Texas Water Law - San Antonio Water & Water Rights Attorney Trey Wilson

China's investments in water reach record high

2012-01-02T06:31:00.000-08:00

China invested $52.8 Billion in water conservation in 2011, with $15.9 Billion invested by the central government, alone.

Read the full story from Energy Enviro Finland by following the link below:

China's investments in water reach record high

Groundwater levels dropping around the world

2012-01-02T06:23:00.000-08:00

Groundwater levels have dropped in many places across the globe over the past nine years, a pair of gravity-monitoring satellites finds, writes ScienceNews. The decline is especially pronounced in parts of California, India, the Middle East and China, where expanding agriculture has increased water demand, according to a study carried out by the University of California Center for Hydrologic Modeling in Irvine.

Read the full story in Science News.

BexarMet is Dead! Long Live BexarMet

2011-11-10T04:30:00.000-08:00

Even given their different demographics, six of seven Bexar Metropolitan Water District service areas voted Tuesday to dissolve the utility, most by overwhelming margins.

Read more at MySA.com

Red River Shootout -- North Texas seeks Oklahoma rivers as water source

2011-09-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

From the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

DALLAS — A lot of flat, dusty distance separates the pavement and St. Augustine grass of North Texas from the relative oasis of southeastern Oklahoma.

But the 100-mile stretch isn’t the biggest thing keeping Texas sprawl from tapping Oklahoma rivers as a much-needed water source.

First, there’s that so-far impermeable state line, reinforced by suspicions on both sides. Also, a compact already divides up the water, essentially guaranteeing each state a prescribed share.

And federal courts, one as recent as Sept. 7, have weighed in, stopping North Texas’ attempts to secure a bigger slice.

Further complicating the matter: a lawsuit filed by the region’s longtime inhabitants, the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations. They assert that the water descending toward the Red River doesn’t belong to Oklahoma at all, but to them — thanks to a 181-year-old treaty with the U.S.

Given the obstacles, the prospect that Oklahoma water will flow to the urban expanse of Dallas-Fort Worth anytime soon — that is, anytime in the next decade or so — seems remote.

That doesn’t mean North Texas water planners have given up on Oklahoma, but they’ll need a different approach.

“We had hoped that Oklahoma would (receive) a fairly fast acceptance, but it looks like it’s going to be a lot slower,” said David Marshall, director of engineering services for the Tarrant Regional Water District, which led the unsuccessful court fight for access to Oklahoma water.

Texas’ would-be Oklahoma water venture is part of a long-term strategy to make sure Dallas-Fort Worth has enough water after about 2030 or 2035, when existing supplies might run short.

This summer’s nearly relentless string of 100-degree-plus days and cloudless skies put North Texas on notice: Cut water use drastically, develop new sources, or both — or else face a shaky economic future.

The region’s population growth and high per-capita water use, worsened by periodic droughts such as the current, historic dry spell, have made finding future water supplies a priority.

New reservoirs, bigger pipelines from existing ones, re-use of treated wastewater and conservation are all on the table. The options requiring construction can take years of decades for permitting and building.

The failure so far to get Oklahoma water isn’t the first setback for North Texas planners. Dallas’ bid to build a reservoir on the Neches River in East Texas failed because of prevailing plans for a new national wildlife refuge on the same site.

Some things have gone the regional planners’ way. Perhaps the brightest news is that conservation campaigns during the last couple years seem to have worked.

Opponents of North Texas’ water plans, including some Oklahoma officials and Northeast Texas landowners fighting the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir, have long assailed Dallas-Fort Worth as a water waster. “Watering their sidewalks” is an oft-heard slight.

Marshall said the Tarrant district has seen about a 7.5 percent decrease in water use because of conservation. This summer’s peak demand set a record, but a smaller one than might have been expected during a blazing drought, he said.

Jody Puckett, head of Dallas Water Utilities, said the future outlook is more hopeful now than several years ago, when a crisis seemed to be looming.

Tighter plumbing codes have helped cut indoor water use, but there’s still work to be done on landscaping, Puckett said. Lawns and landscapes account for most of the region’s water use, especially in hot weather.

“It’s a whole business change — native (plants) versus non-native,” Puckett said. “No one gets a primer on how to take care of the landscape when they buy their first house.”

Barring huge cuts in demand, however, North Texas still needs more water. Looking to the state’s northern neighbor for help has been a seemingly attractive option.

Much of Oklahoma earns its reputation as water-challenged, but the state’s southeastern corner is an exception. With plenty of mountain streams, rivers and reservoirs and no urban complex to suck them dry, that area has beckoned for years.

North Texas officials listed obtaining water from southeastern Oklahoma among their “recommended strategies” in 2001, 2005 and 2011 regional plans.

In the 2011 version, five public suppliers serving Dallas-Fort Worth hoped to split about 46 billion gallons a year at some future point. They would also split the capital costs of obtaining and transporting the water, estimated at about $941 million.

Altogether, the Tarrant Regional Water District, heading a North Texas coalition, planned to file applications to get about 150 billion gallons of Oklahoma water a year. In a 2007 federal lawsuit, the district said the vast majority of the Red River watershed’s flow was “wasted” by running downstream toward the gulf.

Oklahoma told the Tarrant district it could have no water. State laws and rules blocked non-residents from obtaining Oklahoma water rights.

The North Texans said the Oklahoma blockade was illegal and unconstitutional.

A U.S. district judge ruled for Oklahoma in 2009, and on Sept. 7, a three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed, rejecting the Texas arguments. On Wednesday, the Tarrant district asked for a rehearing before the full circuit court.

The court rulings state that North Texas planners do not have a right to obtain Oklahoma water simply by filing applications for it. However, they leave open other avenues, such as negotiating a purchase agreement from Oklahoma or some authorized entity within that state.

The Tarrant district is re-examining its list of options and is considering its next move on Oklahoma water, the agency’s Marshall said.

However, the Choctaws’ and Chickasaws’ lawsuit, filed against the state on Aug. 18, puts up another potential roadblock. Their national sovereignty could become the major factor in whether any water in tribal territory leaves Oklahoma.

The tribes say the waters of southeastern Oklahoma belong to them and have since Sept. 27, 1830, when Maj. John H. Eaton, Gen. John Coffee, Musholatubbee, Nittucachee and dozens of other U.S. and tribal representatives signed the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek.Subsequent treaties affirmed those rights, said Michael Burrage, the tribes’ attorney and a former federal judge.

“It’s the position of the Choctaw Nation and the Chickasaw Nation that the state of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board have absolutely no jurisdiction, because of the sovereignty rights granted in the treaty, to control any of the in-territory water,” and clearly have no authority to allow water exports, Burrage said.

Oklahoma has not filed its reply to the suit.

If the tribes prevail, Burrage said, they would become the governing authority over the water. The treaty supersedes state and federal laws and the interstate Red River compact, he said.

Existing users have been assured they wouldn’t lose water, Burrage said, adding that the tribes aren’t asserting their water rights in order to make money. They want to establish their sovereignty and make sure the water is protected and used wisely, based on a tribal study to be completed soon, he said.

Burrage was asked whether a water planner in North Texas, seeking ways to supply water to millions of people, should view the tribes’ lawsuit as good news or bad.

He chuckled.

“I can’t answer that,” he said.

Public Forum on Local Water Issues Scheduled for Sept. 28 in San Antonio

2011-09-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

St. Mary’s University will kick off its new public issues forum series on Sept. 28, bringing together business, public and government leaders for a dialogue on the area’s water issues.

The series, called Community Conversations at St. Mary’s University, will begin with a discussion of water issues in the San Antonio area titled “Is San Antonio Running Dry? Meeting Our Current and Future Water Needs.” The discussion will feature Robert Puente, President and CEO of San Antonio Water System; State Sen. Carlos Uresti; and Sam Dawson, Chairman of the Board for the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. It will be held in a moderated format that will included opening statements from each of the panelists, followed by a question–and–answer session.

The event, which will be in the St. Mary’s University Center’s Conference Room A, begins at 6 p.m. with a reception, followed by the program at 6:30 p.m. The series is free and open to the public.

The Community Conversations series is a part of the newly created Institute for Public Administration, Politics and Public Policy at St. Mary’s University, which is housed within the St. Mary’s Graduate School. One of the primary goals of the Institute is to develop outreach programs that foster dialogue between the University, the public, government agencies and nonprofits to address important public issues.

Austin Water plant finally gets long-overdue go-ahead

2011-09-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

An editorial from the Austin American Statesman

The Austin City Council finally found unanimity on continuing construction on a third water treatment plant an issue that consumed an inordinate amount of time, money and attention.

Although designated Water Treatment Plant 4, the facility under construction at RM 620 and RM 2222 would be Austin's third operational water treatment plant. It is scheduled for completion in 2014, but if plant opponents had their way, that date would have been pushed back. Better yet, in their view, the plant would have been scrapped.

Aggressive water conservation would mitigate the need for a new plant was one argument. Austinites have embraced water conservation — as we will discuss Monday — but won't obviate the need for more treatment capacity. As we have noted on previous occasions, the numbers that plant opponents blithely ignored were 1954 and 1969 — the years that the city's two operational water treatment plants went online. The life span of such infrastructure is 50 years, or so say water professionals.

But as the American-Statesman's Marty Toohey reported Thursday, the seven-member council is now in full agreement that shutting down or delaying plant construction would cost too much. The city already has more than $300 million tied up in the plant. Delaying construction or stopping it altogether would easily cost the city more than $100 million.

It took a study and review by the city auditor to explain that obvious fact of life to council members who were obviously looking for a different answer. Council Member Bill Spelman, for instance, said when the council voted on the resolution to study the costs associated with postponing further construction that they could be contained to say, $5 million to $10 million, and the amount would be an acceptable trade-off. Eating $5 million to $10 million is considered a modest snack at City Hall, apparently.

No one with even passing knowledge of construction and contract law expected the number to be that low, but city staffers went through the exercise and returned to the council with an estimate north of $100 million — an amount that even the most ardent of plant opponents couldn't ignore or explain away.

The number should finally put an end to the argument over the need for another treatment plant. Long before the advent of the 24-hour news cycle, though, Austin's players in municipal politics had developed, nurtured and sustained the 25-year civic debate. It has been at least 25 years since the proposal to build Water Treatment Plant 4 was first aired. Two years ago, the council finally took a vote, and the plant was narrowly approved, 4-3.

The defeat of Randi Shade in the spring council elections revived opponents' hopes of killing the plant.

Spelman offered a resolution that moved in that direction, but Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole engineered a compromise that included the study of the costs of delaying the plant that produced a convincing fiscal argument to move ahead. Given the circumstances, it was an adroit move, but one that would have been unnecessary but for City Hall's appetite for never-ending debate, discussion and delay.

The unanimous support for the plant is long overdue, but nonetheless welcome.

"I still don't believe we should have started" construction, Spelman told Toohey. "But here we are halfway through building it, and I think we should finish."

Indeed, it's way past time to close the debate and move toward opening the plant.

Texas slow to prepare for future water needs

2011-09-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

SANFORD, Texas (AP) — On paper, at least, Texas is well-prepared to meet the water needs of its rapidly expanding population — even when Mother Nature lays down a harsh and lengthy drought.

The price tag on the plan: $53 billion. State money allocated: $1.4 billion.

If there were funds, Texas would be able to build the dams, reservoirs, pipelines, wells and other infrastructure that would ideally avoid tight water-use restrictions imposed on residents, farmers and ranchers during times of drought while also guaranteeing there would be enough water for the state's rapidly growing population — even in 2060.
Instead, now, more than four years after the latest blueprint was published, deadlines have passed with some work barely begun, and many projects never started. Meanwhile, lakes are shrinking, rivers are drying up and temperatures are rising.

Read more here

Texas State senators hold hearing on water and sewer rates in rural and semi-rural areas

2011-07-28T04:10:00.000-07:00

A panel of state senators will hold a public hearing today on soaring water and sewage rates in small communities around the state, including in Central Texas, as part of a probe into investor-owned utilities.

In eastern Travis County, residents have raised concerns for months about high water rates and plans for further water rate hikes. About 2,000 Texans have submitted protests against SouthWest Water Co. -owned Monarch Utilities I, L.P. 's proposed rate increase that goes into effect Monday in rural and semi-rural communities in at least 31 Texas counties, including Travis, Williamson and Hays.

The new base water rate for communities served by Monarch will be about eight times larger than the rate in Austin. The base wastewater rate will be more than five times the Austin rate.

The inquiry will explore investor-owned utilities, such as Monarch, as well as how rate increases are regulated by the state. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality typically approves or disapproves rate changes long after they have gone into effect. There is currently no statutory cap or limitation on the amount a utility can request in its application for a proposed increase in its water or sewer rates.

The hearing of a joint subcommittee of members of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee and Natural Resources Committee will include testimony by officials from the environmental commission, State Office of Administrative Hearings , SouthWest and representatives of communities that would be affected by the rate increase.

"We need to be at the forefront to make sure there's not lax oversight," said state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, co-chair of the effort , adding that he is not criticizing regulatory agencies. "I see this as getting to the bottom of a very important issue. It's time for us to look at it."

"The law needs to be changed. We need to build protections into the Water Code for Texans. We can't allow this to continue," said Thomas Fritzinger , president of Austin's Colony Homeowners Association, Inc. The eastern Travis County subdivision is served by Monarch.

"We look forward to participating in what we believe will be a positive and constructive exchange of dialogue between the governing agency, the ratepayers and the industry," SouthWest spokeswoman Janice Hayes said.

California-based SouthWest is primarily owned by institutional investors, 90 percent of which are advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management and 10 percent by Water Asset Management LLC.

Area subdivisions affected

Dozens of Central Texas subdivisions are affected by the proposed Monarch rate increases, including Forest Bluff and Hornsby Bend subdivisions in Travis County; Dove Hill Estates and River Oaks Ranch in Hays County; and Windermere and Forest Creek in Williamson County . Monarch customers affected by the rate increases live outside city limits.

For water service alone, customers of Hornsby Bend Utility Co. , a SouthWest-owned utility that will be consolidated into Monarch, now pay $36 a month.

Under the rate increase that goes into effect Monday , those customers will pay a minimum of $53.47 a month. Starting July 1, 2012, they will pay a minimum of $59.82 a month.

Wastewater rates would jump from $35 minimum a month to $46.59 on Aug. 1.

By contrast, Austin Water Utility charges as little as $7.10 a month as a water service tap fee and $8.95 a month for wastewater service.

Watson said he asked the state environmental commission to consider interim rates for customers who would be affected by the rate increases.

'Who can afford that?'

A June meeting held outside of the Austin's Colony Community Center drew a couple hundred concerned residents from the area. People complained about steep bills and poor water quality — cloudy and undrinkable, they said.

Some residents have moved out of their homes and communities because of the high bills. "And when they can't sell their homes, they rent and they leave," Fritzinger said.

Community leaders also have been looking into the possibility of forming their own incorporated city in part to provide additional safeguards against rate increases.

"There are some of us who can afford it for a while," Fritzinger said of the high bills, "but when your water bill is a quarter to a third of your mortgage payments, who can afford that?"

Rate increases have history

Residents' gripes are familiar. The American-Statesman first reported on unexplained water rate increases in Kennedy Ridge Estates , a low-income community in eastern Travis County that was rocked by soaring water bills a year ago. Kennedy Ridge is among the communities protesting Monarch's proposed increase, which would affect the Kennedy Ridge Water Supply Corp. on a different timetable .

The state recently reached agreements with the Kennedy Ridge Water Supply Corp. and its wholesale water and wastewater provider, SWWC Utilities Inc. , a subsidiary of SouthWest. Under its agreement with the state, SWWC agreed to credit Kennedy Ridge nearly $77,000 in restitution and to follow certain rules on increasing rates.

The agreements follow an investigation by the Texas attorney general, prompted by the American-Statesman report last year.

Bills that were once as high as $325 are now less than half that, a Kennedy Ridge leader said, but some residents this month saw bills that were more than $200.

In a lawsuit filed by the state on May 27, the attorney general alleged that SWWC, doing business as Hornsby Bend Utility, violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Consumer Protection Act . It increased the rates to the Kennedy Ridge corporation, even though SWWC indicated in a news release and other "carefully crafted" communications that the increase would not affect the Kennedy Ridge community, the lawsuit states. Moreover, the lawsuit says, SWWC applied the increased rates retroactively for 12 months, leaving Kennedy Ridge owing more than $64,000 in back bills.

In addition to the $77,000 credited to Kennedy Ridge, the wholesaler paid $50,000 in attorney fees to the state as ordered, an attorney general spokesman said.

The agreement between the state and SWWC resolved the allegations made in the lawsuit. Hornsby Bend denies violating the law, a statement posted on SouthWest's website said.

By Suzannah Gonzales
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Trey Wilson elected Secretary of Cadillac Water Corporation

2011-07-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

On July 19, 2011, I was elected to a third consecutive term as a Director of the Cadillac Water Corporation. I also was honored by being elected Secretary of the Corporation. We are proud of our small water system located in the Shearer Oaks subdivision of San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, and I look forward to serving the best interests of all members of the Corporation.

Wells Fargo terminates BexarMet's line of credit

2011-07-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Water utility blames financial bind on new law that puts board's fate in the hands of voters.

The Bexar Metropolitan Water District is blaming a new state law for the loss of its $50 million line of bank credit, forcing it into a financial crisis that will cause the layoffs of some of its 311 employees as soon as next week and bring capital improvements to a halt.

The bank, Wells Fargo, also asked BexarMet to repay by December $10 million that it has borrowed so far, according to the utility, which said it has $13 million in cash reserves.

With short-term borrowing power cut off, BexarMet will point to its predicament to bolster its lawsuit against the legislation, which allows ratepayers to vote on whether to dissolve the utility's board.

If it can convince the courts that the law is doing real harm even before a dissolution vote, BexarMet could win at least a delay of the November election, if not a cancellation.

“This credit freeze effectively locks us out of the credit and bond markets nearly every utility uses to manage its capital project funding and creates an artificial crisis,” BexarMet interim General Manager Tom Gallier said Tuesday. “This is entirely the result of uncertainty over the district's future given the dissolution election mandated in (Senate Bill) 341.”

Read more in the SA Express news.

World Water Week | 20 - 27 August

2011-07-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

From 20 to 27 of August, 2011, the World Water Week will take place in Stockholm, Sweden under the overarching theme "Water in an Urbanising World". The World Water Week in Stockholm, organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute, is the leading annual global meeting place for capacity-building, partnership-building and follow-up on the implementation of international processes and programmes in water and development.

UNWater and numerous other convenors will present various seminars consistent with the "Thematic Scope" of the Seminar. The following Introduction (and a break from the Texas drought and heat) make this event seem very worthwhile and one I wish I cold attend:

A continuous and rapid urbanisation is a significant driver of change for individuals, for social relations and for our life support systems on local, national, regional as well as on a global scale. By 2050 the urban population is estimated to be of the same size as the total global population today. Around 95 per cent of the global population increase will be in urban areas. Most of the growth is expected in secondary towns. Huge urban conglomerates will also expand. The previous urban minority is turning into a majority. More profoundly, the urbanising world is characterised by rapid economic growth, social mobility but also by modified consumption patterns and glaring socioeconomic differences. As a whole, these changes are associated with growing urban footprints, physically, economically and politically far beyond the city borders. Change is multidimensional with various facets interwoven in a complex web. Differences and inequalities between and within cities are likely to become more pronounced.

To create liveable cities for a turbulent future, considerable investments are required in infrastructure and in institutional and governance arrangements. These must be combined with social programmes that rectify gender, age and habitat injustices.

TEXAS DROUGHT WORSENS

2011-07-01T05:53:00.000-07:00

Graphic from the San Antonio Express News

Water Policy in Legislature Rode on One Word

2011-06-29T21:56:00.000-07:00

By Joe Nick Patoski - from New York Times Texas Tribune

With the Big Dry upon us, the longstanding fight over the water percolating under the surface in Texas’ 9 major and 20 minor aquifers was bound to get contentious before the end of the 82nd legislative session. And it did, at least for a while, because of a single word.

The Republican majority’s agenda for the session included numerous expressions of fealty to property rights. Among them was Senate Bill 332, which affirms groundwater as property right courtesy of the “rule of capture,” a quirky Texas law that gives landowners ownership of the water below the surface of their property. When he introduced the bill, Senator Troy Fraser, Republican of Horseshoe Bay and chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, described groundwater as a “vested” property right.

