|
|
|
|
Groundwater ACTION ALERT - Take action by June 16
On June 16 the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District
Board of Directors will consider taking action on a "Resolution to
Protect the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer & Colorado River
Groundwater-Surface Water Relationship in the Desired Future Conditions
of Groundwater Management Area 12" You are encouraged to contact Joe
Cooper, General Manager of the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation
District, and indicate your support for the resolution.
In
our earlier groundwater bulletins we provided background information on
the groundwater issues that are important to the Lost Pines Region so
that you can make an informed judgment and voice your views to
decision-makers. The above cited resolution was submitted by
Environmental Stewardship to the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation
District at their last meeting along with a letter requesting that it be
considered at the June 16th meeting. The Sierra Club and National
Wildlife Federation have already sent the District a letter of support for
the resolution and other letters from interested organizations are
expected shortly.
As a citizen
of the region, you too can have a voice in the decisions being made
regarding the use and protection of the water resources in our region.
Over-pumping of groundwater resources for export to other regions will
likely have undesirable and unexpected impacts on the economic vitality
and quality of life in our communities. The Lost Pines Groundwater
Conservation District is under tremendous pressure to go along with
water marketers and profiteers who want to draw down our water resources
for profit. Safeguards are needed to ensure that our water supplies are
protected well into the future.
If you cherish the rural
character of the Lost Pines Region, you are encouraged to take action today to inform the Lost
Pines Board about your concerns. You can also provide your comments
in person during the "Public Comments" portion of the meeting (limited
to three minutes per person). The June 16 meeting will be held at 7:00
pm at the Giddings City Hall, 118 E. Richmond, Giddings, TX 78942; Lost
Pines Groundwater Conservation District phone number is (512)
360-5088 and fax is (512) 360-5448.
The following will inform
you about the key areas of consideration. If you have questions, please
feel free to contact me.
Steve Box
Executive Director
Environmental
Stewardship
SUMMARY OF THE RESOLUTION
Whereas: - The Citizens of Bastrop County, in Opportunity Bastrop County,
recognize the importance of the groundwater and surface water resources
(Adopted by the Commissioners Court December 10, 2007).
- The Colorado River GAINS water from the Simsboro formation
of the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer as it passes through Bastrop County.
- Region K Regional Water Planning Group has predicted that
the currently planned pumping of groundwater will REVERSE this
relationship by 2050 making the Colorado River a LOSING river.
- The Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer is a sand aquifer that recharges
only 3-5% of the rainfall over the recharge zone and will take hundreds
or possibly thousands of years to recover should over-pumping occur.
- The Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District, among
others, is charged with protecting these resources for today and the
future.
- The current desired future conditions of the Groundwater
Management Area, of which the District is a member, do not consider the
potential impact of over-pumping on the groundwater-surface water
relationship.
- The current desired future conditions do not provide for
monitoring, triggers, and rules to protect these valuable resources from
the potential impacts of over-pumping.
Therefore:
- The Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District shall have
suggested paragraphs include (click link below) in the desired future
conditions submitted to Groundwater Management Area 12.
- The Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District shall take
all reasonable actions necessary to establish monitoring, pumping
triggers, and rules to ensure that the Colorado River and associated
steams and springs are adequately protected.
Why should we be concerned? - Pumping
reduces River Water
| 
The quantity of groundwater supplied to the Colorado and Brazos
rivers and streams by the Carrizo-Wilcox and related aquifers has
declined by 50% as pumping increased 31% from 1980-1999. (Bill Hutchinson, Texas Water Development Board, presentation to the
Lost
Pines Groundwater Conservation District on November 18, 2009).
The
pink line to the right
shows the decline in water that supplied the Colorado and Brazos rivers,
streams and springs in Groundwater Management
Area 12 during the period from 1980 to 1999 (click on graph for
larger image). The dark blue line
is the increased pumping during the same period. This signals a significant change in the
relationship between groundwater
and surface water as pumping increases dramatically over the next 5-50
years.
Over-pumping affects other parts of the
environment ... not just the rivers. As the water table gets lower,
streams, springs, and water wells dry up. Less water is available near
the land surface for shrubs and trees to grow and stay healthy. This
ecological stress has likely been part of the reason trees have died in
greater numbers during this past drought than in the past.
