DROUGHT RECORD Due to the lack of rainfall and
OF THE AQUIFER ENDANGERED SPECIES One element of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan is the continued protection of eight endangered species. The health of the species that reside in the Edwards Aquifer zone is a re ection of the health of the overall system.
Bexar County Comal County Guadalupe County
consistently high temperatures this summer, the state of Texas is experiencing a record-setting drought.
*Inches below normal rainfall 12 12.4 12.1 *Driest year on record 1ST 3RD 2ND
in Texas with United States Department of Agriculture disaster designations COUNTIES 228
2022 DRIEST YEAR
in Texas over the past 128 years TO DATE 2ND 2010-15 LAST MAJOR DROUGHT IN TEXAS
SOURCE: NATIONAL INTEGRATED DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
*JANJUNE 2022 OVER THE PAST 128 YEARS
water, Guz said. Most of Universal City’s water comes from the Edwards Aquifer—about 3,747 acre-feet—and another 800 acre-feet is available from the Carrizo Aquifer, said Randy Luensmann, Universal City director of public works. “So that is our drought water,” Luen- smann said. “I only pump from the Carrizo in extreme drought.” Luensmann said if the EAA were to move to Stage 4, that would mean a 40% reduction for Universal City’s annual allocation of water, which right now serves 6,600 connections. “Right now, we are calculating and doing projections to make sure we have adequate water through the end of the year. It’s calculated by the num- ber of days,” Luensmann said. “We’ve done our projects, and we’re still in good shape.” The drought would have to be more severe for the city to require greater restrictions from its residents, he said. “We don’t want to ban outdoor watering, and that’s what the next stage would be,” Luensmann said. While rain is needed across the region, to have a positive e ect on the Northeast Metrocom cities, it would need to fall in a certain area of the Edwards Aquifer, he said. “If it’s over the Edwards that’s where we want [rain] to go—over the recharge zone,” Luensmann said. “Every drop [helps]; really, it’s a ood that gets us out of drought. You hate to say that.” Luensmann pointed to droughts in 1998 and 2002, when signi cant ood- ing was what ended the droughts. “I’m anticipating history repeats itself and that we get more rain,” he said. “I think we’re going to get more soaking rain.” Water conservation plans During the second half of August, the Northeast Metrocom area and pockets around San Antonio received scattered rain just as the Edwards Aquifer Authority was preparing to declare Stage 4 of its Critical Period Management Plan to enforce permit reductions to the region. The plan is put in place to help sustain aquifer and spring ow levels
The creation of the EAA was part of Texas law put in place after the Sierra Club led suit in 1991 against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “citing neg- ligence to provide the necessary pro- tection required by the Endangered Species Act.” Today, the EAA uses the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan— which was rst approved by the USFWS in 2013—to govern how the authority will protect those species that live in the Edwards Aquifer a well as the Comal and San Marcos springs that are federally listed as endangered and threatened, said Scott Storment, executive director for the EAA Threat- ened and Endangered Species Depart- ment and the program manager for the EAHCP. There are eight endangered species and three threatened species on the list, he said. With the conservation plan, the USFWS also issued a 15-year Incidental Take Permit that provides authoriza- tion to those entities that hold permits under the Endangered Species Act to pump an approved amount of water from the aquifer, Storment said. Permittees include the EAA and the cities of San Marcos, New Braunfels and San Antonio through the San Antonio Water System as well as Texas State University. That 15-year permit is set to expire in 2028, he said. The EAHCP, through its committees, began in August an extensive ve- year process leading up to the renewal application due in 2028. They began with a series of listen and learn ses- sions to involve stakeholders and the public, Storment said. Ideally, the new application will be for a 30-year permit, he said, but that has yet to be determined and is a ected by things that are still unknown. “Climate change is a big factor,” he said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty and vulnerability of what is going to hap- pen in that 30 years. We’re taking it very seriously and undergoing intense modeling. It’s all linked together.”
during times of drought by tempo- rarily reducing the authorized with- drawal amounts of Edwards Aquifer permit holders, which includes utility companies. In Stage 4 of the plan, permit hold- ers in Bexar, Comal and Guadalupe counties must reduce their annual authorized pumping by 40%. In Stage 3, pumping is reduced by 35%. Those minor rain events enabled the EAA to hold to Stage 3 restrictions, o - cials announced Aug. 18. Chad Norris—deputy executive manager of environmental science for the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Canyon Reservoir and Trinity Aquifer, as well as a member of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan Sci- ence Committee—said when drought conditions are persistent or spring ows reach a lower output, certain measures of the conservation plan are implemented. “Some of those measures involve using alternative water sources, reduc- ing reliance on the [Edwards Aquifer] itself,” Norris said. “And those are all designed to maintain spring ows and make sure that they don’t get below a threshold that we have identi ed as needed to reduce the impacts to [aquatic] species.” Norris said he expects some of the bigger impacts of the drought to be in the smaller tributaries in Texas that do not have springs to provide base ows. “We have plans like the Edwards Aquifer HCP. Water providers have drought contingency plans; municipal- ities and others have drought measures that they take to reduce water use,” Norris said. “I feel like, in general, we are prepared and not unaccustomed to droughts like we’re experiencing now. But with every drought, you’re always just waiting for the next rainfall.” Habitat conservation plan The negative e ects of the ongoing drought are not limited to water sup- pliers and municipalities. The EAA is also responsible for managing spring ows that provide habitats for endan- gered and threatened species. Habitat protection has been a part of the EAA’s mission since its inception.
Comal Springs Dryopid Beetle
Comal Springs Ri e Beetle
San Marcos Spring Island Fountain Darter
Peck’s Cave Amphipod
San Marcos Gambusia
San Marcos Salamander
Texas Blind Salamander
Texas Wild Rice
SOURCE: NATIONAL INTEGRATED DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPERS
LISTEN & LEARN SESSIONS The Edwards Aquifer Authority Habitat Conservation Plan Listen & Learn sessions are a chance for the public and stakeholders to provide feedback as the EAA works to update the plan and request a new permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Topic: Climate Change & System Vulnerability When: Sept. 22, 3:30-6:30 p.m. Where: Dunbar Recreation Center, 801 W. MLK, San Marcos Topic: Conservation Measures When: Oct. 4, 3:30-6:30 p.m. Where: Civic Center, 375 S. Castell Ave., Garden Room, New Braunfels
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
15
NORTHEAST SAN ANTONIO METROCOM EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022
Powered by FlippingBook