That modifier threatened to upend a delicate balance between landowners and the 97 local groundwater conservation districts charged with regulating the below-the-surface reservoirs of water that supply more than 60 percent of what the state needs. As written, groundwater as a “vested” property right would have trumped the ability of groundwater districts to protect a shared resource.

Texas is the only Western state that regulates its groundwater through the rule of capture, which was adopted from English common law when Texas became an independent republic in 1836. The rule (also called the Rule of the Biggest Pump) was first upheld by the Texas Supreme Court in the landmark Houston & Texas Central Railroad Co. v. East decision in 1904 and was most recently reasserted in 1999, after property owners in Henderson County unsuccessfully sued the neighboring Ozarka Water Company for pumping 90,000 gallons of groundwater a day, severely affecting the water table.

Mindful that an individual could create quite a mess by invoking the rule of capture but not inclined to do away with a historic property right, the Texas Legislature tweaked the rule in 1949 with Chapter 36 of the Texas Water Code, which allowed for the creation of groundwater districts, the preferred method to regulate groundwater use in a specific area.

To many property owners, though, such districts have not provided enough protection.

“Water planning needs to start where the first drop of rain falls on the ground,” said David K. Langford, a former vice president of the Texas Wildlife Association and the owner of a 13,000-acre Hill Country ranch that has been in his family for seven generations.

Mr. Langford supported S.B. 332 because, he said, it would allow him to conserve the groundwater on the ranch. “Conservation needs to have the same weight as users do,” he said. “We asked to re-establish the property right so conservation would have as much standing as a developer who buys a ranch next door to build a golf-course community.”

As the session wore on, Mr. Fraser’s House colleagues stripped the word “vested” from the bill, disappointing advocates of property rights but melting away opposition from groundwater districts.

“ ‘Vested’ would have created a constitutionally protected property right, making a statute of common law,” said Gregory M. Ellis, the former head of the Edwards Aquifer Authority and now a lawyer who represents several groundwater districts. “The threat would not have been to groundwater districts but to the water supply itself. Every landowner would be entitled to as many wells as they wanted, and they could pump as much as they wanted.”

Once the new law takes effect, Mr. Ellis said, “the districts can manage with more flexibility around the demand and have the tools they need to get the job done.”

Except for S.B. 332, the 82nd session was remarkable for being unremarkable when it came to water, one of the most crucial issues that the state will have to grapple with over the next century. In particular, Mr. Ellis admitted disappointment that the Legislature did not take on the bigger challenge inevitably facing Texas groundwater conservation districts and all of Texas: rising demand and declining supply.

“Eventually, a district will either have to stop issuing permits or reduce pumping to accommodate new permits,” he said.

Unfortunately, Mr. Ellis added, legislation “doesn’t create more groundwater.”

Only rain can do that. Until that happens, all that water users, sellers, property owners, state legislators and the 97 groundwater conservation districts across Texas can do is conserve, hope, pray and watch the skies overhead.

Groundwater Ownership Bill a Win for Landowners -- Editorial By Dan Gattis

2011-06-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

FORT WORTH (TSCRA) – We have all read the various news accounts during the past several years of government trying to take away our property rights; if not the property itself. It is refreshing, for a change, to finally have government leaders, in the form of the Texas Legislature, affirming and reinforcing the rights we have in our property. This is exactly what CSSB 332, the Groundwater Property Rights Bill, does. No more, no less.

The Texas Supreme Court in 1904 recognized Groundwater, unlike surface water in lakes or streams, as privately owned and subject to the "rule of capture" and has clearly stated in its various opinions that groundwater is part of the owner's land, and therefore has recognized it as a part of the real property bundle of rights.

The necessity of this bill comes because some groundwater conservation districts (GCDs), the very entities that the Texas Legislature entrusted to protect our water, are challenging who owns the groundwater. CSSB 332 doesn't change or cripple, in spite of what some have suggested, the current groundwater management system we have in Texas, as GCDs will still maintain their current authority to issue permits to drill wells, enforce the spacing of wells, and limit the amount of groundwater that can be produced from each well. However, GCDs won't be able to deny landowners the rights they have in their groundwater for no reason.

CSSB 332 amends the Texas Water Code by stating that the Texas Legislature recognizes that a landowner owns the groundwater below the surface of the landowner's land as real property. If that sounds eerily like what the Texas Supreme Court has already stated and what most everyone believes is actually the law, that's because it is. However, that doesn't stop some people from trying to convince you that if this bill passes and becomes law the sky will fall.

The same individuals who are trying to convince you of the dire consequences of this bill most often have an incentive for the law to remain unclear, from the Texas Water Code's perspective. Or, they have a significant difference of opinion from what most Texans believe in when we talk about property rights. Some have even suggested, ironically, that CSSB 332 would allow water marketers or billionaires to mine the aquifers until the water is gone. Well, let me ask the real question. How can I protect the water under my property from just that if the law doesn't, with clarity and certainty, recognize the water under my property as mine? Just trust the government to protect my rights for me? Let me know how that works out for you.

Dan Gattis is a rancher, attorney and former member of the Texas House of Representatives from Georgetown.

This editorial appeared on the website of Horseback Magazine on May 28, 2011.

Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District Grants Permits for New Wells to Operator of Tapatio Springs Golf Resort

2011-06-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

On June 28, 2011, the Board of Directors of the CCGCD entered a written order granting the applications of SPE GO HOLDINGS, Inc. to amend the operating permit for existing wells, and to drill 4 new wells on Tapatio Springs Golf Resort property. The Order follows the Board's verbal approval of the permit applications at its Meeting of June 13, 2011. The Resort's owners filed the permit application seeking additional water for the purposes of irrigating the golf course.

Kendall County Utility Company, Inc. filed a protest to the applications based upon concerns that production from new wells would further de-water the already precariously-low middle Trinity Aquifer in Kendall County. Representatives of the KCUC spoke out against the permit applications, and presented evidence that further depletion of the aquifer in the area of KCUC's existing wells could seriously compromise the utility's ability to provide potable water service to its residential customers.

During the same meeting that the CCGCD Board approved the drilling of 4 new wells on Resort property, the Directors also declared the District to be in "Stage 5" drought restrictions. According to the CCGCD website, Stage 5 drought is considered "EXTREME," and mandates a 40% reduction in groundwater use, and prohibits use of sprinklers at any time.

KCUC -- acting through its attorney, Trey Wilson -- has filed a request for contested case hearing, seeking formal review of the CCGCD's action in granting SPE GO HOLDINGS, Inc.'s application to drill new water wells within KCUC's CCN area.

The Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District was ratified in 2002, with the stated purpose of "conserving, preserving, recharging, protecting and preventing waste of groundwater from the aquifers within Kendall County."

Uvalde pipeline would reduce water woes -- Editorial from Rep. Gutierrez, D-San Antonio

2011-06-29T06:17:00.000-07:00

In familiar practice in Texas, the city of San Antonio is under Stage 2 water restrictions and Stage 3 is a possibility to conserve the important water resources of our quickly growing community. These restrictions are yet another painful and costly reminder that the San Antonio area must increase efficiency of our water usage and diversify our water resources to provide water for our future generations.

New U.S. census numbers show an increase of 400,000 residents in Bexar County and, absent reform, San Antonio residents will most certainly be paying more for water and getting less of it. Ignoring our water restrictions is not an option, and I am committed to supporting efficiency reforms as well as giving local water leaders the sound tools that will allow them options to increase water resources to address this critical problem.

Whenever water restrictions are implemented, San Antonio Water System ratepayers are penalized twice. First, due to an antiquated state law that prohibits transporting Edwards water out of Uvalde or Medina counties, we must pay farmers in Uvalde County simply for the right to pump more water there.

Read the whole story in the San Antonio Express News

Water Cops in San Antonio...What Gives?

2011-06-16T14:12:00.000-07:00

As the current drought becomes more and more severe, residents of the greater San Antonio, Texas area are increasingly receiving citations for violating the City's water conservation ordinance. As a lawyer with an active water law practice, I'm frequently questioned about the legitimacy of these citations issued by "water cops," and whether "City Hall" has the right to make it criminal for citizens to water their lawns whenever they darn-well please.

Short answer is: "Yes, They CAN do that." And because they can, you'd better not shove that citation/summons in a drawer somewhere and forget about it.

The authority for "water cops" -- who are generally trained SAWS/BexarMet employees or off-duty police officers -- is found in Chapter 34, Article VI, of the San Antonio City Code. This is the Code containing all City ordinances, including what has become known as the "Conservation Ordinance" adopted in 1995. The entire ordinance contains several sections, but the real "meat" related to restrictions and enforcement appears in Section 34-288:

Sec. 34-288. Violations.
It shall be a violation punishable by city municipal fine for any San Antonio Water System water and/or waste water service customer residing or doing business within the corporate limits of the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction, to intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or criminally negligently to allow or cause water waste, to allow or cause landscape watering outside the prescribed hours for landscape watering, or to allow or cause any violation of any provision of this division or of the Aquifer Management Plan, Article IV, Division 4.

Section 34-290 of the Code authorizes the President/CEO of the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) to enforce watering restrictions "in the manner and to the extent allowed by law, including, but not limited to, filing complaints with the city municipal prosecutor's office for such violations, serving notices of violations and filing civil enforcement actions."

Because of this clear grant of authority by the City Council, citations issued by water cops are legitimate, and must not be ignored. Sometimes they are accompanied by a Summons, commanding alleged offenders to appear in Municipal Court to answer to a Judge.

That's right. Citations for violating mandatory water restrictions are criminal in nature, and are treated by the City just like other Municipal Court cases, such as traffic tickets. If found guilty of violating the ordinance, you may be ordered by the Judge to pay a fine, be placed on probation and/or pay court costs. Further, failure to appear in Environmental Court to answer to allegations of illegal watering could result in a warrant being issued for your arrest!

In extreme cases involving "locations of repeated or continued violations," the President/CEO of the San Antonio water system "shall have the authority to discontinue the supply of potable water to the registered meter holder." See Sec. 34-289. I take that to mean that folks who'd rather pay a fine than let their landscaping suffer better not tempt fate (or the water barons)!

God has seen it fit to park a high pressure system over South Texas that prevents rain from settling in above us. Our City Fathers have seen it fit to enact conservation measures whenever God gets that inclination. The rest of us need to endure, lest we be hauled into Court to do some explaining.

And No; I DO NOT "HANDLE" CITATIONS ISSUED BY WATER COPS, AND CAN'T "MAKE A CALL" TO MAKE YOUR SUMMONS GO AWAY.

Let's all just follow the law, and pray for rain!

EAA Says Stage III Imminent -- Press release

2011-06-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

Tue Jun 14 2011 05:33 PM

EDWARDS AQUIFER AUTHORITY REPORTS STAGE III RESTRICTIONS IMMINENT ACROSS REGION

SAN ANTONIO (June 14, 2011) – With little prospect for rain in the foreseeable future, additional reductions in pumping from the Edwards Aquifer appear to be imminent, according to information presented Tuesday to the Edwards Aquifer Authority Board of Directors during its monthly meeting. In a report to the board, Authority staff indicated that soaring temperatures and the continued lack of rain are likely to result in further drought-induced pumping restrictions for Edwards Aquifer users across the region.

A continuing trend of declining aquifer levels is expected to result in the Authority declaring Stage III of the region’s critical period management plan for the San Antonio Pool – including all of Medina and Bexar counties, and parts of Atascosa, Comal, Guadalupe, Hays, and Caldwell counties – as early as June 20. Over the first 159 days of 2011, water level at the J-17 Index Well in Bexar County has dropped 28 feet. Additionally, for the first time in its history, the Authority could have to impose Stage II restrictions for the Uvalde Pool, which consists of Uvalde County. The Uvalde restrictions would be prompted when the 10-day average for groundwater levels in the J-27 Index Well in Uvalde drops below 850 feet above mean seal level, and could come as early as June 24, according to Authority staff projections.

Stage III for the San Antonio Pool would mean Edwards permit holders would have to reduce their pumping by 35 percent of their authorized annual amounts. Stage II for the Uvalde Pool would mean a five percent reduction for Edwards permit holders in Uvalde County. The intent behind the mandatory pumping reductions is to help stabilize aquifer and spring discharge levels until rain returns to the area and replenishes the aquifer. Through May, the Authority’s rain gauge network showed near-record-low rainfall amounts across the region, ranging from seven to 10 inches below the historical average for the first five months of the year.

In other action, the board approved a guaranteed maximum price of $7,166,712 for a construction and renovation project that would consolidate the Authority’s operations into one facility. The project, intended to improve the agency’s organizational efficiency, will be carried out by the design-build team of Bartlett Cocke L.P./Kell Muñoz Architects.

The Edwards Aquifer Authority manages, enhances, and protects the Edwards Aquifer, one of the major groundwater systems in Texas serving approximately 1.7 million people. More information on the Edwards Aquifer Authority is available at www.edwardsaquifer.org by calling 210-222-2204 or 1-800-292-1047.

###

Designated Watering Times Under Edwards Aquifer Authority Stage 2 Restrictions

2011-06-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

Landscape Watering Under EAA Stage 2 Restrictions

Watering with an irrigation system or sprinkler is allowed only once a week before 10 a.m. or after 8 p.m. on your designated watering day as determined by your address:

Last Digit
of Street
Address Watering Day

0 or 1 Monday
2 or 3 Tuesday
4 or 5 Wednesday
6 or 7 Thursday
8 or 9 Friday

No watering on weekends

Areas without a street address, such as medians and neighborhood entryways, water on Wednesday.

Edwards Aquifer STAGE 2 Restrictions Start Today

2011-06-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

Stage Two Alert begins when the Aquifer level reaches 650 feet mean sea level at the monitored well.

All restrictions from Stage One remain in effect, unless added to or replaced by Stage Two rules.

Landscape watering with an irrigation system, sprinkler or soaker hose is allowed only once a week from 3-8 a.m. and 8-10 p.m. on your designated watering day, as determined by your address.

Watering with drip irrigation or 5-gallon bucket is permitted any day, but only between 3-8 a.m. and 8-10 p.m.

Watering with a hand-held hose is allowed any time on any day.

Use of fountains, waterfalls, or other aesthetic water features — outdoors or indoors — is prohibited, unless a variance has been granted for 100 percent non-potable water use.

All non-public swimming pools must have a minimum of 25 percent of the surface area covered with evaporation screens when not in use. Inflatable pool toys or floating decorations may be used for this purpose.

Washing impervious cover such as parking lots, driveways, streets or sidewalks is prohibited. Health and safety exceptions to this rule may be requested from SAWS in writing.

Residential washing of vehicles or other equipment is allowed only on assigned watering days and times. A hose with an automatic shut-off nozzle or bucket of five gallons or less may be used. Water should not be allowed to run into the street.

The use of commercial car wash facilities is allowed any day.

Operators of golf courses, athletic fields and parks must submit a conservation plan to SAWS. For requirements, contact SAWS at 704-SAVE. Golf courses, athletic fields and parks may not irrigate between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Hotels, motels and other lodging must offer and clearly notify guests of a "linen/towel change on request only" program.
And don't forget to follow these year-round rules:

Water waste is prohibited at all times. This includes lawn watering overspray and runoff.

Restaurants may serve water only on request (to reduce dishwashing).

Charity car washes allowed only at commercial car wash facilities.

Bacteria shows up in BexarMet well

2010-10-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, 26,000 Bexar Metropolitan Water District customers will receive notices that one of the wells that provide their drinking water tested positive for E. coli on Oct. 5.

Because subsequent tests have shown no E. coli, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has determined there is no public health risk.

The samples were taken on Oct. 4. When tests returned positive the next day, more samples were immediately taken, and they all proved to be negative, said Rogelio Placencia, BexarMet's director of operations.

The wells are near the intersection of U.S. 281 and Loop 1604 on the North Side, and U.S. 90 and Loop 1604 on the South Side.

BexarMet is investigating how the samples became contaminated. The possibilities range from a leaky septic system to a mistake at the lab. It has added additional chlorine to the system as a precaution.

Normally utilities have 24 hours to notify customers of E. coli contamination, but BexarMet was granted an extension by the TCEQ.

Water Wars Date to Biblical Times -- Isaac's Servants and local herdsmen quarreled over Groundwater

2010-10-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

I was reading the book of Genesis a few evenings ago when I came across a pretty astounding group of passages in Chapter 26. That Chapter discusses the life of Isaac -- son of Abraham and one of the three patriarchs of the Jewish people -- and his struggles with the Philistines.

Verses 12-14 tell us of Isaac's increasing wealth, and how it caused the Philistines to envy him. Verse 25 provides that "all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth." This struck me as an odd way to express envy, but then again, the Philistines were never known as gentlemen.

Eventually, Isaac is forced to move away from the Philistines, so he settled in the Valley of Gerar. Verse 18 tells us that "Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them."

Then the fighting started: Genesis 26:19 --

Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, [b] because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. [c] 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, [d] saying, "Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land."

This got me thinking...According to most Bible timelines, Isaac was born approximately 1850 years B.C. He was probably in his 40's or 50's when he was required to leave the Philistines on account of his great wealth and power. This means that the groundwater dispute between the local herdsmen and Isaac's servants occurred approximately 4000 years ago! That's a realluy, really long time ago, yet the water wars continue today.

In modern-day Texas, the water wars often pit local landowners against those who travel a great distance to secure a water supply. The quarrels that accompany today's groundwater disputes probably rival those that occurred in the Valley of Gerar.

Let's just hope that today's Texans eventually recognize the wisdom of Genesis 26:22 "the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land."

Lawsuit filed over BexarMet water tank

2010-10-10T21:02:00.000-07:00

Lawsuit filed over BexarMet water tank

Massive deal proposed to move water from counties east of Austin to San Antonio

2010-09-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

Massive deal proposed to move water from counties east of Austin to San Antonio

Securing a balance for region's future water

2010-09-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

Securing a balance for region's future water

EPA targets contamined water

2010-08-11T05:20:00.000-07:00

EPA targets contamined water

Viewpoint: Comal County needs groundwater conservation district

2010-08-11T05:18:00.000-07:00

Viewpoint: Comal County needs groundwater conservation district

Gonzales County Groundwater District Grants SAWS Permit Requetsts

2010-07-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

GONZALES — The San Antonio Water System can pump more than 11,000 acre-feet of water from the Carrizo Aquifer in Gonzales County after being granted a permit by the underground water conservation water district Tuesday night.
The 3-2 vote was an important victory for SAWS in its quest to get more water and diversify from the Edwards Aquifer, which is the source of more than 56 percent of SAWS' total supply.

Unless the permit is challenged, SAWS expects water from the Carrizo will be available in 2013. The water will be transported via an existing pipeline now used by Sequin and Schertz. SAWS would add pipeline in Bexar County and a booster station.

SAWS said it hopes to secure the rights for an additional 5,550 acre-feet of water from the Carrizo. If so, the total of 17,200 acre-feet would make up about 10 percent of San Antonio's annual potable demand.

The total cost of the water and infrastructure is estimated at $131 million.

Water Rate Increase Application and Related Protests Settled at SOAH

2010-07-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Today in Austin we successfully resolved the application for water rate increase filed by our client, Southern Horizons Development -- a developer who owns water systems in Liberty and Montgomery Counties.

The request to increase water rates for two systems were filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality early this year. 82 of the utility's customers filed written protests to the proposed increase. As a result, the TCEQ referred the application to the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) for a contested case hearing. Based upon that referral, the utility hired Trey Wilson to represent its interests.

After initial consideration of the application by an Administrative Law Judge, the water utility was able to reach an agreement and settlement with its protesting customers. Under the terms of its settlement agreement, the water utility will modestly increase the base, or monthly water rate charged to its customers. In addition, the rate for water over the monthly minimum of 2,000 gallons will be increased. These increases, and the water rate application, were necessitated by increased costs of operating and maintaining the systems and their aging water production and delivery infrastructure.

The TCEQ's Executive Director and Public Interest Counsel were also parties to the contested case.

Based upon the agreement, the application will be referred back to the tCEQ for final approval.

Water suppliers may need to consider the health of mussels

2010-05-23T05:34:00.000-07:00

Federal agency considers listing 11 species found in Texas waterways as endangered.