In
the past, the aquifers in our region were full and the head pressure
provided sub-surface and surface water for a longer period going into
the drought. So the plants and animals depending on natural water were
healthier going into the drought and, therefore, were better able to
survive. As our aquifers are drawn down, as planned in the proposed
desired future conditions (up to 145 feet and 345 feet for the Simsboro
Aquifer in Bastrop and Lee counties respectively), the capacity of the
land to capture and hold water just below the surface will become more
and more critical to the plants and wildlife in the region.
Decisions
currently being made will have long-range consequences that are not
easily reversed. The anticipated
impact on the Colorado River is likely a predictor of a significant
change in the ecological relationships as over-pumping accelerates in
the region over the next 20-50 years.
For more information click
here
The Colorado River is EXPECTED to lose water to the Aquifer - Is this OK with you?
| The Colorado River and many
streams in the Lost Pines Region currently "gain" water from the
Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer as they cross over the aquifer in Bastrop County.
Studies estimate that the Colorado River gains about 25,000 acre-feet
of water from the Simsboro formation as it crosses the aquifer between
Utley (FM 969 bridge) and Bastrop. That is about 81 million gallons of
water. The Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District has
jurisdiction over this portion of the Simsboro formation.
Losing (left) and Gaining (right) Streams
 | Modeling studies by the Colorado Regional
Water Planning Group (Region K) estimate that the Colorado River will
become a "losing" river by about 2050 due to heavy pumping planned for
the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer. The pumping anticipated by the
desired future conditions being contemplated by Groundwater Management
Area 12 is considerably more volume than was anticipated in the Region K
study.
|
Water Marketing - Everyone has a straw in your back yard.
| Just about every water
planner, water marketer, river authority, county and city in Central
Texas needs water. And they all
have a common solution - they all have a straw in your back yard.
The Simsboro formation of the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, which is located
in Bastrop, Lee, Burleson, Robertson other counties, is one of the most
over-planned aquifers in the state of Texas. If water planners and
water marketer have their way HUGE QUANTITIES of water could be pumped
from Bastrop, Lee and surrounding counties to Western counties.
Unfortunately, the quantities planned
greatly exceed the recharge rate of these aquifers. If this
happens the large reservoir of water below these counties could become
seriously depleted causing irreversible damage to the aquifers as well
as to the ecology and economies of the region. Unlike the Edwards
Aquifer, these aquifers are very slow to recharge so it could take
thousands of years for the Carrizo-Wilcox to recover from damaging
effects of over-pumping.
Just
how much water is really available? It depends on how you count
and what damages you are willing to accept. If you live elsewhere and
don't have to contend with the effects, there are huge quantities
available. However, if you live in the impacted zone, the quantity
available for local use and/or export may be quite a bit less.
|
What are we asking Lost Pines District
to do? - Monitor for
potential impacts.
|  Environmental Stewardship has requested
that the Lost
Pines Groundwater Conservation District implement a monitoring program
to protect the Colorado River.
It appears likely that the
desired future conditions being submitted by Groundwater
Management Area 12 (which includes Lost Pines GCD; click on map for
larger view)
will likely result in irreversible
changes in the river-aquifer
relationship. "Given the importance of these water resources to
our
region, we believe it is imperative that actions be taken to monitor for
such changes and take corrective actions should they occur" said Steve
Box, Executive Director. In a
letter provided at the May 19 meeting of the Board
of Directors,
Environmental Stewardship presented a resolution containing information
on the history of
the river-aquifer relationship
and a plan that describes actions that can be taken to protect the
groundwater-surface water relationship between the Carrizo-Wilcox
Aquifer and the Colorado River.
Individuals and organizations
that want to support the resolution are encouraged to contact the
Lost Pines GCD General Manager or adopt a support resolution prior
to the June 16, 2010
meeting of the Lost Pines
Groundwater Conservation District board where they are expected to
consider the resolution.
The Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation
District, with jurisdiction in Bastrop and Lee counties, is in
GMA-12 (Bastrop and Lee counties are the two bottom counties in the map
above; click map for larger view). With
the Colorado River running through Bastrop County, the Lost Pines GCD
plays a key role in protecting base-flows that provide water to the
river. As they protect the Colorado River, they also protect the rural
character that draws visitors and residents to the region. |
|
|
|
|