Environment
Nonprofit intervenes in lawsuit with utility company for overpumping
Aqua Texas water usage in 2022 600
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A federal court granted a nonprofit organiza- tion's motion to intervene in the ongoing case Aqua Texas Inc. vs. Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District on Sept. 23. The background The nonprofit organization Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association, or TESPA, filed the motion on Aug. 26. The motion allows TESPA to become a party in the existing lawsuit. Some context According to the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, self-reported production volumes for 2022 show that Aqua Texas had overproduced its annual water allotment by over 89 million gallons. Aqua Texas overpumped 88%—nearly double the permitted amount. Its leakage reports also show that the utility lost as much as 32% of its water due to “poorly main- tained” water pipe infrastructure. Aqua Texas filed a federal civil lawsuit against the district and its board of directors in Decem- ber. The water company claims that the district exceeded its authority and “unfairly and unlaw- fully” assessed them with excessive fines. What residents should know The lawsuit does not impact water services to Hays County residents. Aqua Texas customers will continue to be serviced despite the compa- ny’s expired groundwater permit, according to the Aqua Texas website.
"We are still and will continue serving our customers in the Wimberley Valley. We are legally required to provide service to anyone within our [certificate of convenience and necessity] area," said Jennifer Tuminelli, Aqua Texas regional communications specialist, in an email to Com- munity Impact . Sorting out details TESPA’s motion was filed in the interest of protecting its members’ private property—more specifically their groundwater. The filing is also an attempt to protect the state’s groundwater protection system, which is directly threatened by Aqua’s legal action in federal court, TESPA states in an Aug. 26 news release. “For at least two years, Aqua [Texas] failed to abide by Texas groundwater law and overpumped its permit by more than 150 million gallons,” the news release states. What the court is saying Senior United States District Judge David Alan Ezra—the presiding judge on the case—states that TESPA and its members have a "legally protect- able interest" in the litigation, according to court documents. "Its members include persons with economic interests in businesses that depend on the outflow of Jacob’s Well to create flows in Cypress Creek, along which many businesses are located. In light of the significant impact this lawsuit
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Max permitted volume
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Actual volume pumped by Aqua
SOURCE: TRINITY EDWARDS SPRINGS PROTECTION ASSOCIATION/COMMUNITY IMPACT
may have upon [TESPA] member companies’ operation, the Court concludes that [TESPA] has sufficient interest in the subject matter of this litigation," Ezra states in his decision. What TESPA is saying In an email to Community Impact , TESPA President Jim Blackburn said they intervened because TESPA felt that Aqua’s decision to sue the groundwater district had to be challenged. “More is involved here than the district being sued. The groundwater of TESPA members is threatened by Aqua’s actions as is the future of Jacob’s Well and Cypress Creek,” Blackburn said. “This Aqua action, if successful, could be the first step to the loss of the springs of the Texas Hill Country as well as one of our fundamental property rights.” In a Sept. 30 news release, Blackburn said the groundwater districts were set up to protect individuals from "the ravages" of a single user. "We're in here fighting for the groundwater
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