A federal ruling on the well-being of freshwater mussels might set off statewide legal battles and change how water all across Texas is allocated.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may decide by the end of the year whether 11 species of mussels are endangered. If the answer is yes, the state's river authorities might have to recalculate how much water they can distribute to industry, farmers and growing cities and still leave enough in Texas' already stressed rivers to keep mussels healthy.

Water suppliers may need to consider the health of mussels

SAWS and SARA Boards vote to intervene in suit over state control of Rivers

2010-05-23T05:31:00.000-07:00

The boards of the San Antonio Water System and San Antonio River Authority have voted to petition as interveners in the federal lawsuit filed by the Aransas Project.

This winter, the nonprofit sued the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for its management of the San Antonio and Guadalupe rivers. The group argues over-allocation of water from the rivers resulted in the deaths of endangered whooping cranes in 2008.

Boards oppose suit on managing rivers

Reward offered in Austin sewer line vandalism

2010-05-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

City of Austin officials announced Friday that they would pay $7,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals involved in the vandalism of a wastewater line earlier this month that resulted in a significant sewage spill in Southwest Austin, prompting the closure of Barton Springs Pool.

Read the story here.

SAWS wants say in rivers lawsuit

2010-05-22T05:13:00.000-07:00

The San Antonio Water System board has voted to petition as an intervener against The Aransas Project in the nonprofit group's federal lawsuit over river management. Read the Express News story on this water lawsuit SAWS wants say in rivers lawsuit.

Comal County water-system assets sold for $650,000 - San Antonio Business Journal:

2010-05-09T06:40:00.000-07:00

Comal County water-system assets sold for $650,000 - San Antonio Business Journal:

San Antonio invests in water conservation for HemisFair Park fountains

2010-04-17T05:27:00.000-07:00

The historic HemisFair Park fountains surrounding the iconic Tower of the Americas were retrofitted to run on reclaimed water earlier this Spring.

The City of San Antonio and the San Antonio Water System turned on the fountains in March 2010. The two entities worked together on a plan to utilize water that’s normally discharged into storm drains and redirect it for use in the fountains.

Alluvial water is normally pumped from beneath the foundations of nearby downtown buildings and discharged into the drainage system. By treating and using this water in the HemisFair Park foundations, the city will be able to reduce or even possibly eliminate, the use of potable (drinking) water in the fountains.

The HemisFair Park fountains use millions of gallons of potable water a year. SAWS provided the city a $181,000 rebate to assist with the cost of revamping the fountains. It is estimated that the newly redesigned HemisFair fountains will conserve almost 37 million gallons of potable water each year. This is the equivalent of SAWS purchasing $625,000 worth of water rights from the Edwards Aquifer.

“San Antonio is a model city for water conservation,” says Mayor Julian Castro. “This conservation effort will enhance the experience at HemisFair Park all year long, without affecting our drinking water resources.”

SAWS President and CEO Robert Puente agrees.

“Another benefit is that the fountains will be able to run when the city is in drought restrictions — a real plus for tourism,” Puente says.

The HemisFair Park fountains were built as part of the 1968 World’s Fair.

San Antonio Business Journal

Thailand Celebrates Annual Songkran Water Festival

2010-04-17T04:30:00.000-07:00

April 13-15, 2010 marked the Thai traditional New Year and Songkran water festival --a cultural and religious celebration of water. Songkran is a Thai word which means "move" or "change place" as it is the day when the sun changes its position in the zodiac. However, Songkran is also known as the "Water Festival" as people believe that water will wash away bad luck.

The throwing of water is an essential aspect of Songkran. The water is meant as a symbol of washing all of the bad away and is sometimes filled with fragrant herbs when celebrated in the traditional manner. The traditional Songkran ritual serves as a way for Thai families express their respect for elders by pouring scented water onto the hands of their parents and grandparents and presenting them gifts and ancestoral dedications. The elders in return wish the youngsters good luck and prosperity.

In modern times, the emphasis is on fun and water-throwing rather than on the festival's spiritual and religious aspects. More raucous Thai revelers roam the streets with containers of water or water guns (sometimes mixed with mentholated talc), or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. In recent years there have been calls to moderate the festival to lessen the many alcohol-related road accidents as well as injuries attributed to extreme behavior such as water being thrown in the faces of traveling motorcyclists.

Besides the throwing of water, people celebrating Songkran may also go to a Buddhist monastery to pray and give food to monks. They may also cleanse Buddha images from household shrines as well as Buddha images at monasteries by gently pouring water over them. It is believed that doing this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year. In many cities, such as Chiang Mai, the Buddha images from all of the city's important monasteries are paraded through the streets so that people can toss water at them, ritually 'bathing' the images, as they pass by on ornately decorated floats.

A neat video doumentary of Songkran can be found here.

KLRN Special on San Antonio Water Now Available Online

2010-04-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

KLRN's "Water and our Shared Future: a Local, Regional & State Report," aired on KLRN on March 17, 2010 is now available online. The feature is approximately 57 minutes, and is well worth watching.

Featuring a panel composed of Robert Puente, Warren Weir and Dr. Robert Gulley, the roundtable forum is hosted by Robert Rivard. It can be viewed here:

BMA Irrigation district accused of malicious prosecution

2010-04-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

Suit names business manager and directors of entity charged with managing Medina Lake water.

The Medina County farmer acquitted March 15 of stealing water from an irrigation district there has accused district officials of malicious prosecution and defamation in a lawsuit.

Read the story in the SA Express News: Irrigation district accused of malicious prosecution

LA billionaires sued over Calif. water sales

2010-04-12T06:16:00.000-07:00

CRITICS CLAIM FIJI WATER PRODUCED FROM PUBLIC UNDERGROUND "WATER BANK"

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - They grew their fortune in the California sun, turning pedestrian fruits and nuts into a vast and varied empire that secured their place in Hollywood.

Stewart and Lynda Resnick's flashy bottles of Fiji Water and POM Wonderful are now coveted across the globe. Their donations keep the lights on in art museums across the country. And Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Arianna Huffington count them among their dearest friends.

But as their marketshare rises worldwide, one of the billionaires' competitors is fighting back, accusing the Western power couple of profiting at the public's expense, court records and interviews show.

Now, as drought-stricken California weighs whether to give private companies more control in managing its scarce water supplies, a new lawsuit claiming the Resnicks violated utilities law by making money from a vast, taxpayer-funded underground reservoir is causing a stir in the state Capitol.

"Water is a public resource, owned by the people," said Democratic Assemblyman Jared Huffman of San Rafael. "We shouldn't be giving away public funds to private sector interests, let alone choosing winners and losers in the business world."

The Resnicks, who live in a Beverly Hills mansion and have a second home in Aspen, Colo., are among the nation's largest corporate farmers and are generous philanthropists and political donors, giving $536,000 to Democratic and Republican California governors in the last decade.

The Los Angeles Business Journal estimates the couple's empire is worth $1.5 billion. It includes about 120,000 acres in California's Central Valley - where they say they own more fresh citrus, almond and pistachio trees than anyone else in the country - and a facility akin to the Fort Knox of water.

That kind of success, Lynda Resnick said in a telephone interview, can inspire jealousy, and likely motivated this most recent "nuisance" lawsuit. Her husband declined to be interviewed.

After growing up working class in Highland Park, N.J., Stewart Resnick started a business waxing floors while in law school at the University of California, Los Angeles. The couple bought farmland in the 1980s as a hedge against inflation, gaining access to water contracts attached to those parcels.

As drought has hammered the region, leading farmers to abandon their dry fields, the Resnicks' 48 percent stake in the Kern Water Bank, an underground pool that stores billions of gallons of freshwater, has become increasingly valuable.

Court records show that in early 2007, the Resnicks' companies' combined water holdings reached 755,868 acre feet - more than twice the size of San Francisco's Hetch Hetchy reservoir. In 2007, that volume would have qualified as California's 11th largest reservoir, but the firms' water holdings have diminished significantly since, company officials said.

That cache provided enough to nourish the Resnicks' orchards, but it also offered another benefit. From 2000 to 2007, records show the state paid the Resnicks an additional $30.6 million for water previously stored there as part of a program to protect fish native to the ecologically fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Lynda Resnick's marketing savvy helped build cachet around her otherwise obscure brands, such as POM Wonderful pomegranate juice, Cuties mandarins and Teleflora floral bouquets.

Revered among advertisers as the "Pom Queen," she has hired medical scientists to bear out health claims that their fruits and nuts help fight disease and extend life expectancy. Last year, following a nationwide recall of pistachios over salmonella fears, she hired Levi Johnston, the teen father of Sarah Palin's grandson, to promote the snack nuts. The domestic business grew by 40 percent over the last crop year.

"We've done more for the pistachio than anyone ever since it was planted in the Garden of Eden," she said in the phone interview. "My husband should be canonized for all the work he's done."

Others in agribusiness see it differently.

Ali Amin, a Persian immigrant who owns a competing processing plant, filed a lawsuit in late March in Fresno County Superior Court claiming the Resnicks violated California public utilities laws because they turned a profit by selling water to farmers who weren't members of their Bakersfield-based water company, Westside Mutual Water Co.
"You feel like David fighting Goliath," Amin said. "If they're allowed to keep doing this, the rest of the independents and small growers won't be able to compete."

Amin's lawsuit alleges he lost $5.5 million in revenue when growers lured by water supplies sold their nuts to the Resnicks' plant, which processes almost two-thirds of the nation's pistachios. Amin controls about 5 percent of the market.

Resnick and other water users in agricultural Kern County gained control of the Kern bank - the largest underground water storage facility in the nation - in the mid 1990s, following a round of negotiations with the state Department of Water Resources. Their position was that the state had shorted rural areas in allotting water in a previous drought.

To avoid potential litigation from unhappy water users, state officials ceded ownership of the Kern Water Bank - developed with $74 million from the department and $23 million in taxpayer-approved bonds - to a local water agency. In return, water users gave back 45,000 acre feet from the amount they contracted to receive each year.

The deal was a pivotal moment in the rise of the Resnicks' business interests. Ownership of the bank ultimately was transferred to a joint powers authority including the local water agency, the Resnicks' Westside Mutual Water Co. and four water districts.

Westside distributes water stored there to its members, the operations that grow Resnick's fruits and nuts, according to court records.

To prevent price-gouging, the California Public Utilities Commission requires most mutual water companies to register as public utilities and subject their rates to state regulation if they sell water to nonmembers for profit. There are some exceptions, such as a "water emergency," but the PUC rules require those sales to nonmembers to be at cost.

PUC staff attorney Fred Harris said Westside had not registered with the PUC. If the company skirted the law, by selling water to nonmembers at a profit - as the Amin suit alleges - Harris said Westside could be required to register and set up rates with the commission.

Assemblyman Huffman and Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, said those allegations in the Amin lawsuit touch on a broader debate about whether companies should be able to profit from taxpayer-funded waterworks amid a drought.

An $11.1 billion water bond signed last year by Schwarzenegger would allow private companies to partially own, operate and profit from dams, reservoirs and water banks built with billions in public funds. It won't become law unless voters approve it on the November ballot, and it's unclear how the bond proposal would interact with current laws on public-private partnerships.

"I don't think anyone wants to see this become a gift of public funds to private corporations," said Huffman, who is considering introducing a bond amendment to remove or clarify the language.

Bill Phillimore, who directs Resnick's water company, said the company has managed scarce water supplies responsibly, and he and his bosses have spent "a considerable amount of time to make sure we get value out of the last drop."

Rob Six, a spokesman for the couple's private holding company, Roll International Corp., said the Amin suit was "frivolous," and said the company would seek sanctions against Amin's processing business.

Both sides claim victory in a previous suit in which many of the same claims were raised. A jury awarded Amin $3.46 million late last month after deciding a pistachio grower who had supplied his plant breached his contract by later sending his nuts to the Resnicks. A Fresno County Superior Court judge granted the Resnicks' request to be dismissed from the suit.

After Amin's first suit was filed, two of Resnick's companies filed a federal suit in Los Angeles against Amin, his processing plant and his agricultural consultant, alleging Amin's plant engaged in false advertising that Resnick's companies to suffer up to $15 million in damages.

"There are very jealous people out there," Lynda Resnick said. "But we usually win because we have such good in-house counsel."

The Resnicks, who have had legal tangles with everyone from Tiger Woods to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, have a good track record at winning.

Their suit to kill the California Pistachio Commission, a board farmers paid to do generic marketing for the snack nut, proved so expensive that after spending more than $2 million in legal fees, farmers gave up and voted to disband the commission three years ago.

"Here you had one man who had the money and thought he knew what was best, and didn't want to take part in a democratic organization," said Brian Blackwell, president of the Western Pistachio Association, which now represents smaller growers. "Whatever he's doing, he's going to try to run the show."

GARANCE BURKE -- Associated Press

Ranchers team up with feds to clear cedar, boost water supply

2010-03-10T04:55:00.000-08:00

Range management is important strategy, conservationists say.

Read the story and see the video from the Austin American Statesman: Ranchers team up with feds to clear cedar, boost water supply

EAA Hires Contractor for HQ Expansion Project

2010-03-10T04:51:00.000-08:00

Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) has tapped Bartlett Cocke General Contractors and Kell Muñoz Architects for a new design-build project that will add some needed elbow room at the organization’s main campus.

The project calls for renovating an existing 12,000 square feet of space at EAA’s offices at 1615 St. Mary’s St. in downtown San Antonio, according to Kirk Kistner, vice president of marketing and business development for Bartlett Cocke.

The team will also design and build another 32,000 square feet of new space for the EAA. As a design-build project, it will be Bartlett Cocke’s job to oversee the entire design and construction process, Kistner adds.

S.A. is urged to look to gulf for more water

2010-03-10T04:45:00.000-08:00

A member of the Texas Water development Board has publicly endorsed construction by the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) of a desalination plant on the Gulf of Mexico. SAWS President and CEO Robert Puente called the idea "finance science fiction today.”

Read the whole story in the SA Express News: S.A. is urged to look to gulf for more water

2010-03-09T18:56:00.000-08:00

"When the well is dry, we learn the worth of water."

- Ben Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac 1733

ABCs of DFCs

2010-03-09T18:49:00.000-08:00

This is a great tongue-in-cheek review of the many acronyms used in today's groundwater planning arena!

ABCs of DFCs

Written by Micah Voulgaris -- general manager of the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District.

GMA 12 approves Desired Future Conditions

2010-03-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

By Andy Ross -- Bastrop Advertiser

An important development for long-term water resources planning took place this Thursday when groundwater conservation districts within the Groundwater Management Area 12 unanimously approved their Desired Future Condition (DFC) figures to be submitted to the Texas Water Development Board.

The approved DFCs for GMA 12 – which consists of five groundwater conservation districts that covers portions of 14 counties – are the primary figures that will be used by the TWDB later this year in determining the amount of groundwater available for withdrawal in the GMA 12’s shared aquifers over the next 50-year period.
This withdrawal volume target, better known as Managed Available Groundwater, is ultimately what will determine the amount of permitting allowed – or, more importantly say some, the amount disallowed in future years.

Joe Cooper, general manager of the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District which encompasses Bastrop and Lee counties, says the TWDB will weigh in on the figures approved by each district Thursday before they can become official.
“The DFCs will be forwarded to the TWDB and they will rule on the reasonableness or unreasonableness of them,” Cooper said on Thursday. “Now we are kind of in a suspenseful time waiting on feedback from the TWDB so we can proceed and officially ratify those numbers.”

The deadline for all districts within the 16 Groundwater Management Areas in Texas to submit their DFCs to the TWDB is Sept. 1.
Cooper says the meeting Thursday in Milano was well attended by the general public, some of whom expressed disagreement with the science and models used to develop the DFCs. Cooper himself admits he has grown concerned in recent months over how the DFC and MAG figures will be interpreted by the TWDB in accordance with House Bill 1763. That legislation, passed in 2005 to establish a framework for regional water planning, required that groundwater conservation districts around Texas to only permit up to their GMA’s Managed Available Groundwater.

Now, however, says Cooper, it seems possible that more flexibility around the permitting cutoff could come into play when evaluating and setting MAG figures.
“We don’t know yet what the numbers are actually going to mean,” Cooper said. “It is still up in the air. We are waiting on the real language and how this number is going to be interpreted.”

The LPGCD’s uncertainly around the soon-to-be handed down MAG figure has most recently manifested in the temporary moratorium on well drilling that was approved last month. The three-month moratorium came as Cooper and the LPGCD’s hydrologist Dr. Robert Kier advised board members that according to their studies, the amount of permits already given for the Simsboro Aquifer (and possibly others) “vastly” exceeds the anticipated MAG figure for GMA 12. Making the outlook for LPGCD and other nearby districts even more disconcerting are the large-scale water marketers anxiously eyeing the possibility of pumping groundwater supplies beneath Bastrop County to the rapidly growing developments along the I-35 Corridor between San Marcos and San Antonio. Most vividly illustrating such efforts are the negotiations currently underway between the water marketer End Op and the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority.

“With the projected growth over the next 50 years (in Bastrop County) we have already exceeded the MAG with what has been permitted; even without the water purveyors plans to take water out,” said Kier at the LPGCD Jan. 20 meeting. “We are kind of on the verge of being in trouble.”

The LPGCD is currently the only groundwater conservation district within the GMA 12 that has established a moratorium on new well drilling.

When asked Thursday how the other districts have interpreted LPGD’s move, Cooper stressed the threat posed to long-term supplies by purveyors such as End-Op.
“The water marketers would like to have carte blanche access and take all the permits they can,” Cooper said. “Whether it’s a person’s budget, or water or anything else, you can only allocate a certain amount. They expect us to just write permits and they say nothing is going to happen, but they don’t have any proof of that.”

The LPGCD’s DFC figures approved Thursday for the major and minor aquifers shared by districts within the GMA 12 are as follows: Sparta Aquifer, 10 ft. drawdown; Queen City Aquifer 13 ft. drawdown; Carrizo Aquifer, 47 ft. drawdown; Calvert Bluff Aquifer, 99 ft. drawdown; Simsboro Aquifer, 212 ft., Hooper Aquifer, 129 ft. drawdown.

The other four districts within GMA 12 are Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District, Fayette County Groundwater Conservation District, Mid-East Texas Groundwater Conservation District and Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District. The DFC figures approved Thursday by each of the above districts are listed on their respective websites.

2010 Region L Initially Prepared Plan Available for Review

2010-03-09T18:37:00.000-08:00

The South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group, better known as "Region L" has released the March 2010 Initially Prepared Plan (IPP). The Plan is available for review at the link below, and comments have been requested. Comments can be submitted through Wed., June 16, 2010. Please direct comments to Ms. Erin Newberry, San Antonio River Authority, P.O.Box 839980, San Antonio, TX 78283-9980, fax: 210/302-3692

The 2010 Initially Prepared Plan

State aims to make groundwater rules more uniform

2010-03-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

Different districts have different sensibilities.

With the population of Central Texas booming, water has become the chief maker or breaker of development. With just about every drop of river water already spoken for, suppliers, especially in Central Texas, are turning to underground water in counties to the east as the next big source.

But they face a problem because groundwater districts, set up as individual fiefdoms meant to reflect local histories and philosophies about water and land use, have different permitting rules and sensibilities.

In the Legislature, at the Texas Water Development Board and in the courts, a struggle is under way to make the rules more uniform from one district to another and to come up with aquifer pumping caps, so the state can do better water planning over the next half-century.

The Lost Pines district, for example, which includes Lee and fast-growing Bastrop counties to the east, limits pumping permits to five years, providing little assurance for cities or water purveyors who want to ship water out of the district. In its own literature, the district names San Antonio and water purveyors under the heading "Threats to Our Aquifer." The neighboring Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District, which expects little population growth in coming decades, allows pumping permits in Milam and Burleson counties to run as long as 40 years.

"My board is in favor of landowners' property rights, in favor of the efficient use of the aquifer and in favor of protecting it," said Gary Westbrook, general manager of Post Oak. "Those things almost always contradict each other, and we're always searching for middle ground."

The districts are proliferating: Today there are 98 groundwater districts, up from 51 in 1995, according to the Texas Water Development Board, the state agency charged with water planning. Their boards have broad-ranging powers derived from the Legislature, including the authority to set rates for pumping permits, to set pumping limits and well spacing and, typically, to levy taxes. What they can't do is set fees or taxes beyond limits prescribed by the Legislature, and they can't arbitrarily deny permits.

