distress.

The Water Protection Association (WPA) was established in 2006 by volunteer officers and members to protect the groundwater and surface water resources and the rights of the people of Gonzales County. WPA donations can be mailed to PO Box 122, Gonzales TX 78629.

Ted Boriack is a Gonzales County resident and member of the WPA.