Travis County Commissioners Court
January 5, 2010,
Item 10
I guess item 10 is our only item left.
go ahead.
>> Commissioners for the record, I am tom weber with t.n.r., and I was asked to customize a resolution that was passed just last month by the hayes county Commissioners court into a similar resolution that could be considered by this Commissioners court relating to possible -- to register support for formation of a ground water conservation district that would include parts of southwest Travis County.
as -- as you are aware, southwestern Travis County is what is considered a primary ground water management area, that's part -- southwest Travis County and all are parts of -- additional counties are additionally in this pigma, and it is because the trinity aquifer has experienced and is expected to continue to have critical ground water problems, including shortages in the next 25 years.
so I could get into the process of the Texas commission on environmental qualities and their recommendations but I might just hold off and provide you with what you might like to hear as answers to questions.
>> this is a vehicle that we need, so I guess to make sure that this particular region of the county
>> [a$pupwg,tdch5n cours the Commissioner stated earlier before, Commissioner Huber, this whole area is trinity portion of that and for the struggle to make sure that there is adequate supply of water for those that are within, I guess, this district or this pigma.
i guess my question is, is there any other -- well,s if this particular resolution is accepted and tcq goes through its formalities and all of the things -- the comment period and all of the things that need to take place, will this particular district, how will it operate, I guess, as far as making sure that the water supply is available for the growth?
how would that work?
>> what a district would do is it would -- it would permit new wells.
>> all right.
>> and these new wells would be for, what they would call nonexempt purposes.
the exempt purposes include things like a single family residence or agricultural -- well, single family residence, I think is -- primarily there is pumping limits below which wells present but for wells that are not exempt, they would issue permits for the well and they would establish the production amounts that would come from those wells.
they also have the ability to separate wells with enough distance so that one well won't interfere with another well, so, overall, it is just managing the resource.
these districts also would carry out, as their funding might allow, additional ground water studies to more about the characteristics and the exausesty of this aquifer or these aquifers.
>> this action has us working in conjunction with hayes county, we think comal?
>> yes.
>> I was just going to add, I have been in conversation with Commissioners, judge, in the other counties and they are a high level of interest and jointly backing down this path.
i mean, obviously it's in each county's resolution and I would also like to say that one of the reasons that, at least for me, this is a preferred route rather than what the legislation did not get passed was, is because this is trinity alone.
and while southwestern Travis County is in a pigma and would be included in this, at some point in the future, we may need to -- or want to look at ground water district for the trinity area on the north side of the lake, northwestern Travis County and setting -- if we could achieve this ground water districts that trinity alone that would provide a more logical and perhaps doable vehicle for adding that area north of the lake, if it was so needed in the future, so it just makes more sense to have a common area, and even -- and we also have been in a hayes trinity ground water district which would be interested in building themselves into this, is my understanding.
>> our position is consistent with hayes county.
>> this -- this resolution is modeled after the hayes county resolution.
>> which already passed in late December, correct?
>> that's correct.
just a week or two ago.
>> judge,
>> [indiscernible]
>> I want to compliment staff on not only the draft resolution but the comments to tceq.
great job.
>> thanks.
>> motion to approve.
discussion?
all those in favor?
this passes by unanimous vote.
and if it's okay we will share this with judge Biscoe so we he will know what action we took.
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Last Modified:
Tuesday, January 5, 2010 2:30 PM