"People have become a lot more concerned (about protecting) their groundwater and what's going to happen to it," said Dean Robbins, the assistant general manager with the Texas Water Conservation Association.

About 60 percent of the state's water supply comes from groundwater and about 40 percent from surface sources such as lakes and rivers, according to Robert Mace, who runs the water science and conservation group at the Texas Water Development Board .

The districts are to make projections to the state about the amount of water available into the future in the aquifers beneath them, but some disagree even on the amount of water in the bucket or how to manage its depletion. At a mid-February hearing at the state Water Development Board, for example, several Panhandle districts debated how their groundwater should be doled out. Looming over the question was an ambitious water pumping and transport project proposed by investor T. Boone Pickens that could send billions of gallons to cities including Dallas.

The regional groundwater that Lost Pines and Post Oak manage — along with a trio of other districts — faces its own crunch, as permitted supplies already outstrip the available groundwater, by some estimates.

Not all of the permitted amount is actually used. Lost Pines, for instance, has permits totaling roughly 80,000 acre-feet, but only about 30,000 acre-feet was actually pumped last year, Cooper said. (An acre-foot is roughly equal to the amount of water three Austin households use in a year.)

But the crunch leaves Austin-based water purveyors, which are hoping to land big permits to ship water to the Texas 130 and Interstate 35 corridors, competing with local water suppliers, such as Bastrop-based Aqua Water Supply Corp.

Lost Pines faces new permit applications from End-Op, a water supply group led by former Williamson County Commissioner Frankie Limmer, for about 50 million gallons of water a day, and from Aqua, which serves about 50,000 people and expects to exceed its current annual permitted amount by 2025. But Lost Pines is not sure it has the water and recently placed a moratorium on some large well permits.

Meanwhile, some districts facing less competition for water but drawing from the same bucket can earn significant income by awarding permits. Post Oak, for example, makes permittees pay for water whether they draw it or not. Currently, the district charges 1 cent for every thousand gallons of permitted production and 4 cents per thousand gallons exported. Last year Austin-based Blue Water Systems won a permit to draw and export 23 billion gallons of water a year, meaning it pays the nonprofit district about $1 million a year, which it uses for research and staffing.

Most districts try to balance water demand inside and outside their boundaries, leaning on a still-evolving science of hydrology. They can also run afoul of rules. Just this week , the state auditor's office announced a follow-up report on the Kinney County Groundwater Conservation District finding "significant financial and operational deficiencies."

According to the audit, the Kinney County district did not issue new permits in a timely manner, ensure that statutorily required annual audits were conducted, monitor water usage for all permitted wells, ensure that all board members disclosed potential conflicts of interest or consistently retain minutes of the board's public meetings.

On Feb. 12, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus announced the appointment of a House Select Committee on Special Purpose Districts aimed at improving accountability and transparency, particularly with focus on water-related districts. Last year, Straus and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst asked lawmakers to tackle groundwater issues before the next session of the Legislature.

"What we've got is a mixture of different districts created around the state, which are trying to provide some form of management of the groundwater of their particular aquifers in their areas," said state Rep. Doug Miller, R-New Braunfels, who sits on the House Natural Resources Committee. "For the most part, the Legislature has said it's a local issue, so address it on a local basis. The problem is aquifers don't have political boundaries. What happens in Hays County to the Trinity Aquifer may or may not affect the Trinity under Blanco, Comal and Travis counties."

But coming up with a pumping cap for aquifers is already facing pushback. Groundwater in Texas, unlike the water found in lakes, rivers and streams, is widely considered private property, akin to oil and minerals. (In some Western states both groundwater and surface water belong to the state.)

The pumping cap process is meant to clarify how much water is available and who will get it, but it's "doing the exact opposite," said Russ Johnson, a water lawyer representing the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and Texas Wildlife Association. He said a cap on pumping could rob landowners of their water-pumping rights.

With such a variety of interests, action might be more likely to take place in the courts than at the Capitol, where the desire to change the powers of groundwater districts is tempered by the wish not to offend their local political support — the boards of most districts are elected or appointed by county judges. On Feb. 17, in a possible prelude to more cases, the Texas Supreme Court heard arguments that pit landowners against the Edwards Aquifer Authority.

The authority established a pumping cap in the 1990s and then divvied up the available water through a permit process to pumpers in the district. Landowners from Bexar County are arguing that they deserve a bigger permit and that they should be paid for the water they were not allowed to take. Landowners' associations, such as the Texas Wildlife Association, have filed legal briefs sympathetic to the landowners.

"In the Edwards, nobody got what they wanted because there was not enough water to go around," said Darcy Frownfelter, general counsel for the Edwards Aquifer Authority. "If everybody can file a claim for water they want when the authority can't give it to them, you can imagine that amount gets pretty big, pretty quick."

Miller, the state representative, said, "If that case doesn't go in support of the EAA, it could totally change the future of that agency and authority, and cost taxpayers of Texas literally hundreds of millions of dollars."

In any case, the Legislature seems destined to wade into the issue this year.

"Our current law is not robust enough to handle the complicated situations that are being presented to these groundwater districts," said Michael Booth, an Austin water attorney. "I think the mood is there, and the will, to have incremental changes that put centralized controls on groundwater districts. The trend is going to be of state control of some fashion."

Miller said changes to groundwater law could be at least a decade away.

By Asher Price AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Texas Supreme Court Docket Sheet for Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Burrell Day And Joel Mcdaniel

2010-02-25T10:11:00.000-08:00

Follow this link to the Public Docket Page for a case that threatens to change the landscape of "ownership" of groundwater in Texas. Follow the links to the briefs submitted by the parties and interest Amicus Curaie.

The Edwards Aquifer Authority And The State Of Texas V. Burrell Day And Joel Mcdaniel, 08-0964 | DocketDB's Texas Supreme Court Docket

U.S. Supreme Court ruling means no lake for Dallas

2010-02-25T05:03:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal by the City of Dallas and the Texas Water development Board in a case that held the fate of a major swath of East Texas in the balance. Based upon the Court of Appeals' now-final ruling, Dallas will not be able to build Lake Fastrill, a huge reservoir that would have become a key piece of that City's longterm water plan.

Supreme Court ruling means no lake for Dallas

Partnership seeks to develop $250 million water pipeline

2010-02-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

A group of investors is looking to persuade state lawmakers to make an exception to an existing law so that they can build a 67-to-75-mile water pipeline from Uvalde to San Antonio.

Southwest Texas Water Resources LP is the name of the group backing the project, which they say could deliver up to 40,000 cubic acres of water per year beginning in 2013. The funding for the project, estimated to cost about a quarter of a billion dollars, would all be raised privately.

Rodney Smith, president of San Antonio-based Southwest Texas Water Resources, says the pipeline would serve as a resource management tool for the Edwards Aquifer. Not only would it serve as an additional water supply source for the San Antonio metropolitan area, but it could also provide a significant economic boost to Uvalde County, Smith says.

“We think this project can act as a pressure-release valve by moving water into San Antonio as it is needed,” he says.

Smith adds that the project would not be the “silver bullet” answer to all of San Antonio’s long-term water problems, but it could be an important part of an overall solution.

“Accessing the under-utilized water from the Uvalde Pool of the Edwards Aquifer and transferring a portion of that water to the San Antonio metropolitan area will relieve pressure on the San Antonio Pool as well as the San Marcos Springs and Comal Springs,” Smith says.

Smith says the population of the greater San Antonio metropolitan area is expected to reach 2.4 million by the year 2050, and the city will need additional water supplies of approximately 120,000 acre feet per year.

“Municipalities need a long-term focus on the management of their water resources,” Smith says. “You can’t have a community based on a supply that goes away in 50 years. You just can’t run a community like that.”

Western water Mike Beldon, chairman of Beldon Enterprises and a past chairman of the Edwards Aquifer Authority, says he has been a longtime advocate for the need to look west to resolve San Antonio’s water problem.

“There is a lot of water out there, and I think just philosophically we need to look at it,” Beldon says.

When state lawmakers established the rules that determined how water resources would be divided up, Beldon says, in effect, they gave the farmers and irrigators in rural counties more water than they needed and shortchanged the cities. That happened because the state law prohibits municipalities from piping water out of Uvalde County.

“The irrigators won big time,” Beldon says. “They got two acre-feet per acre and they only use one.”

Beldon says he is not taking a position on the proposal by Southwest Texas Water Resources. “Whether Rod’s plan is the best one is for SAWS (San Antonio Water System) to decide,” he says. “All I am saying is that Western water needs to be part of any long-term plan to address San Antonio’s water problems.”

Luana Buckner, current chair of the Edwards Aquifer board of directors, says she has met with Smith a couple of times and has been briefed on his plan, but the authority has not yet taken a position on his plan one way or another.

“We have directed our staff to look at their plan, consider the assumptions they use, and see if we concur,” she says.

Buckner says she has members of her board who are on both sides of the issue. Some are concerned about the economic impact that any pipeline plan would have on the Uvalde community.

“There is some fear that it could reduce the availability of water for crops and put a lot of farmers out of business,” she says.

Smith says, to the contrary, that his plan would be an economic stimulator for the Uvalde community and would not take away water that would be needed by area farmers.

Southwest Texas Water Resources is currently seeking backers in the Texas Legislature who would be willing to sponsor a bill carving out an exception for the pipeline project. Smith says he hopes to have commitments on sponsorships in the next three weeks.

“We want to be very up-front and transparent about this process,” he says.

San Antonio Business Journal - by Mike W. Thomas

Edwards Aquifer Authority Board selectes Sole Finalist for General Manager Position

2010-02-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

The Edwards Aquifer Authority board of directors voted to make an employment offer to Karl J. Dreher to fill the general manager position.

Dreher is currently the managing partner of Dreher Consulting LLC and the former director of water resources for the State of Idaho. If his contract is formally approved at the board’s monthly meeting on March 9, Dreher will succeed current general manager Velma Danielson. She announced her intent last year to retire.

Elderly Widow Settles Dispute with Valley Water Corporation -- Companion Suit Remains Pending

2010-02-06T04:54:00.001-08:00

RLWPC Client Carolina Ruiz and the East Rio Hondo Water Supply Corporation have settled their long-standing and sometimes ugly dispute relating to the utility's termination of her water service when she refused to grant an easement.

The termination occurred in July 2008 in the days following Hurricane Dolly's landfall in the Rio Grande Valley. Mrs. Ruiz, an 80 year old widow, sustained serious property damage from the Hurricane. In the days immediately following and coinciding with her clean-up efforts, East Rio Hondo Water made good on its prior threats to terminate water service to her home unless she signed an easement granting the utility a FREE 20' swath across her property. Ruiz refused, citing her rights under Texas and federal law to "adequate compensation" for any government taking.

Mrs. Ruiz initially retained a lawyer in San Benito, Texas, but the utility ignored his demands to restore her water service. Unknown to Mrs. Ruiz and her prior counsel, RLWPC had been hired by another elderly couple (Carl "Bud" Parker and wife Janel) whose water service East Rio Hondo Water had also terminated. Upon learning that Trey Wilson had already filed suit and obtained a Court Order requiring the utility to restore water service to the Parker residence, Mrs. Ruiz' lawyer asked RLWPC to assume her representation. Trey Wilson immediately joined Mrs. Ruiz into the Parkers' application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for an Emergency Order compelling East Rio Hondo to provide them with "continuous and adequate" water service. The Application was heard by the TCEQ Commissioners on November 5, 2008, and an Order Compelling the water utility to provide service to the Parkers and Mrs. Ruiz was unanimously issued.

East Rio Hondo Water then filed a civil lawsuit against Ruiz, her daughter and her son in law for breach of contract and other allegations related to the refusal to grant an easement. Ruiz filed a series of counterclaims for breach of contract, negligence, negligence per se, intentional infliction of severe emotional distress, and conversion. She also alleged elder abuse based upon ERHWSC's intentional interruption of her water and her advanced age.

The case was hotly contested, and substantial discovery and motion practice occurred. The suit was settled on confidential terms at a second mediation session that occurred in December 2009. Mrs. Ruiz is relieved that the dispute has been resolved, and looks forward to restoring her previously-peaceful 15 year relationship with East Rio Hondo Water.

The Parker claims remain pending -- despite the death in December of Carl "Bud" Parker -- and that suit is set for trial in March 2010 in Cameron County District Court.

SAWS Ready for the Super Bowl Flush -- SAWS Press Release

2010-02-06T04:52:00.000-08:00

Who will you be rooting for this Sunday, as the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts face off in the Super Bowl? Here in San Antonio, everyone's a winner as viewers take a break at halftime during the big game – turning on faucets and flushing toilets that send thousands of gallons of wastewater to SAWS water recycling centers to be treated and reused all over the city.

"SAWS converts wastewater into highly treated recycled water that can offset our city's potable water use," says Greg Flores, SAWS Vice President, Public Affairs. "Recycled water can help reduce our demand on the Edwards Aquifer and bring in an additional source of revenue to help maintain our infrastructure."

SAWS monitoring equipment can see when halftime starts by the quick increase in demand on our potable water system; we see a drop in the average system pressure as viewers take their bathroom breaks as halftime begins. That results in a lot of wastewater that makes its way to SAWS water recycling centers. The "Super Bowl Halftime Flush" is an example of how our water and wastewater infrastructure must be built and maintained to handle sudden spikes in demand.

While considered "waste" water, in San Antonio this high quality recycled water is a precious resource in high demand for commercial, industrial and large landscaping customers. The recycled water is used at the city's famous River Walk, golf courses, parks, and commercial and industrial customers such as Toyota and CPS Energy.

"Having high quality recycled water readily available for commercial and industrial uses helps encourage companies to come to San Antonio," added Flores.

Every year, about 115 million gallons of recycled water each day is produced at three water recycling centers owned and operated by San Antonio Water System. Nearly 110 miles of pipeline delivers highly treated effluent throughout the city for nonpotable use and also provides baseflows in the upper San Antonio River and Salado Creek, supplying critical flows to help aquatic ecosystems in these streams.

Neighbors Feud Over Water - San Antonio News Story - KSAT San Antonio

2010-02-06T04:45:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting feud, and another good example of how water service is frequently yielded as a weapon in disputes that relate to issues of control. It appears that somebody might want to review their CCN before denying retail water service...

Neighbors Feud Over Water - San Antonio News Story - KSAT San Antonio

RLWPC Water Utility Client Settles Insurance Dispute

2010-02-06T04:21:00.000-08:00

RLWPC client Combined Consumers Special Utility District ("CCSUD")settled its breach of contract and bad faith insurance claim against the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool. The suit was filed in Travis County District Court after the TMLIRP denied a claim made by CCSUD upon learning that its former General Manager had wrongfully transferred substantial sums from the utility to her personal account.

The former GM claimed that the payments to herself -- made in a series of wire transactions within a single day after her termination by the CCSUD Board -- constituted payment for accrued but unused vacation. CCSUD considered the funds stolen, and its Board contended that the payments were not authorized, and that they far exceeded any amount that could have been due under the utility's employee compensation policies.

CCSUD presented criminal charges to the Hunt County District Attorney's office, which eventually indicted the former General Manager for theft of the funds. Nevertheless, TMLIRP -- the utility's insurer -- denied CCSUD's claim for benefits under a "Employee Dishonesty Policy."

CCSUD's Board of Directors retained Trey Wilson to file suit against TMLIRP, seeking a Court declaration that the claim was covered under the TMLIRP-issued "Employee Dishonesty Policy," and damages for breach of contract. The suit was filed in Travis County because it is the principal County of TMLIRP's operations in Texas. The suit was eventually settled on confidential terms, and CCSUD has dismissed its claims.

Although the dispute and lawsuit involved insurance and contract law, as opposed to water law, it served as another example of R L Wilson, P.C. Law Firm's full service representation to its water utility clients. RLWPC has also assisted CCSUD in drafting and reviewing various Water Supply Agreements and various District governance matters.

CCSUD provides water utility service to approximately 2820 retail customers in Hunt, Kaufman, and Van Zandt Counties in north and northeast Texas utilizing water from Lake Tawakoni. The Lake covers approximately 36,700 acres, and is fed by the Sabine River and area creeks.

Copy of the SAWS Lawsuit

2010-02-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to the Original Petition SAWS filed in its Billion Dollar lawsuit against LCRA. The case was dismissed by a Travis County District Judge.

SAWS statement regarding LCRA's claims of immunity from lawsuit -- from the SAWS media room

2010-02-02T09:56:00.000-08:00

"SAWS is deeply disappointed with the outcome of today's hearing, which inserts confusion and uncertainty in contracts between governmental agencies and future efforts to address the state's water needs. Unfortunately the merits of the case against LCRA have yet to be addressed and may never be considered without a costly and lengthy appeal of today's decision.

"Contracts and agreements between local governments throughout the state have been called into question by LCRA's claim that they can't be sued. Any governmental agency that currently has an agreement with LCRA should be highly concerned that it could fall victim to LCRA backing out of the agreement without any recourse.

"Equally as important, Texas' ability to plan regionally for numerous public policy issues is in jeopardy. LCRA's claim of immunity places water planning efforts throughout the state at risk, and could make agreements between governmental agencies virtually impossible to enforce.

"The SAWS Board of Trustees will evaluate the implications of today's decision."

Judge dismisses San Antonio suit against LCRA -- from LCRA's media room

2010-02-02T09:55:00.001-08:00

AUSTIN – A Travis County judge Monday dismissed a $1.23 billion lawsuit filed against the Lower Colorado River Authority by the City of San Antonio.

State District Judge Stephen Yelenosky ruled in favor of LCRA and against the San Antonio Water System. San Antonio had requested that the discussion of whether its suit was valid be delayed while it developed more legal information and depositions. SAWS said it wanted to interview state officials, county judges, more river authority Board and staff members and others. SAWS had already been given hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and e-mails by LCRA, but said it needed more time and information to prove its allegation that LCRA had defrauded the city.

LCRA, which has spent well over $800,000 on the lawsuit so far, said no more time or money should be spent because San Antonio could not sue a governmental agency except for money that was “due and owed” under the agreement. LCRA has never refused to pay what may be due and owed under the agreement it signed in 2002 and denied any fraud. If San Antonio cancels the contract now, LCRA could be responsible for half the study costs – estimated at $18 million.

San Antonio, however, had asked the court to award it $1.23 billion, which it said was the cost of desalinating seawater to replace water that SAWS claims LCRA had promised it in 2002. LCRA said it never promised to deliver water, only to study the feasibility of a water project that would help both the Colorado River basin and San Antonio. The studies, which cost nearly $38 million, showed last year that no water was available from the Colorado River basin for San Antonio.

“LCRA is pleased that it no longer has to spend public ratepayer dollars defending itself in such a wasteful lawsuit,” said General Manager Tom Mason. “We all would be much better off spending our time and money planning for future water needs.” Mason said the LCRA continues to stand by its contract with SAWS and to continue discussing possible water plans with San Antonio. “We never defaulted on the contract, and we continue to honor it.”

Mismanagement of Guadalupe basin hurts us all..Commentary by Charles Smith

2010-01-28T15:27:00.000-08:00

As a commissioner for Aransas County, I am writing in response to the comment by Rep. Bill Callegari, R-Houston, (“Whooping crane suit could threaten Texas cities' water,” Jan. 16).

While we commend Rep. Callegari's interest in this important issue, we believe that the lack of a responsible water management plan for the Guadalupe River Basin represents a great threat to the prosperity of users both upstream and downstream.

The Aransas County Commissioners' Court unanimously approved a resolution to join and support the efforts of The Aransas Project (TAP) on Oct. 12. TAP's growing membership includes: Aransas County, Town of Fulton, Aransas County Republican Party, Aransas County Democrat Club, International Crane Foundation, Aransas County Navigation District, Coastal Bend Guides Association, and many businesses and private citizens.

Freshwater inflows are the lifeblood of our bay systems and are critical to tourism, the primary driver of our economy. Issues concerning health of the bay systems are important to us, and our downstream position allows us to see the natural, human and economic impacts of the failure to responsibly manage water resources in the Guadalupe River Basin.

Likewise, upstream citizens, businesses, and agriculture across the Hill Country and San Antonio also rely on these same resources to thrive. Our needs are no less or no greater than the needs of upstream communities. That is why it is imperative that a water management plan for the Guadalupe River Basin be one that considers the interests of all of us.

