Commissioners Hear Opposition to Water Plan
Fayette County Commissioners heard from two people opposed to a proposed update to a regional groundwater plan affecting the Carrizo Wilcox aquifer system at a meeting last Thursday, July 22.
Kent Babcock, a retired anesthesiologist from La Grange, and Andrew Wier, a groundwater rights activist from Bastrop County, asked the Commissioners to sign a proclamation urging the Fayette County Groundwater Conservation District (FCGCD) to reject the proposed plan before Groundwater Management Area 12 (GMA-12), the regional water planning group that includes a portion of Fayette County.
The plan in question defines “desired future conditions” (DFCs) for the various aquifers that lie underneath GMA-12. The DFCs determine how much water the planning authorities will allow to be pumped from the aquifers.
Babcock argued that the proposal before GMA-12 will benefit water developers who want to pump groundwater from rural areas for use in urban areas.
“We’re accumulating water in our aquifers by an inch-per-year level, and we’re drawing the aquifers down by a feet-per-year level,” Babcock said.
He cited the case involving the recently-completed Vista Ridge pumping project in Burleson County that provides water to San Antonio. Some property owners near the pumping station have reported water wells drying up, forcing them to lower their pumps or drill deeper wells.
Babcock said the proposal under consideration by GMA-12 doesn’t provide enough protection for rural private property owners who depend on water wells for domestic use and livestock.
Weir compared the proposed drawdown plan to “making $100 a month but taking out $1,000 a month.
Babcock and Wier presented the commissioners with a proclamation for consideration. The proclamation would urge FCGCD to reject the proposed DFCs in favor of more conservative levels. The proclamation would not require FCGCD to act one way or the other, since FCGCD is a separate governmental entity with a publicly elected board of directors.
Commissioners said they wished to hear from FCGCD officials before taking action on the proclamation.
“We can live without a lot of things but water is not one of them,” said Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom.