in Texas with United States Department of Agriculture disaster designations COUNTIES 245
DROUGHT RECORD
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.
2010-15 LAST MAJOR DROUGHT IN TEXAS
Bexar County
*INCHES BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL 14
2022 DRIEST YEAR
ON RECORD 3RD
*DRIEST YEAR
9.5M
TO DATE 11TH
Due to the lack of rainfall and consistently high temperatures this summer, the state of Texas is experiencing a record-setting drought.
PEOPLE AFFECTED BY THE DROUGHT
in Texas over the past 128 years
*JANUARYJUNE 2022 OVER THE PAST 128 YEARS
in Texas
SOURCE: NATIONAL INTEGRATED DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
in a 0 or 1 may water on Mondays; 2 or 3 may water on Tuesdays; 4 or 5 on Wednesdays; 6 or 7 is Thursdays; and residents with addresses that end in 8 or 9 can water on Fridays. Watering is allowed from 7-11 a.m. and 7-11 p.m. on the designated day using a sprinkler, irrigation system or soaker hose. Watering with a handheld hose is allowed at any time and on any day, according to the SAWS website. The biggest culprit of water waste, Guz and Hayden said, is an automatic irrigation system, which can put out up to 70% more water than a handheld hose. So far this year, through mid-Au- gust, the SAWS has issued 1,400 cita- tions, which can carry a ne of up to $150 for a rst-time o ense. “We know where the high use is,” Guz said. “If you’re violating rules, there’s a good chance you will get caught.” Guz said water irrigation systems, and in particular the controllers, can be confusing to homeowners. They must be completely cleared of old programming to be reset, she said. Controllers are often set up to water by zones, but programming cannot be overwritten, and instead homeowners mistakenly add additional watering times and days to the same zones. SAWS o ers a free program where homeowners can schedule an appoint- ment for an irrigation system consul- tation, and the consultant can even program the controller for them. The consultation includes an eval- uation of the homeowner’s irrigation system, their landscaping and plant materials, plus a review of any SAWS rebates or coupons the customer may qualify for. Homeowners can call 210-704-SAVE (7283) to schedule a consultation. Water conservation plans During the second half of August, the San Antonio area has received scat- tered rain just as the Edwards Aquifer Authority was preparing to declare Stage 4 of its Critical Period Manage- ment Plan to enforce permit reduc- tions to the region. The plan is put in place to help
sustain aquifer and spring ow levels 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 County 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.
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.”
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. Martin Luther King Drive, 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 .
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NORTH SAN ANTONIO EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022
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