Last year, nearly 10 percent of the last remaining wild flock of endangered whooping cranes died under Texas' watch. This is more than just the drought. Last winter clearly showed that, despite the reassurances of the water management authorities, there just isn't enough water being set aside for Aransas County to mitigate low flows, especially during sparse rainfall.

While we are hopeful that a solution resulting in a responsible water management plan for the Guadalupe River Basin can be reached without resorting to a federal judge's mandate, the current environmental flows process does not have the scope or jurisdiction to protect the cranes nor to remedy the over-allocation of water resources in this basin that already exists.

In this basin, the existing processes aren't enough “to ensure the needs of all water constituencies, including endangered species, are met.”

Even though coastal communities are the first to feel it, a flawed water management plan endangers the livelihood of everyone that relies on the Guadalupe River Basin for stability and prosperity. If the bays are unable to survive, it is only a matter of time before the entire river basin is put in jeopardy.

We must do everything we can to ensure that the Guadalupe River flows from the springs in the Hill Country to the bays and estuaries of Aransas County. Responsible water management is not an “upstream” versus “downstream” fight. Responsibly-managed water is good for the entire basin.

-Charles Smith is an Aransas County commissioner and a member of The Aransas Project.

Water outage closes Granger schools

2010-01-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

By American-Statesman staff | Thursday, January 28, 2010, 01:32 PM

Granger schools will be closing at 2 this afternoon because of a water outage, officials said. Parents are encouraged to pick up their students now.

Buses will run at 2 p.m., officials said, and after-school classes will be canceled.

City officials confirmed that there was a water leak but didn’t have details on its location.

Clayton Williams suing Groundwater District to pump water from land

2010-01-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - Former Texas gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams has sued a West Texas water district for denying his application to pump water from beneath his land.

Williams claims in a lawsuit filed last week in federal court in Midland that several of his constitutional rights were violated when the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District denied his plan.

The Pecos County wildcatter, rancher and multimillionaire who lost the 1990 Texas governor's race to Ann Richards is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

The suit claims the district discriminated against Williams' application by treating it "differently than others similarly situated" and that the district's board violated his due process rights by denying his application.

Williams has used water on his land for decades, but now wants to change the district-sanctioned use and export it.

An attorney for the groundwater district, Mike Gershon, said Tuesday that the application was administratively incomplete, not denied.

In a statement, the company disputed the district's claim that the application is incomplete.

A first application was ruled incomplete by the board in August. Last week, an amended application received the same response.

Gershon said the application was too broad, failing to narrow down which of 22 area counties, including Pecos County, would benefit from the water.

It also did not state a rate of production or how specifically it would be used, other than stating municipal or industrial, he said.

Without complete data, there was no way to accurately evaluate the impact of Williams' water plan, Gershon said.

The district "can't process it yet because Fort Stockton Holdings has not provided the information required," he said, referring to Williams' company. "The district is focused on its statutory responsibility to evaluate permit applications. The district has not denied or otherwise rejected Fort Stockton Holdings' application."

Members of Williams' family are partners and majority owners of Fort Stockton Holdings.

Texas' rule of capture law allows landowners the rights to the water beneath their property.

The suit claims Williams' has for 50 years pumped groundwater from the family's land for agricultural use. Williams has permits to pump about 47,500 acre-feet of water per year from existing wells. An acre-foot equals 325,851 gallons.

The application did not ask for additional acre-feet for pumping, the suit states. The suit names Midland, about 100 miles northeast of Fort Stockton, as a possible customer for Williams' water.

Paul Latham, an executive with Williams' company, said in the statement that the lawsuit was filed to protect Williams' family's property rights. Agriculture may have once been the best use of the water but the region has changed, and development and growth in nearby municipalities requires more water.

"FSH is looking to the future and attempting to provide for future needs," Latham said. "The company and the family have historic and deep ties to the area and take seriously their responsibility to safeguard the aquifer in Pecos County."

Before going to the district with its application in July, Williams worked in the last legislative session to create a fresh water supply district on his property. State Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, heard from his constituents and rallied to defeat a bill Williams sought to have passed.

Uresti's district includes Pecos County.

"The people of Pecos County are right to be concerned about a scheme to export that much water," Uresti said in a statement Tuesday.

Williams may be best known for his run for governor in a campaign sunk by his gaffes.

When Can a Texas Landowner Construct a Dam or Impoundment Without State/TCEQ Approval?

2010-01-20T19:18:00.001-08:00

As a Texas lawyer whose practice is heavily engaged in both real estate and water law, I'm often asked about a landowner's ability to construct a dam on his own property for various purposes. Most often, this question relates to the ability to do so without obtaining a permit from the TCEQ.

The general rule in Texas is that surface water is the property of the State of Texas, and cannot be impounded without a permit from the TCEQ. See Texas Water Code Section 11.021. However, Section 11.142 provides an exemption to permitting for the construction of dams and reservoirs which impound up to 200 acre-feet of state water for domestic and livestock purposes. This exemption was extended by the Texas Legislature, in 2001, to apply to reservoirs constructed for fish and wildlife purposes, if constructed on “qualified open-space.”

Here's the text of the statute:

Sec. 11.142. PERMIT EXEMPTIONS. (a) Without obtaining a permit, a person may construct on the person's own property a dam or reservoir with normal storage of not more than 200 acre-feet of water for domestic and livestock purposes. A person who temporarily stores more than 200 acre-feet of water in a dam or reservoir described by this subsection is not required to obtain a permit for the dam or reservoir if the person can demonstrate that the person has not stored in the dam or reservoir more than 200 acre-feet of water on average in any 12-month period. This exemption does not apply to a commercial operation.
(b) Without obtaining a permit, a person may construct on the person's property in an unincorporated area a dam or reservoir with normal storage of not more than 200 acre-feet of water for commercial or noncommercial wildlife management, including fishing, but not including fish farming.
(c) Without obtaining a permit, a person who is drilling and producing petroleum and conducting operations associated with drilling and producing petroleum may take for those purposes state water from the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent bays and arms of the Gulf of Mexico in an amount not to exceed one acre-foot during each 24-hour period.
(d) Without obtaining a permit, a person may construct or maintain a reservoir for the sole purpose of sediment control as part of a surface coal mining operation under the Texas Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act (Article 5920-11, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes ).

Will The Next War Be Fought Over Water? : NPR

2010-01-20T18:24:00.000-08:00

See and hear NPR's Interview with journalist Steven Solomon, Author of Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power and Civilization. In his new book, Solomon argues that water is surpassing oil as the world's scarcest critical resource, and that throughout history, the control of water wealth has been pivotal to the rise and fall of great powers.

I found this NPR story and Solomon's interview very interesting, and have already ordered my copy of the book.

Will The Next War Be Fought Over Water? : NPR

Wet weather cuts San Antonio-area water use by 25%

2010-01-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

There’s one definite benefit to this cold, wet winter weather. The San Antonio Water System is pumping significantly less water from the Edwards Aquifer.

Last summer, San Antonio experienced nearly 60 days where the temperatures were more than 100 degrees. Those hot days, coupled with record-drought levels, caused San Antonio water customers to consume about 210 million gallons of water each day even with Stage II water restrictions.

Currently, SAWS is pumping about 160 million gallons of water per day from the aquifer. This is about 25 percent less than last summer’s pumping levels.

“With the cooler, wetter winter we’re having, San Antonians aren’t watering their lawns very much, if at all — which we can see by the drop in water demand,” says SAWS Vice President of Public Affairs Greg Flores.

Despite the cold, wet weather, year-round water restrictions remain in effect for San Antonio.

SAWS provides water and wastewater services for the San Antonio area.

Property owners line up to opt out of Kerrville CCN

2010-01-14T05:37:00.000-08:00

About 150 property owners in a proposed certificate of convenience and necessity area have requested to be excluded from a plan to provide Kerrville water outside the city.

According to public works director Charlie Hastings, if all of the requests are approved, it would cut 21,600 acres, or about 36 percent, out of the 59,000 acres in the request.

Land owners who have 25 acres or more who asked to opt out will be automatically excluded, while others who have fewer acreage will have to present their requests to the city council.

Hastings said the city staff expects to present the requests to opt out and an update on the city’s application to the city council in February.

The next step will be a public hearing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to hear from people who have contested the city’s certificate of convenience and necessity application.

That hearing could be a year away, according to Hastings.

“They may ask us to modify our application based on the hearing, but what that could be is Pandora’s box. No body knows,” Hastings said.

City officials have said that approval of the plan to provide water to future developments beyond the city limits will improve public safety in those areas and ultimately save city taxpayers’ money.

Currently, there are a hodgepodge of water providers and few regulations. City Councilman Bruce Motheral has said that because of the loose regulations many subdivisions may not have adequate water flow for fighting fires.

In addition to the public safety issue, officials have said those areas could not be annexed into the city without costly infrastructure improvements.

If the TCEQ approves the city’s request for a certificate of convenience and necessity, the city would be able to set the standards for developers who want to connect to the municipal water system or negotiate standards with developers who still want to install their own water system.

Property owners who already have wells or get water from another utility provider would not be affected, but a city certificate of convenience and necessity could prevent existing utility companies from expanding their service within that area.

MArk Armstrong, Kerrville Daily Times

Austin building $17.5 million line for 'reclaimed' water to UT

2010-01-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

Pipeline is biggest of several similar projects that will eventually lower rates; recycled water to be used for cooling systems, irrigation at university

The City of Austin is planning a pipeline that will send millions of gallons of recycled water annually to the University of Texas, part of a wider conservation effort that could lead to significant water savings and eventually lower bills for many customers.

Next month, construction is set to begin on an underground pipeline down 51st and Red River streets, completing a system that will cost the city $17.5 million and send reclaimed, or partially treated, water to UT, one of the city's biggest consumers. The pipeline will also serve some neighborhoods around the university.

Instead of being discharged into Lady Bird Lake, wastewater will be partially treated at an East Austin plant and piped to UT, which plans to use it at first for water-intensive cooling systems and later for irrigation and other purposes. Treated water will continue to be used for drinking and bathing.

The "UT line" is the biggest example of a push by the city to use reclaimed water. Some lines are already in place, and the city is planning to spend $180 million on such projects over the next three decades or so. Initially, only some users, such as UT, would save on water bills, but as the system spreads to more of the city, more customers would be able to use partially treated water for lawns and pay perhaps half the rates charged for treated water, Mayor Lee Leffingwell said.

"It's a major water conservation effort," said Daryl Slusher , conservation director for the Austin Water Utility. "Long term, it's an environmentally sensitive way to conserve a finite, precious, essential resource."

In Austin, drinking water is usually used for irrigation and cooling, which don't require that level of treatment. By using reclaimed water, city officials say that by 2034, they can free up as much as 10 percent of the city's supply of drinking water to meet the demand of a growing population.

Reclaimed water comes with a price tag, however. The $180 million in so-called purple pipes — purple to help plumbers and work crews identify them — are necessary because potable water and wastewater cannot be mixed with reclaimed water.

Austin already uses reclaimed water, in accordance with a 2005 master plan . Numerous golf courses, parts of the Mueller neighborhood, Austin Energy's Sand Hill Energy Center and others collectively use about 1.9 billion gallons of reclaimed water per year, according to the city. The goal is use of upward of 5.5 billion gallons of reclaimed water citywide by 2034.

UT now reclaims water on a relatively small scale. The university uses about 800 million gallons annually, with about 50 million of that captured and reused for irrigation or cooling towers.

The university is planning to spend about $1 million , in addition to the city's $17.5 million, for the project. The pipeline will allow UT to use reclaimed water for about half its needs, eventually rising to three-quarters of its needs, said Rusty Osborne , who is coordinating the project for the university.

Calculating total savings to UT is difficult, Osborne said, because the university has numerous meters that are charged different rates, based on volume and other factors, meaning that each meter could benefit differently from reclaimed water. But in most cases, reclaimed water costs about one-tenth what UT pays for treated water, Osborne said.

"Virtually everyone agrees there isn't enough water in the state to serve everyone while people use water like they do now," Osborne said. "We need alternatives."

An advisory group the City Council assembled in 2007 agreed. The group identified reclaimed water as the second-highest conservation priority, after lawn-watering restrictions the city now has in place.

Leffingwell, who was chairman of the advisory group as a City Council member, said reclaimed water allows the city to draw less from the Highland Lakes. The city has a financial incentive to minimize its draw: the Lower Colorado River Authority will charge $15 million per year if the city pulls more than 201,000 acre-feet of water from the Highland Lakes for two consecutive years.

Austin is on pace to hit that mark between 2020 and 2025 , but that date could be pushed back with more reclaimed water projects and other new conservation measures, Austin Water Utility Director Greg Meszaros said .

Shavano Park Trinity Wells Project on Track

2010-01-02T07:02:00.000-08:00

Plenty of cities, large and small, would love to trade places with Shavano Park, which wrapped up its recently-completed fiscal year in the black and with “cash in the bank,” City Council was told Dec. 15.

"Every department finished in the black," independent auditor Roger Harrison told council. "The city is in a strong financial position."

Also running smoothly is the city's new Trinity Aquifer water well project, which will be completed on time, according to project manager Grant Snyder.

"This is a typical Trinity well, which will meet your goals and be in line with the project description," he said.

"The Trinity is still in deep drought," he said of the aquifer. "It is actually 80 feet lower than it was in March of 2008. This wet spell that we have had for the past few months hasn't done much for the Trinity. It may have helped the Edwards (Aquifer) but not the Trinity."

Snyder said the extra seven to 10 days needed for testing and finalization of the project will neither require more money from the city nor affect the overall schedule.

During his report, City Manager Manuel Longoria announced that on Dec. 1, the city received an ISO rating of 3.

“This is a great improvement over our current 6 rating,” he said. “This rating could potentially lower the average homeowner's insurance rate as much as 10 percent.”

Insurance Services Office Inc. collects information on municipal fire protection efforts in communities and analyzes the data, using a fire suppression rating schedule. ISO then assigns a public protection classification, ranging from one to 10, with one being the best and 10 being the worst.

“The city of Shavano Park was last rated in 1998,” Longoria said. “Since that time, the fire department and water department have made great strides to improve the quality of service to our residents. These efforts are reflected in this new rating.”

Mayor A. David Marne, on council's recommendation, selected architect Mike McGlone, an Alamo Heights resident, as Shavano Park's nominee to represent suburban cities on the VIA Metropolitan Transit board of directors.

McGlone told council that the city is well placed to take advantages of proposed advances in light rail for the metro region, including light rail.

"I would be committed to looking out for the unique demands of the suburban cities," McGlone told council. He said rapid transit is a good way to make “communities whole.”

The other two nominees were San Antonio attorney Stephen Allison, a former Alamo Heights Independent School District board president, and Elena Guajardo, a former San Antonio City Council member. The nomination will still have to be forwarded to other suburban cities for confirmation.

The nomination of McGlone was held up while Shavano Park council members received a recommendation from the city attorney that the vote had to be taken in public. Marne had suggested that each member write down his or her top choice and submit it to him, but he was advised that would be a violation of the state open meetings act.

"This isn't the right way to do this," Alderman Dave Burns complained of having to state a preference in public.

Alderman Bruce Baumann agreed: "I don't think it is right to ask us to publicly decide from among four people who I think are equally qualified."

Influential Texas State Senator Weighs-In on SAWS - LCRA Water Squabble

2009-12-19T05:58:00.000-08:00

State Senator Glen Hegar, a Katy Republican, was a law school classmate of mine. He is the youngest member of the Texas Senate, and a member of the Senate Natural resources Committee. This summer he weighed-in on the SAWS LCRA Colorado River water lawsuit by publishing the following guest commentary in the Austin American Statesman:

It is extremely disappointing that the San Antonio Water System's Board of Trustees decided to file a frivolous lawsuit in hopes of finding a judge who will force the Lower Colorado River Authority to do what science and engineering have proven cannot be done.

I am equally disturbed that SAWS would take this action while pursuing groundwater alternatives in other areas of my Senate district. SAWS must think that acting like a bully and filing a lawsuit will get a different result. However, science and only science will determine the feasibility of the project.

With the rapid increase in Texas population over the next several decades, water fights will increase as demand intensifies. LCRA and SAWS came together in 2001 to plan to develop water together to benefit both regions. The plan was the first of its kind: SAWS would pay to develop and conserve water in the Colorado River basin; in return, SAWS would get some of the water transferred to San Antonio.

Everyone knew it would be expensive and difficult, yet the Legislature said it could go forward so long as LCRA could prove it would protect and benefit the Colorado basin from which the water was to be taken.

After seven years and $35 million, the study came back with a preliminary answer. The plan will not generate enough water to cover the Colorado River basin's water demand growth, protect the environment and meet other customer needs. For those of us in the Colorado basin, we should be grateful to know this now rather than to spend billions on a project that will not work.

The right thing to happen now would be for LCRA and San Antonio to work on what's next rather than go to the courthouse.

The LCRA has done what it said it would do: study the proposal and be honest about the results. SAWS claims that the LCRA was acting foolishly by turning away millions of San Antonio dollars for water development. "We don't understand how LCRA could contemplate giving it all up," says Robert Puente, the head of SAWS.

I guess LCRA knows that when an offer seems too good to be true, it just might be. LCRA is acting on the basis of engineering and science, and the need to protect and benefit the Colorado River basin for which it is responsible, not on a desire for San Antonio's money.

SAWS warns the people in the Colorado River basin that their lakes would have been higher and their agricultural water more reliable if the project had gone through as envisioned.

But the preliminary studies said the opposite — the promises of the original plan cannot be met and also provide adequate water for local people, local industry and the local environment.

Finally, Puente says: "If I lived in their basin, I'd be concerned about how they would make up the loss of all that water, and how it would be paid for if this project does not proceed."

Well, I agree with that. The Colorado River basin will have to conserve and develop water to meet future needs. That is why LCRA has met with hundreds of residents to create a Water Supply Resource Plan, with a target of meeting the needs in the year 2100.

I am confident that LCRA's plan will be based on solid science and reality, not wishes, threats and bags of money from the San Antonio Water System.

How SAWS Water Quality Compares to Other Cities

2009-12-19T05:42:00.000-08:00

EWG -- the "Environmental Work Group," a non-profit consumer advocacy group -- has ranked the water quality of the nation's 100 largest cities.

Here's their take on the top 10 water systems in America:

1. Arlington

2. Providence, R.I.

3. Fort Worth

4. Charleston, S.C.

5. Boston

6. Honolulu

7. Austin

8. Fairfax County, Va.

9. St. Louis

10. Minneapolis

If you're wondering how San Antonio (SAWS) fared, we came in 29th. The report found some chemicals -- many which are unregulated and perfectly legal in the water consumed by all San Antonians.

Read the whole report: EWG Tap Water Database 2009

Cities with the Best and Worst Drinking Water and Tap Water Quality

2009-12-19T05:41:00.000-08:00

EWG's Drinking Water Quality Analysis and Tap Water Database | Environmental Working Group

Texas House Speaker Issues Interim Charges Affecting Water Rights and Permitting

2009-11-21T07:37:00.000-08:00

This week Texas House Speaker Joe Straus released the 81st Legislature's Interim Committee Charges pertaining to Texas House of Representatives Committees. The charges are varied, and few are unexpected. Interim charges represent the "task assignments" delegated by the Speaker to various House committees which are to be completed during the period between Legislative Sessions.

Of particular importance to water interests, water rights holders and water law attorneys in Texas are the Charges made to the House Committee on Natural Resources. That Committee is chaired by Rep. Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton.

The folllowing assignments are contained within Speaker Straus' charges to the House Natural Resources Committee:

1. Evaluate groundwater regulations and permitting processes throughout the state,
including the role of state agencies in groundwater management, the development of desired future conditions, and the adoption of groundwater management plans in relation to regional and state water planning.

2. Monitor the effects of current and proposed federal initiatives that could impact
the implementation of the State Water Plan. Evaluate the policies and investments developed by other states dealing with water issues similar to the State of Texas.

3. Monitor ongoing drought conditions and initiatives to promote water conservation
through the review of the following: state requirements for the submittal of water
conservation plans and annual reporting; the "trigger" for use of drought contingency plans; recommendations by state agencies and the Water Conservation Advisory Council; and progress toward the development of recycled water resources and desalination projects.

4. Evaluate the regulatory model for investor-owned water and sewer utilities, including rate case process and timing, consultant fee recovery, overall cost reductions, and more effective consumer participation.

5. Monitor the agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction.

Balancing water needs of aquifer's many users

2009-11-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

Water restrictions put in place during this year's drought are nothing compared with those of the future if management of the Edwards Aquifer is not changed, scientists say in a new report.

In a worst-case scenario, pumping from the aquifer would have to be cut by as much as 97 percent during a drought to ensure the survival of endangered species dependent on flows of the Comal and San Marcos springs.

“This is where the science has led us to,” said hydrologist Robert Mace, who oversaw research for the report. “This is the start of the process, not the end.”

The findings, presented to the Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program steering committee last week, quantify the problem of meeting the region's water needs during a drought.

The committee must produce a plan that would balance the needs of the 2 million people who depend on the aquifer with the endangered species and downstream communities that need the springs to keep flowing for their own water use.

The 26 stakeholders on the RIP committee include the Edwards Aquifer Authority and representatives of cities, farmers, Dow Chemical, environmental groups, and state and federal agencies from Central Texas to the Gulf Coast. The committee has until 2012 to come up with a plan that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the EAA will approve. Without a plan, the aquifer could come under federal government management.

Cutting pumping from the aquifer by 97 percent is not considered a workable solution by even some of the committee's most conservation-minded members. Instead, the number is a catalyst for the group to re-evaluate how the aquifer could be better used.

It is a starting point for the negotiations among the stakeholders about possible changes to the management of the aquifer, RIP manager Robert Gulley said.

“It's the first time we have had all the stakeholders at the table and they appear to be talking,” he said.

Options include pumps to recirculate water, dams and changes to how and when pumps are used.

There are also options to improve the habitat near the springs for the endangered species and protect them from parasites, non-native species and the public.

Some of this work has already been done, but much more will be needed to allow more pumping from the aquifer during a drought. That will be a driving force at three retreats the group has scheduled for this winter.

The group was created in 2007 by state law, which also required the study, done by the RIP's science subcommittee of hydrologists and biologists.

That legislation was the result of a 1991 federal lawsuit by the Sierra Club, backed by financial interests of those downstream, to protect endangered wild rice, fish, salamanders, beetles and amphipods that live in or near the Comal and San Marcos springs.

Out of the lawsuit, the state created the aquifer authority to allocate withdrawals from the aquifer. The problem of protecting endangered species was not solved.

The RIP study will form the scientific basis for management of the aquifer while protecting the species. It looks ahead at what could happen if nothing about the aquifer and springs have changed, all users are allowed to pump their maximum amount and a severe drought occurs. That maximum is 572,000 acre-feet a year, an amount that has never been pumped. By comparison, 428,000 acre-feet were pumped in 2008.

Under that scenario, the 97 percent reduction in pumping would be required to ensure that the springs would have sufficient flow. Because it is never known when a drought as severe as the one of the 1950s will occur, the pumping reductions would have to be put in place at the beginning of almost any dry spell, said Mace, the hydrologist.

The study is the first to take a comprehensive look at the relationships between the biological demands of the springs and the pumping rates from the aquifer.

“This is a big day for us,” steering committee chairman Con Mims said. “Now our job is going to become much more serious.”

By Colin McDonald - Express-News

Nuclear scars: Tainted water runs beneath Nevada desert

2009-11-13T04:09:00.000-08:00

The state faces a water crisis and population boom, but radioactive waste from the Nevada Test Site has polluted aquifers.November 13, 2009

Reporting from Yucca Flat, Nev.: A sea of ancient water tainted by the Cold War is creeping deep under the volcanic peaks, dry lake beds and pinyon pine forests covering a vast tract of Nevada.

Over 41 years, the federal government detonated 921 nuclear warheads underground at the Nevada Test Site, 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Each explosion deposited a toxic load of radioactivity into the ground and, in some cases, directly into aquifers.

When testing ended in 1992, the Energy Department estimated that more than 300 million curies of radiation had been left behind, making the site one of the most radioactively contaminated places in the nation.

During the era of weapons testing, Nevada embraced its role almost like a patriotic duty. There seemed to be no better use for an empty desert. But today, as Nevada faces a water crisis and a population boom, state officials are taking a new measure of the damage.

They have successfully pressured federal officials for a fresh environmental assessment of the 1,375-square-mile test site, a step toward a potential demand for monetary compensation, replacement of the lost water or a massive cleanup.

"It is one of the largest resource losses in the country," said Thomas S. Buqo, a Nevada hydrogeologist. "Nobody thought to say, 'You are destroying a natural resource.' "

In a study for Nye County, where the nuclear test site lies, Buqo estimated that the underground tests polluted 1.6 trillion gallons of water. That is as much water as Nevada is allowed to withdraw from the Colorado River in 16 years -- enough to fill a lake 300 miles long, a mile wide and 25 feet deep.

At today's prices, that water would be worth as much as $48 billion if it had not been fouled, Buqo said.

Although the contaminated water is migrating southwest from the high ground of the test site, the Energy Department has no cleanup plans, saying it would be impossible to remove the radioactivity. Instead, its emphasis is on monitoring.

Federal scientists say the tainted water is moving so slowly -- 3 inches to 18 feet a year -- that it will not reach the nearest community, Beatty, about 22 miles away, for at least 6,000 years.

Still, Nevada officials reject the idea that a massive part of their state will be a permanent environmental sacrifice zone.

Access to more water could stoke an economic boom in the area, local officials say. More than a dozen companies want to build solar electric generation plants, but the county cannot allow the projects to go forward without more water, said Gary Hollis, a Nye County commissioner.

The problem extends beyond the contamination zone. If too much clean water is pumped out of the ground from adjacent areas, it could accelerate the movement of tainted water. When Nye County applied for permits in recent years to pump clean water near the western boundary of the test site, the state engineer denied the application based on protests by the Energy Department.

(The department did not cite environmental concerns, perhaps to avoid acknowledging the extent of the Cold War contamination. Instead, federal officials said the pumping could compromise security at the test site, which is still in use.)

"Those waters have been degraded," said Republican state Assemblyman Edwin Goedhart of Nye County, who runs a dairy with 18,000 head of livestock. "That water belongs to the people of Nevada. Even before any contamination comes off the test site, I look at this as a matter of social economic justice."

Even before the Cold War turned the landscape radioactive, the test site was a forbidding place, as empty a spot as any in the country.

Creosote and sagebrush covered much of the gravelly terrain, punctuated by soaring mountains and crusty lake beds. In the winter months, snow covered the 7,000-foot Pahute Mesa, and a few herds of wild horses roamed the high country.

In 1950, President Truman secretly selected the site for nuclear testing and withdrew the federally owned land from public use.

In early 1951, atomic blasts started lighting up the sky over Las Vegas, then a city of fewer than 50,000. Early atmospheric tests spawned heavy fallout, and some areas are still so radioactive that anybody entering must wear hazardous-material suits. Later tests were done underground, leaving hundreds of craters that resemble otherworldly scars.

Each of the underground detonations -- some as deep as 5,000 feet -- vaporized a huge chamber, leaving a cavity filled with radioactive rubble.

About a third of the tests were conducted directly in aquifers, and others were hundreds or thousands of feet above the water table. Federal scientists say contamination above the aquifers should remain suspended in the perpetually dry soil, a contention that critics say is unproven.

In the hottest zones, radioactivity in the water reaches millions of picocuries per liter. The federal standard for drinking water is 20 picocuries per liter.

Federal officials say they don't know how much water was contaminated. Whatever the amount, they say, extracting it would be prohibitively expensive, and even if the radioactive material could be separated, it would have to be put back in the ground elsewhere.

Although radiation levels in the water have declined, the longer-lived isotopes will continue to pose risks for tens of thousands of years. The Energy Department has 48 monitoring wells at the site and began drilling nine deep wells in the summer.

Bill Wilborn, the Energy Department's water expert at the site, said the water is moving about two-thirds of a mile every 1,000 years from low-lying Yucca Flat, where 660 nuclear tests were conducted.

At the higher Pahute Mesa, where 81 of the biggest and deepest tests occurred, the water movement is more complicated. It generally flows downhill toward Beatty and the agricultural district of Amargosa Valley. On average, it is moving 1 3/4 miles every 1,000 years, but the annual pace ranges from about 1 foot to 18 feet, Wilborn said.

"The good thing is that it is not highly mobile," he said. "There are not a lot of nearby [people], and we are not pumping to accelerate the flow."

Federal scientists concede that much is unknown about the test site, whose vast size and complex geology make it a difficult place to study in detail.

Based on their calculations, government geologists acknowledge that the forward plume of radioactive water under Pahute Mesa should have already crossed the site boundary, although it has yet to be detected by monitoring wells. Some experts worry that the contamination could reach deeper aquifers that move much more quickly.

Because the contaminated water poses no immediate health threat, the Energy Department has ranked Nevada at the bottom of its priority list for cleaning up major sites in the nuclear weapons complex, and it operates far fewer wells than at most other contaminated sites.

The test site receives about $65 million a year from the department's $5.5-billion annual nuclear cleanup budget. By contrast, about $1.8 billion a year is spent on the Hanford plutonium production site in Washington state, even though soil and water contamination there is one-thousandth as severe as in Nevada.

Although Nevada has not pressed for compensation or replacement water so far, public officials say they are considering such action.

They have been emboldened by their recent success in blocking a federal plan to build a nuclear waste dump adjacent to the test site at Yucca Mountain.

"All the attention has been on Yucca Mountain. Now if the battle has been won on Yucca Mountain, then you may see some attention that will focus on cleaning up the test site," said Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), who wrote the authoritative history of the Nevada Test Site.

The state attorney general's office recently put a temporary halt on dumping low-level radioactive waste from other states at the Nevada Test Site. Under pressure from the office, the federal government agreed this year to conduct a new environmental analysis of the site.

"Once we have the new environmental impact statement, then we will be able to talk about the federal government compensating the state," said Marta Adams, senior deputy attorney general.

Said Allen Biaggi, director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources: "We have every expectation of the federal government cleaning up the Nevada Test Site. . . . It would cost a lot, but our groundwater is worth it."

By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times

Edwards Aquifer users will pay more for water in 2010

2009-11-12T03:36:00.000-08:00

The Edwards Aquifer Authority’s board of directors approved a rate hike for the first time in five years for its 2010 budget.

The organization’s $13.9 million operating budget includes an aquifer management fee increase for municipal and industrial groundwater users. The board boosted the fee by $2, from $37 per acre-foot to $39 per acre-foot.

The increase will help fund new initiatives designed to improve the authority’s ability to protect and manage the aquifer. The rate for agricultural users is set by statute and remains unchanged. Among the initiatives are efforts to address abandoned and deteriorated wells in the Edwards Aquifer region and a recharge enhancement program to facilitate projects aimed at increasing recharge to the aquifer.

San Antonio Business Journal

Editorial: S.A. must stay vigilant about conserving water

2009-11-12T03:34:00.000-08:00

The San Antonio Water System has lifted the drought restrictions on water usage, and that's good news.

But it doesn't mean residents should return to careless habits.

In fact, San Antonians should never let down their guard when it comes to water conservation.

Welcome rain has pushed the local benchmark Edwards Aquifer well more than eight feet above the Stage 1 drought restrictions trigger of 660 feet above sea level.

But that's not much padding. Without more rain the well can drop to 660 feet easily, particularly when spring agricultural activities begin next year.

San Antonians proved this summer that they can responsibly manage the aquifer during periods of drought.

The need to manage the aquifer remains a priority because the underground reservoir will be the region's major water source for the foreseeable future.

SAWS has made progress diversifying the city's water supply, but that process is far more complicated than officials envisioned when water plans were originally formulated to reduce dependence on the aquifer.

Looming in the background is the legal requirement for the region to submit a recovery implementation program, also known as a RIP, to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the end of 2012.

The plan must detail how endangered species that depend on aquifer spring flows will be saved in a prolonged drought.

And that plan could require stricter conservation measures than area residents have ever seen when aquifer levels begin to plummet.

Good conservation habits are essential all year, every year. Even when rain is plentiful we must stay aware of the need to avoid a rapid descent into extreme restrictions.

Proposed pumpage limit draws fire in Kerr County

2009-11-12T03:32:00.000-08:00

KERRVILLE — Keeping up with the testimony at a Texas Water Development Board hearing here last week required the roughly 75 people who attended to digest a smorgasbord of abbreviations.

The hearing's purpose was for Kerr County and others to dispute a regional planning group's projections about future groundwater availability, projections slated for inclusion in the state's long-term water management plans.

Critics say the group's data will shortchange Kerr County on groundwater allotments.

Specifically — and this is where the alphabet soup comes in — the Plateau Water Planning Group, or PWPG, and Upper Guadalupe River Authority, or UGRA, appealed against the Desired Future Conditions document, or DFC, adopted last year in Groundwater Management Area 9 — that's GMA9.

The DFC document calls for “no net increase in average drawdown” through 2060 for the Edwards-Trinity Plateau Aquifer in GMA9, a region covering all or parts of Bandera, Bexar, Blanco, Comal, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Medina and Travis counties. And that translated into a proposed annual pumpage limit for Kerr County that was too restrictive, unrealistic and unenforceable, critics argued.

Locals had asked for more time to study the issue, but a GMA9 committee in August 2008 voted 8-1 to adopt the DFC, which isn't required to be submitted to the state until September.

Delaying action would have allowed newer data to be used, said Diane McMahon, board president of the Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District — or HGCD — at last week's hearing.

She cast the DFC dispute as “an honest difference of opinion.”

Water levels in the highly porous aquifer often fluctuate due to rain, drought and heavy use, they note, and total pumping can't be regulated effectively because of the prevalence of small, private wells that lack meters.

Noting the aquifer's water table fluctuates as much as 90 feet annually, the plaintiffs' hydrology expert, Charles Kreitler, testified that tracking spring flows would better gauge its health — and provide a better trigger for pumpage limits when the springs get too low — than the current practice oof observing a single monitoring well.

Legislation adopted in 2001 charged the Texas Water Development Board with delineating the state's aquifers and creating groups to manage the groundwater.

In 2005, the Legislature ordered groundwater conservation districts within the 16 management areas to work together to identify “desired future conditions” for use in calculating “managed available groundwater,” or MAG, values in each area. The MAGs are used for regional water plans, groundwater management and permitting.

When the zero-drawdown goal for GMA9 was entered into state computer models, they calculated a managed available groundwater allotment of 1,263 acre-feet a year for Kerr County.

That figure was far below previous sustainability estimates of the amount that could be pumped, Kerr County Commissioner Jonathan Letz noted. Current pumping from wells might already exceed that total, he said.

Based on an average daily household consumption of 437 gallons, just 2,578 families — out of a county population of about 49,000 — would consume the entire amount, said Letz, who is also chairman of the PWPG board.

He said adopting such a low managed available groundwater limit would abridge residents' property rights and cause problems for the headwaters district, which would be required to cap pumping at 1,263 acre-feet a year but prohibited from denying new permits for small domestic and livestock wells.

Also testifying was GMA9 Committee President Ron Fieseler, who defended the desired future conditions data and said critics failed to prove it was not “reasonable,” which he called the only basis for an appeal allowable in the Texas Water Code.

Fieseler said his GMA9 panel shares concerns about protecting Guadalupe River spring flow, so it “set a DFC that would discourage drilling of new wells” and provide for minimal allowable pumping.

He called it reasonable to manage the aquifer using one monitoring well.

The state water board is expected to consider the county appeal at its January meeting. The appeal contends the GMA9 vote on desired future conditions for two smaller aquifers, the Hickory and Ellenburger, was illegal because inadequate notice was given on the agenda for the 2008 meeting.

Fieseler didn't comment on that. The GMA9 panel has yet to set desired future conditions for the other two aquifers within its borders, the Middle Trinity and Lower Trinity.

Disputes over desired future conditions have arisen in several other planning areas around Texas, officials said, but only one other appeal has been filed with the state.

Zeke MacCormack - Express-News

Drought Study Ties Water Shortage to Population Explosion

2009-10-06T03:47:00.000-07:00

The drought that gripped the Southeast from 2005 to 2007 was not unprecedented and resulted from random weather events, not global warming, Columbia University researchers have concluded. They say its severe water shortages resulted from population growth more than rainfall patterns.

The researchers, who report their findings in an article in Thursday’s issue of The Journal of Climate, cite census figures showing that in Georgia alone the population rose to 9.54 million in 2007 from 6.48 million in 1990.

“At the root of the water supply problem in the Southeast is a growing population,” they wrote.

Richard Seager, a climate expert at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory who led the study, said in an interview that when the drought struck, “people were wondering” whether climate change linked to a global increase in heat-trapping gases could be a cause.

But after studying data from weather instruments, computer models and measurements of tree rings, which reflect yearly rainfall, “our conclusion was this drought was pretty normal and pretty typical by standards of what has happened in the region over the century,” Mr. Seager said.

Similar droughts unfolded over the last thousand years, the researchers wrote. Regardless of climate change, they added, similar weather patterns can be expected regularly in the future, with similar results.

In an interview, Douglas LeComte, a drought specialist at the Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service, said the new report “makes sense.” Although Weather Service records suggest the 2005-7 drought was the worst in the region since the 1950s, Mr. LeComte said, “we have had worse droughts before.”

Some climate models developed by scientists predict that the Southeast will be wetter in a warming world. But the Columbia researchers said it would be unwise to view climate change as a potential solution to future water shortages.

As the region’s temperature rises, there may be more rain, they wrote, but evaporation will increase, possibly leaving the area drier than ever.

Mr. LeComte said that creating greater water storage capacity — say, in reservoirs — could mitigate drought effects in areas where population was rising.

“I am not going to criticize any governments for what they did or did not do,” he said. “But if you have more people and the same amount of water storage, you are going to increase the impact of droughts.”

The researchers said rainfall patterns in the Southeast were linked only weakly to weather patterns like La Niña and El Niño, the oscillating warm and cold conditions in the eastern Pacific linked to precipitation rates in the Southwestern United States.

Instead, they wrote, any variation in rainfall in the Southeast commonly “arises from internal atmospheric processes and is essentially unpredictable.”

By Cornelia Dean, New York Times

San Antonio Water Situation Improving?

2009-10-06T03:24:00.000-07:00

As soon as the city leaders decide whether to invest another $400 million in expanding nuclear electricity production, water will become a big issue.

That's largely because some local heavyweights hit the panic button during the mercilessly hot, dry summer featuring water restrictions that remain in place. Those water worriers can calm down, and not just because it has been raining lately.

The bottom line is that the San Antonio Water System has been quietly amassing additional water supplies without the flashy multi-river basin plans that marked water plans of the past.

The drought justifiably raised awareness about the water issue, and Mayor Julián Castro said he intends to bring renewed focus to water later this year. “I've met a couple of times with (SAWS Board Chairman Alex Briseño and SAWS CEO Robert Puente) and asked them to review their water plan,” Castro said this week.

The mayor added he “asked about accelerating the process for adding acre-feet and speeding up investment. I want to achieve a significant addition in short order to our water portfolio as long as it's a reasonable cost.” Puente said the mayor's goal can be achieved and that SAWS leaders got the mayor's commitment “to assist if it meant rate increases.”

The bottom line is whether ratepayers want to pay the price for bringing massive amounts of expensive water into the city so every lawn can be golf-course green.

Maybe an acceleration of bringing SAWS projects online is merited. That's a political decision.

Still, SAWS can manage Edwards Aquifer pumping using an assortment of supplemental sources without rushing into the another complicated project with a maze of political and technical difficulties.

SAWS is piling up additional Edwards Aquifer water rights and working on various other projects that add to the city's reserve but don't grab attention.

Puente says economic development was not hurt by the drought, adding the city drew major businesses such as Whataburger, Medtronic and the Toyota expansion in the driest 23 months on record.

Puente secured a deal for an additional 8,300 acre-feet of Edwards water from Uvalde a couple of weeks ago. The utility is working on an agreement with Schertz and Seguin officials that could save $100 million in pipeline costs and accelerate the permitting process for 11,500 acre-feet of Carrizo Aquifer water from Gonzales.

SAWS' first brackish desalination plant is set to begin production in 2014 or 2015. It will produce 12,000 acre-feet and has the potential to grow.

The utility's storage project was not tapped this summer in a prudent move that will reap dividends if the drought continues. The storage project, originally designed to hold 28,000-acre feet, now has 53,000 acre-feet. SAWS is seeking another location to store Edwards water pumped in times of plenty.

The failure of the Lower Guadalupe River Basin and the Lower Colorado River Authority projects were splashy news and caused some to believe that SAWS is not moving forward and led to the questionable distraction of a SAWS lawsuit against the LCRA.

But when community leadersdo refocus on SAWS' supply plan their blood pressure likely will drop.

Of course, San Antonio must keep planning ahead, but the city is not in the position of weaknesses that some assume. The small-ball acquisitions and quiet relationship-repair that Puente and Briseño are orchestrating is a prudent and productive approach.

San Antonio should stick with this route instead of reverting to the window-dressing deals of the past.

By Bruce Davidson, Express News

Contested Case Trial begins in SAWS Efforts to Obtain Water from Gonzales County

2009-10-06T03:07:00.000-07:00

Monday saw the opening arguments and first day of witness testimony in the contested case "trial" over whether the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is entitled to permits to produce and transport 11,683acre-feet (annually) of Carrizo groundwater from Gonzales County, Texas. The tiny Gonzales County Commissioners' Courtroom was packed with onlookers, many of which wore shirts and caps emblazoned with slogans reflecting their opposition to the applications and SAWS' exportation of water from this rural community.

SAWS filed its permit applications with the Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation District (GCUWCD) in 2006. Several entities and individuals, including the GCUWCD's General Manager, filed protests to the SAWS applications. These protests resulted in referral of the case to a Hearings Examiner for review and ultimate recommendation. John Vay, the examiner, is an environmental attorney out of Austin, who has also served as Hearings Examiner for other groundwater conservation districts considering permit applications.

The requested permits seek water which is intended to be part of SAWS' "Regional Carrizo Project" as described in the SAWS Water Resource Plan. According to that Plan and the applications filed with GCUWCD, SAWS seeks to transport the water from Gonzales County to San Antonio for use by SAWS' retail customers.

The Parties protesting SAWS' application are the GCUWCD GM, Schertz-Seguin Local Government Corporation, Canyon Regional Water Authority, the Gonzales County Water Supply Corporation, the City of Nixon, the City of Smiley, the Water Protection Association, and Dorothy Ploeger (a local landowner and groundwater permit holder). Each of these parties are represented in the case by experienced water lawyers. The contested case hearing is expected to last through October 13, 2009.

At the conclusion of the hearing, attorneys representing the parties will submit written closing argument. As in other administrative law cases, the Hearings Examiner will then issue a written Proposal for decision to the GCUWCD Board of Directors. Ultimately, the Board will determined whether to issue or deny the permits and associated water rights sought by SAWS.

Diamond Water issues boil notice for upscale community near Bulverde

2009-10-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

Residents of Rim Rock Ranch subdivision, located just off FM 1863 between Oak Village North and the Cibolo Creek, have had to boil their drinking water after being notified last week by Diamond Water Company that a contaminant had been detected at the subdivision's well site.

Rim Rock Ranch is not located within the Bulverde city limits.

Southwest Water Co., which is headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif., purchased Diamond Water in May 2007.

“Earlier this month, we received an inconclusive test of the treated water,” said Delise Keim, vice president of communications for Southwest Water Co. “As a responsible purveyor of water, we issued a precautionary boil water notice and increased the amount of chlorine.

“At no time did the contaminant make it's way into the distribution system. The contaminant was found at the well site.”

Keim said the water leaves the well and goes into a storage facility where it is treated, tested, and released into the distribution lines.

“We have not released any water into the lines that has not tested safe to drink,” she said.

Test samples found coliform bacteria, but after treating the water test samples were negative.

“But it's still very important that residents comply with the boil water notice,” Keim said.

According to Keim, about 350 homes have been notified to boil water until the problem has been resolved.

Matt Damon and Bill Clinton Team-up to Provide Water to Haiti???

2009-10-01T23:26:00.000-07:00

Last week at the opening plenary of the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, Water.org co-founders Matt Damon and Gary White announced the organization's $2 million commitment to provide 50,000 people in Haiti with safe water and sanitation over the next three years. As part of the commitment, Water.org has also launched a social media campaign so that anyone can participate in meeting the water challenge in Haiti.

"The situation in Haiti is extreme - it's the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and nearly half of its people don't have access to clean water," said Water.org Co-Founder Gary White. "Expanding Water.org's programming to Haiti will help people break the cycle of disease and poverty."

Water.org's Haiti Commitment will reach beneficiaries with grant-driven programs while also exploring opportunities with microfinance institutions in Haiti under its WaterCredit Initiative. WaterCredit is a financial innovation that brings microfinance to the world's poor who lack safe water and sanitation. It is the first comprehensive program of its kind to move beyond grant-driven charity and enables microfinance activity in the water and sanitation sector. WaterCredit leverages commercial capital and motivates microfinance institutions to launch loan portfolios to assist the poor who lack basic water and sanitation services.

The Haiti Challenge encourages visitors to fundraise and "friend-raise" for the cause through their online social networks. Getting a friend to really care about the water crisis is as important as asking for a donation. The Haiti Challenge website includes new technologies that leverage the most popular social media sites, making it quick and easy for people to invite their friends and followers to support the cause. Learn more about the Haiti Challenge and get involved at www.water.org.

New Design Selected for Revised texaswaterlaw.com website

2009-10-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

Texaswaterlaw.com -- R L Wilson, P.C. Law Firm's Water law website -- is undergoing a complete makeover. The site's new look will be crisp, clean, and reflective of our committment to advocating the interests of Texans in need of legal representation related to the production, purchase, sale, transfer and supply of water. Our design firm, TO Design of San Antonio, has put the finishing touches on the new homepage template, and our IT consultant will be adding flash animation, a new highly-relevant and informational content. RSS newsfeeds will provide the latest information on water issues that are important to our clients and to all Texans.

Here is a glimpse of the new site layout:

We are excited by the prospect of texaswaterlaw.com becoming the premiere resource for water law and water rights issues in Texas.

Look out for a formal announcement when the new site is up-and-running!

TCEQ Inspection and Enforcement of Violations

2009-10-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) conducts inspections of business as a part of its ongoing efforts to "protect" the public from environmental hazards. Inspections generally arise from a regular/random inspection, or in response to a specific complaint or a spill. Inspections are usually unannounced.

TCEQ Rules require investigators to review their inspection findings with the business owner or his representative in an exit interview. During this interview, the investigator will reveal what violations, if any, were found. If the investigator
finds no problems, he or she will issue a letter called a “general compliance letter.”

If a violation is observed, the TCEQ will respond by commencing its “enforcement
process” designed to ensure that your facility complies with Texas and federal environmental law and TCEQ rules. If your facility does not or cannot correct all alleged violations within 14 calendar days (or in serious circumstances such as an actual emission or discharge) the TCEQ will issue a letter called a “notice of violation,” or NOV. The NOV is a formal statement of the specific violations the
investigator found. It will also require certain corrective actions and may ask you to submit a written schedule that shows when and how your business plans to correct each of the alleged violations. If the violations are serious enough, the NOV mandates a schedule you must follow.

You must respond to the NOV in writing before a presecribed deadline. You may also have an attorney respond to the NOV and/or meet with the TCEQ investigator and enforcement staff. If you decide to hire an attorney, be sure to choose one with experience dealing with the TCEQ who is knowledgeable about their process and administrative law, generally.

If you don’t respond to the NOV by the deadline, you will likely forfeit some of your rights under the law and the TCEQ Rules. In many cases, failure to respond will result in the TCEQ commissioners entering a “default order.” The default order could require you to pay a fine—even if you have corrected the violations.

The TCEQ has powerful enforcement powers, and can even resort to judicial enforcement through the civil Courts. In extreme cases, Texas peace officers may even request criminal enforcement review by the TCEQ. If this occurs, the consequences can be dire.

The TCEQ's enforcement process can be overwhelming, but solutions are available, both before and during the formal enforcement process. Payment Plans, deferrals of fines (administrative penalties) and even community environmental projects ("SEP")are often accepted by the TCEQ before and during the enforcement process. However, the key to negotiating a settlement with the TCEQ lies in understanding their enforcement powers and limitations.

If your business has received notice of a violation from the TCEQ, you should act promptly to safeguard your legal rights.

Christus begins harvesting water at New Braunfels hospital

2009-09-22T05:26:00.000-07:00

Christus Santa Rosa Hospital - New Braunfels has invested in a new water harvesting system at its hospital campus that should save more than 875,000 gallons of water annually.

The hospital implemented a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system that includes 12 new air handling units with efficient cooling coils. In addition, the system has eight water harvesting tanks that can capture 220 gallons each to be used for the hospital’s cooling tower.

“As water resources continue to be a scare commodity, we continually strive to be good stewards of our community,” says Jim D. Wesson, vice president and administrator at the New Braunfels hospital.

Since Christus Santa Rosa Health Care purchased the New Braunfels hospital — formerly McKenna Memorial Hospital — in February 2008, the health system has invested nearly $4 million in new services and equipment.

Christus Santa Rosa Health Care is a Catholic faith-based, nonprofit health and wellness ministry. The system has four hospitals in the San Antonio area.

San Antonio Business Journal

BexarMet Still Fighting with Residents Over Elevated Tank Site

2009-09-14T08:29:00.001-07:00

No one seems to want the Bexar Metropolitan Water District's proposed 15-story water storage tank in their backyard, but the beleaguered water utility has to find a place for it somewhere soon.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has issued an order for an elevated water storage tank to service BexarMet's coverage area in northern Stone Oak, known collectively as pressure zone 1395.

The 2.5 million-gallon tank would help alleviate area water pressure problems and would serve as a backup water source if something goes wrong with the utility's Knights Cross facility.

BexarMet spokesman Mike Lopez said it's supposed to be built by the end of 2010, but board members must first decide where they're going to put it. The long struggle doesn't appear to be getting any easier if Monday's special board meeting was any indication.

“You are going to build this literally in people's backyards,” Timber Oaks North resident Dayle Manny told the board. “You have caused us misery for two-and-a-half months. It has been a nightmare.”

BexarMet board members and staff on Monday discussed three possible homes for the water tower: a 1.35-acre parcel of land off Flagstone Drive in Timber Oaks North between Timberwood Park and Stone Oak; a one-acre tract off Canyon Golf Road close to the Champions Ridge neighborhood and a parcel at the southwest corner of U.S. 281 and Overlook Parkway.

BexarMet project engineer Bobby Mengden said the cheapest option is Flagstone, which came as an unwelcome surprise to some Timber Oaks North residents who thought that option was off the table. The total project would cost $5.5 million on Flagstone, compared with $7.4 million on Canyon Golf and $9.5 million on Overlook.

The BexarMet board unanimously voted recently to suspend putting the water tower on Flagstone Drive. Timber Oaks North residents had been fearing declining property values and accused BexarMet of keeping them in the dark about considering building the tower in their neighborhood.

The key is Flagstone Drive's proximity to Blanco Road, Mengden said.

BexarMet has water transmission lines along Blanco almost all the way up to the West Oak Estates neighborhood with plans to extend those lines even further north.

The Overlook Parkway site would require about a mile-and-a-half of connection lines at a cost of $3.2 million. Also, the Overlook and Canyon Golf sites would need additional ground stations to pump the water up to where it needs to be, Mengden added.

Lopez stressed that the purpose of Monday's meeting was to discuss tower location options for property that BexarMet already owns. BexarMet bought the Flagstone site three months ago.

After a nearly two-and-a-half hour executive session, board members declined to take action on a two-acre piece of property at the end of Hardy Oak Road adjacent to Blanco.

BexarMet was going to rely on eminent domain to buy the property late last year after its owners refused to sell.

Lopez said that's still on the table.

Champions Ridge Homeowners Association President Joe Silman asked the BexarMet board whether an elevated tank is necessary, citing a 2007 agreement between BexarMet and Stone Oak residents that called for a ground-level water storage tank on the Canyon Golf site. Stone Oak homeowners have also complained the water tower's possible aesthetics.

BexarMet could go with a ground-level tank if TCEQ officials grant a variance, and the pressure zone that covers the southern half of Stone Oak has operated with ground-level tanks just fine, Silman said.

“There's no elevated storage in that pressure zone, and it has thousands of connections,” he said. “TCEQ at some point made an exception. All we're asking is that BexarMet make a concentrated effort to request a variance.”

Desperate believers turn to saint for rain

2009-09-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

SAN ANTONIO — Farmers in South Texas can't raise their crops, so they are bowing their heads.

An extended drought has led to a dire situation that transcends meteorology. They are praying to God for the most basic of necessities: Water.

But — perhaps for good measure — it appears that more and more who farm the dry, sun-baked land in this heavily-Catholic part of Texas are also turning to St. Isidore, considered the patron saint of farming.

At some Catholic supply stores, sales of St. Isidore candles have gone up as much as 40 percent lately.

"We pray to the saints not because they're gods or anything, but they're in heaven, and so they're close to God, and we have them put in a good word for us," Father Sam Heitkant explained.

He noted that St. Isidore's wife, Maria, is also a saint who is known for helping provide relief in a drought. She is more commonly prayed to in Spain, and Father Heitkant said the Spanish tend to get angrier with St. Maria than with St. Isidore.

"If they pray and nothing happens, they take Maria's statue and turn it toward the wall," he said.

But with more people in South Texas turning to St. Isidore, to St. Maria, and, of course, to God — one might ask when God is going to answer all these prayers for rain?

"He hears them all and he answers them all," Father Heitkant said with a laugh, "but sometimes not the way we wanted them answered."

If St. Isidore doesn't intercede soon, some farmers may have to start praying to St. Jude — the patron saint of hopeless causes.

KENS 5

Feds Deny Responsibility for California's Water Woes

2009-09-06T05:54:00.000-07:00

FRESNO, Calif. — Top Obama administration officials took California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to task Thursday for blaming the state's water crisis on federal environmental restrictions.

The governor sent a letter to Washington on Wednesday demanding a response to "catastrophic impacts" he said were caused by federal environmental rules that have slashed water deliveries.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke countered that a three-year drought is responsible for most of the state's water shortages, not agency scientists.

A Schwarzenegger spokesman said the governor's office was reviewing the secretaries' written response.

Tight water supplies have caused cities throughout the state to ration supplies and farmers to abandon a quarter-million acres of croplands.

The state's failure to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the freshwater estuary that forms the heart of the state's outdated water delivery system, has only compounded the problem, the secretaries said.

"We are disappointed that your letter would attempt to lay the California water crisis at the feet of agency scientists," the letter read. "You can be assured that the federal government will be a full partner to help implement any comprehensive plan that the state enacts into law."

The officials also said they were open to independent scientific reviews of the restrictions, which were designed to protect fish native to the delta, the main conduit for shipping water from north to south.

Federal water managers also have expressed support for exploring environmental problems caused by wastewater discharges from cities, another source of threats to salmon and other fish that rely on the delta for their habitat.

Will Lack of Water Lead to More Violence in Mexico????

2009-09-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

The Mexico City Human Rights Committee (CDHDF) is warning that the water shortage in the Valley of Mexico could lead to increasing violence, with residents fighting over the scarce resource.

Emilio Alvarez Icaza, president of the committee, urged local authorities and residents to come to terms with the scarcity of water, and realize that it poses a real risk to the functioning of the Mexico City metropolitan area.

Alvarez said that the unchecked, clandestine urbanization of recent years has expanded the metropolitan area into zones that are supposed to be conservation areas, which provide 70 percent of the city's water. The use of conservation zones for city expansion has reduced available water levels, because it causes the loss of ecological balance.

With urbanization into conservation areas, climate change, and this year's low rainfall, the Human Rights Committee stressed that the city's water problems are real and residents need to make changes in the way they relate to water and use it.

"We have a serious problem in terms of water culture," said Alvarez. "It's not an exaggeration to say that the viability and functioning of the city depends on the availability of water."

He said that the new relationship with water should start in homes and with government initiatives.

TXDOT Gets Hammered for Taking Water Rights

2009-09-02T04:54:00.000-07:00

If you spend any time driving Texas Highways -- and I spend quite a bit -- it's hard not to notice the several new and hulking rest stops being built by the Texas Department of Transportation.

As is often the case with government projects requiring prime pieces of real estate, TXDOT often condemns the properties upon which its rest stops are built. Condemntaion is a legalized manner of government taking private property for public use. Often referred to a "eminent domain," the right of the government to take private property for public use is mot without limits. Instead, Chapter 21 of the Texas Property Code lays-out the exact and only manner by which a unit of Texas government may condemn property. One of Chapter 21's requirements is that the government unit performing the condemning (the "Condemnor") negotiate in good faith with the landowner ("Condemnee") for the purpose of attempting to acquire the property through a voluntary sale/purchase transaction. Not surprising is the fact that Condemnors often refuse to negotiate in "good faith," and instead low-ball property owners through a "take-it or leave-it" appraoch. Sometimes, this approach backfires.

A recent verdict by a Bell County, Texas jury recently re-iterated the importance of "good faith" negotiations by hammering TXDOT for that agency's taking of 27.7 acres of IH35 frontage road property that is now a rest stop south of Salado, Texas. The acreage was among 378 acres owned by 7KX investments. The land included nine commercial grade groundwater wells that tapped into the Edwards Aquifer, with six of the wells located on the land TxDOT eventually took using eminent domain.

In 2004 TXDOT offered the landowners less than $500,000 for the property. However, by that time, the landowner already had two potential buyers interested in purchasing water from the wells. Once the state took possession of the land, 7KX was not able to access the wells, and lost the revenues associated with selling the water. TXDOT refused to recognize the landowenrs' claim for the revenues from the lost water sales.

An expert for the landowner testified that the lost revenues pushed the value of the condemned property to $5.88 million. The jury agreed, and after less than two hours, 7KX was awarded that exact amount, the lion's share of which was attributed to lost water rights.

The pricey new rest stop is located off of southbound Interstate 35 near Salado, Texas. Based upon selection of that location by TXDOT, all Texans will foot the bill for 7kX's lost water rights. I know I plan on stopping every time I pass by!

SAWS Sues LCRA for $1B + Alleging Breach of Contract

2009-08-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

San Antonio Seeks Recovery of 80 Years Worth of Lost Water

The San Antonio Water System filed a $1.23 billion breach of contract suit against the Lower Colorado River Authority on Monday in state district court in Austin.

According to a release from SAWS, the “suit challenges ‘policy assumptions' made by LCRA in December 2008 which directly and unilaterally rendered the agencies' water supply project unworkable. The project was under development for the benefit of the entire lower Colorado River basin and the City of San Antonio.”

“SAWS seeks recovery of the amount due it under the contract, defined as the difference between the project cost of 90,000 acre-feet per year for 80 years and the total cost of acquiring the same amount of water from another source, or $1.23 billion,” the release says.

When the project began, it was projected that SAWS would spend $900 million to develop 330,000 acre-feet of water in the river in exchange for the right to bring 150,000 acre-feet to San Antonio. Studies since have pushed the estimated price up to $2.2 billion and decreased San Antonio's take to 90,000 acre-feet.

Consolidation Continues in Valley Water Wars

2009-08-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

The Judge of the 197th District Court of Cameron County, Texas signed an Order last week transferring the suit filed by East Rio Hondo Water Supply Corporation against an 80 year-old customer to the 357th District Court. That suit, styled ERHWSC vs. Carolina Ruiz, et al, represents the utility's counter-attack against an elderly widow whose water service was interrupted for more than 60 days last summer after she failed to grant the utility an easement it had requested.

Mrs. Ruiz' water service was restored when attorney Trey Wilson obtained an Emergency Order from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality last October. The TCEQ found that the utility's interruption of Mrs. Ruiz' water service was not permitted under the Texas Water Code. In addition, the State ORDERED East Rio Hondo to provide Mrs. Ruiz with continuous and adequate water service.

Mrs. Ruiz had filed suit against the utility in the 357th District Court seeking compensation for the damages she sustained while her service was illegally terminated. In what can only be considered an effort to intimidate Mrs. Ruiz and run-up litigation costs, the utility responded by filing a separate suit against Mrs. Ruiz in the same courthouse where her suit (and a related suit brought by otther ERHWSC customers whose service was also illegally terminated) was already pending.

Judge Migdalia Lopez of the 197th District Court determined that Judge Leonel Alejandro of the 357th District Court was better-suited to hear the utility's complaint because he was already familiar with the dispute. With her ruling, the utility's and its customers' competing claims are all before one court -- the 357th.

Mrs. Ruiz' claims against the utility are set to be heard by a Cameron County jury on November 17, 2009.

San Antonio Company nearing deal to ship bottled water to Middle East

2009-08-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

San Antonio-based S2C Global Systems Inc. inked a preliminary agreement with a United Arab Emirates company that, if finalized, would allow bottled water to be shipped from Alaska to the Middle East.

S2C Global (OTCBB: STWG) is working with AKO Holding in the UAE. The agreement calls for the sale of billions of gallons of bulk water, S2C’s distribution technology and the establishment of packaging and receiving facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Libya, Syria, Egypt and Kazakhstan.

AKO Holding is currently in discussions with a Saudi Arabia group to negotiate the price and terms of the bulk water agreement. The company has offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. AKO is owned by Adel Al Otaiba and has investments in oil and gas, aviation, finance and real estate.

S2C Global has subsidiaries in Alaska, British Columbia and Nevada. The company’s Alaska Resource Management LLC subsidiary has a partnership with True Alaska Bottling to export water from the water sheds of Baranof Island, Alaska.

Surface Water Rights In Texas

2009-08-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

In Texas, there are two primary types of appropriated surface water rights: perpetual rights, including certificates of adjudication and permits; and limited-term rights including term permits, temporary permits, seasonal permits, contractual permits, and emergency permits. Perpetual appropriated water rights generally have the following features in common:

• An assigned priority date. This date determines the holder’s priority for available water. Regardless of the priority date, whenever there is less water than is needed to satisfy all water rights in a basin, each appropriated right is subordinate to domestic and livestock users for the available water.

• A specified volume of water that the holder may take or use within each year and a diversion rate if there is diversion of water; access to this volume of water is subject to varying degrees of reliability depending upon the availability of water and the holder’s priority date.

• An ability to impound water (for example, to store it in a reservoir above a dam), to divert water (for example, to pump it from the stream), or both.

A right to impound water is called an impoundment right. An impoundment right will specify the location of the holder’s dam, the capacity of the holder’s reservoir, and any special conditions placed on the holder’s right to impound water—for example, a permit may state the condition that the holder “may impound only the portion of the stream flow that exceeds 100 cubic feet per second.”
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A right to divert water is called a diversion right and is often referred to as a “run-of-the-river” right. A diversion right will specify where the holder may divert water (that is, the holder’s diversion point), the rate at which the holder may divert water, and any special conditions placed on the holder’s right to divert water—for example, a permit may state the condition that the holder “may divert water only between October 1 and November 30 of each year or when the stream flow is at a certain level.”

Perpetual rights, and to an extent groundwater and limited-term rights, are regarded as property interests, and as such may be bought, sold, or leased.

Surface water rights, in whole or part, may be cancelled by TCEQ for non-use after ten years under the authority of Subchapter E, Chapter 11 of the Water Code.

Texas Water Glossary

2009-08-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

Acre-foot – The amount of water that would cover an acre of land one foot deep (325,851 gallons). It is estimated that on average an acre-foot of water can support the annual indoor and outdoor needs of between one and two urban households.

Aquifer – A geologic formation that stores water, aquifers may yield significant quantities of water to wells and springs and this water is often utilized as a primary source for municipal, industrial, irrigation and other uses.

Beneficial use – Use of the amount of water which is economically necessary for a purpose authorized by a permit, when reasonable intelligence and reasonable diligence are used in applying the water to that purpose and shall include conserved water.

Brush control – The selective control, removal, or reduction of noxious brush such as mesquite, prickly pear, salt cedar, or other phreatophytes that consume water to a degree that is detrimental to water conservation; and the revegetation of land on which this brush has been controlled.

Conserved water – That amount of water saved by a holder of an existing permit, certified filing, or certificate of adjudication through practices, techniques, and technologies that would otherwise be irretrievably lost to all consumptive beneficial uses arising from storage, transportation, distribution, or application.

Desalination – Specific treatment processes to demineralize seawater or brackish (saline) water.

Developed water –New waters added to a stream or other source of water supply through artificial means.

Diffused surface water – Water which, in its natural state, occurs on the surface of the ground prior to its entry into a watercourse, lake or pond.

Groundwater – Water occurring under the surface of the land other than underflow of a surface water river or stream.

Interbasin transfer – Transfers of water from one river basin to another.

Surface water –Also known as “public” or “state” water. Water of the ordinary flow, underflow, and tides of every flowing river, natural stream, and lake, and of every bay or arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Also includes water that is imported from any source outside the boundaries of the state for use in the state and that is transported through the bed and banks of any navigable stream within the state or by utilizing any facilities owned or operated by the state. Additionally, state water injected into the ground for an aquifer storage and recovery project remains state water. State water does not include percolating groundwater; nor does it include diffuse surface rainfall runoff, groundwater seepage, or spring water before it reaches a watercourse.

Third-party impacts – Direct and indirect economic, social or environmental effects of a water transfer to a party other than the seller or buyer including other water rights holders.

Watercourse –The definition of a watercourse comes from case law. In Hoefs v. Short (1925) the Texas Supreme Court approved the following principles as to the legal requirements for a watercourse: It must be a definite stream of water in a definite natural channel, with well defined bed and banks, from a definite source or sources of supply.

Water table – The upper surface of the saturated zone that determines the water level in a well in an unconfined aquifer.

Water wheeling and dealing in Kendall County -- from the Boerne Star

2009-08-05T04:40:00.000-07:00

The long-running water saga based on the true life stories of the Tapatio Springs Golf Resort and the Kendall County Utility Company made its debut on a new stage this week: Boerne City Hall.

After hearing a presentation in a workshop session Tuesday by Assistant City Manager Jeff Thompson and resort-KCUC co-owner Michael Shalit, the city council members reached an apparent consensus to allow water the utility company has purchased from Canyon Lake to be “wheeled” through the city’s pipelines to serve KCUC customers in an emergency situation. Thompson said a vote on a formal agreement could take place at the next council meeting on Aug. 11.

Because the city has pipelines in close proximity to KCUC pipelines, near the Mission Pharmacal plant on Interstate 10, wheeling is an alternative method for getting Canyon Lake water from the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority’s point of delivery on Cascade Caverns Road to the KCUC’s nearest water tank on Johns Road without building a six-mile pipeline estimated to cost more than $2 million.

Shalit said there was no immediate crisis need for the lake water, but he said he was worried that conditions could deteriorate rapidly due to the ongoing drought and he wants to have a pre-approved backup plan for wheeling in place in case of an emergency.

Mayor Dan Heckler indicated he would like Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District General Manager Micah Voulgaris to be the arbiter who determines what constitutes an emergency situation.

As the current drought nears the two-year mark, KCUC has struggled to produce enough water to serve the basic needs of its 850 customers, implementing the county’s most severe drought restrictions that prohibit any outdoor watering.

Voulgaris said only three of the KCUC’s eight wells are producing much water and the pumps on those wells run round the clock. A problem in one of the three main wells, even for a short time, could cause taps in customer homes to go dry, he said.

However, Voulgaris agreed with Shalit that there is not an immediate crisis and he said conditions have actually improved some since KCUC implemented its most severe Stage 4 drought restrictions at the beginning of July. Voulgaris said the level in KCUC’s best producing well has rebounded from 20 feet above the pump to 38 feet above the pump since the restrictions went into effect.

Thompson told council members the city has the capacity to wheel the additional water from the GBRA through the city’s pipes and storage tanks on a temporary basis, but he said the city could not do so over the long haul without increasing the capacity of the system.

“We’re not built to be a bus, but we could be a bus for a temporary period of time,” Thompson said.

He presented council members with the outline of an agreement with KCUC that he said would net the city a profit of about $5,600 over three months.

Thompson told council members there was “no evidence of a resolution” in sight for KCUC’s problems and he cautioned that once the city begins wheeling the water it may be difficult to pull the plug and end the arrangement because 850 KCUC customers could be dependent on the city for water.

“It’s the right thing to do, but we need to do so very carefully and with open eyes,” Thompson said.

Several council members expressed concerns. “I don’t want the City of Boerne to get between you and your customers,” Councilman Bob Manning said to Shalit.

Tapatio Springs Homeowner’s Association President Bill Weidler, who was in the audience at the council workshop, complimented the city staff and city council members for quickly grasping the complex situation and for agreeing to help out in an emergency. “I liked the way they were going. They were very astute and picked up on the issues very quickly,” Weidler said.

Two other major concerns of council members seemed to be the same ones that have expressed at the numerous Cow Creek board meetings: is water being diverted from customers to the resort’s golf course and is there a viable plan in place to take delivery of the GBRA water?

“We’re your friends and neighbors and we’re willing to help, but this water will be used for residents and nothing else,” Councilman Ron Warden said.

“Not one drop will go to the golf course, not one drop will go to their landscaping,” Shalit replied.

Tapatio Springs resident Andy Calvert claims that pumping from the resort’s three wells on the golf course has diminished the pumping capacity of KCUC wells, effectively diverting water from KCUC customers to the golf course.

Voulgaris disagrees, saying the golf course wells are not directly impacting KCUC wells.

In response to questions about the status of plans to build a pipeline, Shalit said financing for the project is being actively sought and the pipeline would have been built several years ago if two Tapatio Springs homeowners had not protested a proposed service area expansion. Shalit blamed the protest and a subsequent lawsuit for delaying the service area expansion, which in turn caused a developer, billionaire auto dealer Red McCombs, to opt out of a contract that would have provided funding for the pipeline.

The homeowners who filed the protest have denied that their actions were responsible for the funding falling through. Weidler said he has no interest in taking sides in the debate. “If you spend all your time fighting yesterday, you’ll never see tomorrow,” Weidler said.

He said the number one priority of Tapatio homeowners now is to gain access to the GBRA water. He said he was confident that KCUC management is trying to obtain financing for the pipeline, but said those efforts have obviously fallen short. “It doesn’t make any difference who’s right or wrong, there’s still no pipeline in the ground,” he said.

Shalit acknowledged during the meeting that he and Parker are actively trying to sell the resort and the utility company and are seeking financing to build the pipeline.

Weidler said one potential solution that homeowners have been discussing is for a separate company or group of investors to step in and finance the project, but he acknowledged that is a long shot because of concerns investors will have about a return on the investment and the difficulty that a private group might have in obtaining easements and permission to use public rights-of-way.

“I do believe we can find a way to get this done,” Weidler said.

By Dave Pasley - Boerne Star

Bandera County residents Urge GCD to Get Serious About Conservation

2009-08-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

Bandera feud centers on water conservation
BANDERA — Last week's passing showers did nothing to dampen criticism of the Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District over its perceived lack of urgency in responding to the drought.

The district's board adopted in April — four years behind schedule — its first drought management plan, establishing triggers for conservation measures to be enacted by public water suppliers and other large-scale pumpers. But critics, such as resident Karen Brown, argue that the district also should be more proactive in alerting domestic well owners of the need to conserve water.

“There's been no information put to the public regarding learning to conserve or trying to conserve, or acknowledging there even is a drought,” she said.

District officials agree that public notifications have been lacking, but they say the need to conserve water is as clear as a cloudless sky. “Most people realize when the trees start curling up, they're in a drought and it's time to conserve water,” said District Manager David Jeffery.

The district's drought plan was highlighted in letters sent to the roughly 25 public water systems — which are supposed to file drought plans with the district — and about 60 owners of wells that can pump 25,000 gallons or more daily.

But district officials said they have little authority to tell domestic well owners when they can and can't water lawns and wash cars — and they have no desire to police such water uses.

“A lot of the stuff (critics) think we can do, we can't control,” said board member Andy Lautzenheiser. “We can't circumvent state law.”

The Texas Water Code exempts from district authority domestic and livestock wells on tracts of 10 acres or larger that yield fewer than 25,000 gallons daily, said Andrea Morrow of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

But, she said, a district can regulate domestic wells on smaller lots if it adopts rules on them, and civil penalties can be brought against violators.

Although some well pumps have been left dry by the declining water table, particularly around Medina Lake, Jeffery said he sees no crisis.

He cited a consultant's report that projects pumping in Bandera County will total 3,671 acre-feet next year and that estimates the amount of available groundwater here at 35,868 acre-feet. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons.

But resident Brown's concerns about depleting the aquifer are shared by board members Richard Connors and Lee Kneupper.

Jeffery said setting pumping caps for large well owners is among changes being eyed in the district's management plan this fall, although older wells likely won't be affected. To better quantify local pumping, he said he wants the district to work toward getting all wells metered so their production can be logged.

Jeffery said he also wants to temporarily waive registration fees to encourage owners of unrecorded wells to come forward.

By Zeke MacCormack - Express-News

In Texas, Surface Water is State Property -- So Don't Build that Dam without permission

2009-08-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

In Texas, all surface water is the property of the state. More particularly, Texas Water Code Section 11.021(a) provides:

"The water of the ordinary flow, underflow, and tides of every flowing river, natural stream, and lake, and of every bay or arm of the Gulf of Mexico, and the storm water, floodwater, and rainwater of every river, natural stream, canyon, ravine, depression, and watershed in the state is the property of the state."
The State's general philosophy or "policy" is pretty succinct: "The waters of the state are held in trust for the public, and the right to use state water may be appropriated only as expressly authorized by law." See Texas Water Code Sec. 11.0235

Since surface water is considered state water in Texas, the right to use it "may be acquired [only] by appropriation in the manner and for the purposes provided" in Chapter 11 of the Texas Water Code, and in Title 30 Chapter 295 of the Texas Administrative Code ("TCEQ Rules"). Chapter 11, and the accompanying TCEQ Rules expressly "appl[y] to all streams or other sources of water supply lying upon or forming a part of the boundaries of this state." See Texas Water Code Sec. 11.003

Only when "the right to use state water is lawfully acquired...may [it] be taken or diverted from its natural channel." See Texas Water Code Sec. 11.022 The right to use surface water in Texas (often referred to as an "appropriation" or "right of appropriation") is acquired by and through the issuance of a surface water permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

TCEQ, in turn, grants the permits based upon a variety of factors, including (in no particular order):

1. The availability of water for permitting in a given watercourse(there is often said to be a "first-come, first-served" basis)

2. The purpose of use (which must be "beneficial"). See Texas Water Code Sec. 11.025

3. The location of use (sometimes called "point of diversion")

4. The reasonableness of the relationship between quanity of water requested and the proposed use. See Texas Water Code Sec. 11.025
5. The quality/construction of the water impoundment/diversion infrastructure (dam, reservoir, etc.)

Permitting state surface water in Texas is a lengthy, complex and sometimes expensive process. As water becomes more scarce, obtaining permits has grown increasingly difficult. There are, however, certain exepmtions to permitting requirements, including for domestic and livestock purposes (stock tanks).

Prior to impounding, diverting or otherwise withdrawing water from a stream, creek, river, lake or pond in Texas, landowners should obtain TCEQ permission, or contact an experienced Texas water lawyer to determine whether any exemptions from permitting might apply.

Kerrville Water restrictions to Tighten

2009-08-01T08:53:00.001-07:00

Kerrville on Sunday will enact Stage 3 drought restrictions — under which all use of lawn sprinklers is banned — because of mandated cutbacks on its diversion of Guadalupe River water and faltering production from its wells.

Watering is still allowed with buckets or hand-held hoses any day from 6-9 a.m. and from 7-11 p.m., according to a news release issued Friday.

It said daily production has dropped to 3.6 million gallons from 5.5 million gallons in wells because of the declining water table.

Texas receives $10.4 million for water conservation projects

2009-07-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is making $10.4 million available through the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) for five water conservation and water quality projects on Texas agricultural working lands.

"AWEP is a voluntary conservation initiative that provides financial and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to improve water conditions on their agricultural land," said Don Gohmert, NRCS state conservationist for Texas. "With water supplies short across Texas, this is just one more way agriculture can help conserve its use."

Funded projects in Texas include:

Water quality improvement project for the Leon River sponsored by Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board
Texas agriculture water conservation project for the Ogallala Aquifer sponsored by the Texas Water Development Board
Lake Arrowhead watershed project to improve available water quantity sponsored by the Chisholm Trail Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D), Inc.
Water enhancement projects for drought mitigation and water conservation on University lands owned and managed by the University of Texas System sponsored by the University of Texas
Brazos Bottom Irrigation Water Management sponsored by the Post Oak RC&D, Inc.
Funding is being made available for 63 AWEP projects in 21 states. Project proposals were developed by sponsors who offered services and resources, allowing the Federal Government to leverage its investment in natural resources conservation.

AWEP promotes ground and surface water conservation and improves water quality by helping farmers and ranchers implement agricultural water enhancement activities, including water quality or water conservation plan development, conversion to the production of less water-intensive agricultural commodities or dry land farming; water quality or quantity restoration or enhancement projects; irrigation system improvement or irrigation efficiency enhancement; and activities designed to mitigate the effects of drought.

AWEP was established by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 farm bill) and funding comes from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). NRCS implements AWEP by entering into EQIP contracts directly with agricultural producers.

Everyone receiving assistance through AWEP must meet EQIP requirements. Though participating AWEP producers do not need to have existing EQIP contracts, they must be eligible for EQIP. All partner proposals were selected competitively at the national level.

Proposals for priority areas may have received higher rankings, and include property undergoing conversion of agricultural land from irrigated to dry land farming; projects that help producers meet regulatory requirements; and projects located where there is a high percentage of agricultural land and producers in a region or area.

Texas lags behind other states on healthy beach water

2009-07-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

AUSTIN — The waters around some of the public beaches in the Corpus Christi area are among the least healthy in the state, according to a new report being released this morning by an environmental group.

Water quality at Texas' public beaches improved in 2008, but the state still ranked behind 17 other states when it comes to healthy beach water, according to an annual report released this morning.

Of the 169 public coastal beaches that are monitored for high levels of bacteria caused by human activities, 6 percent of the monitoring samples exceeded the state's daily maximum bacterial standards, according to the report by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit environmental action group.

Levels that exceed the daily limit can cause people to become ill and can lead to beach closings.

This year's report is an improvement from 2007, when 9 percent of the samples exceeded the daily limits. Eight percent of the tests exceeded the daily limits in 2006.

Some of the worst pollution was in the Corpus Christi area in Nueces and San Patricio counties. The beaches with the highest percentage of samples exceeding the limit were:

Ropes Park, 30 percent; JFK Causeway Southwest, 23 percent; Cole Park, 20 percent; Laguna Shores, 15 percent, all in Nueces County.

The failing record at Galveston beaches was Appfel Park, 15 percent; Clara Street, 14 percent; Crystal Beach-O'Neill Raod, 13 percent and West End, 13 percent.

Though Texas ranked 18th among the 30 states studied by the council, the Texas General Land Office was lauded for “conducting an unparalleled outreach campaign about its beachwater quality monitoring program.”

Jim Suydam, a spokesman for Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, said the state this summer launched a Web site that gives Texans almost real-time information on the quality of water at specific beaches.

Suydam said public service announcements by 97 radio and television stations coordinated by the Texas Association of Broadcasters had driven 323,963 hits to the clean beaches site through July 8.

Suydam said the land office clean water notifications currently exceeds federal legislation being considered by the U.S. House: HR2093. “We think improved public awareness of water quality on Texas beaches improves water quality,” Suydam said.

The water quality testing shows bacteria and pollution caused by human beings, Suydam said, mostly due to rainwater runoff.

“Any time it rains you've got stuff washing off from city streets and city sewers and wastewater systems and that goes right out to the waters, the bays, the estuaries,” Suydam said. “But the bodies of water actually work to neutralize those pollutants within days, usually.”

What is not regularly tested for as a water quality issue is naturally occurring bacteria, such as Vibrio vulnificus, more commonly known as the flesh-eating bacteria. The Texas Department of Health monitors the bacteria in Galveston Bay, primarily for the contamination of seafood, according to the council report.

Suydam said the state is mostly testing for bacteria that causes intestinal illness.

“What this really monitors is water quality affected by humans. That flesh-eating bacteria is something that naturally occurs and there's nothing that we really did that makes it bloom or not bloom,” Suydam said.

By R.G. Ratcliffe - Express-News