Georgetown Edition | October 2023

GOVERNMENT Williamson County group petitions for more groundwater protections

The proposed area to be annexed into the Clearwater Underground Water Conservation District includes Leander, Liberty Hill and Florence in addition to portions of Austin, Cedar Park, Georgetown and Round Rock. JOINING A GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

CUWCD boundaries

What is a groundwater conservation district?

• An organization that manages and regulates groundwater production and use How are GCDs created? • By the Texas Legislature • By petitioning the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality • By citizens petitioning an existing GCD for annexation ?

BY GRANT CRAWFORD

The area has an increasing number of wells pumping water from the Trinity Aquifer. According to data compiled by the CUWCD, 576 new wells within Williamson County were drilled into the Trinity Aquifer between 2017-21. Should a portion of Williamson County be annexed into the GCD, state law would require all wells to be registered with the CUWCD. Some of those wells would require a permit. Domestic wells and livestock wells that produce less than 25,000 gallons of water per day, though, would be exempt from permits. CUWCD General Manager Dirk Aaron said wells not exempt from permits include those for sand and gravel mines, concrete plants, cities, municipalities, retail public entities and small businesses that use ground- water. However, those wells already in place would go through an historic use permitting process, be given a meter and report production. Groundwater conservation districts are taxing entities. For scal year 2023, the CUWCD’s adopted tax rate for maintenance and operations is $0.002708 per $100 property valua- tion, or $2.71 per year per $100,000 home valuation. The district has also never adopted a debt service tax rate. Williamson County ocials have pushed back on the GCD, though. Members of the Williamson County Commissioners Court discussed working with the state Legislature to nd other ways to regulate ground- water in addition to hiring an expert

Proposed annexation territory

An area advocacy group is pushing for a portion of Williamson County to be annexed into a groundwater con- servation district based in Bell County, but county ocials are hesitant to cede control to a neighboring entity. The Aquifer Conservation Alliance, a nonprot formed by Williamson County residents, petitioned the Clearwater Underground Water Conservation District to annex the western half of the county to manage the region’s use of the Trinity Aquifer and regulate the drilling of wells. Groundwater conservation districts are political subdivisions of the state, meant to protect underground water resources by controlling and preventing groundwater waste. The ACA said this mechanism is necessary to mitigate the ongoing depletion of the Trinity Aquifer, and 106 residents signed the petition to the CUWCD, higher than the 50-signature threshold needed for Clearwater to consider the annexation. However, it took some convincing for ACA President Keith Elliston to get on board as he initially could not support a government entity telling him what he could do with his well. “I moved out to land so that I could have the water that I wanted and I didn’t have to answer to anybody,” he said. “Then I started to learn that it’s not about telling somebody who can have water and who can’t; it’s about letting you have as much water as you can without someone else being able to come out and take your water.”

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? What do GCDs do? • Establish rules for the spacing and drilling of all water wells • Create groundwater management plans to submit to the Texas Water Development Board for approval • Collect water level and quality data

• Cedes control of a portion of Williamson County to another entity • Other alternatives to regulating groundwater are available What are the drawbacks to annexing the land? ? • Require permits for wells producing 25,000 gallons of water per day • Work with regional partners to establish future desired conditions for groundwater

• To slow the depletion of the Trinity Aquifer • To protect the area’s existing water resources What are the bene ts of joining the CUWCD? ?

SOURCES: CLEARWATER UNDERGROUND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT, WILLIAMSON COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT

to evaluate groundwater suciency reports submitted by developers. Precinct 2 County Commissioner Cynthia Long said implementing rules to allow the county to oversee new business developments could resolve “the vast majority” of concerns among residents who signed the petition. “I can’t support something that is this all encompassing and this big, ceding control of the county to another county,” she said. The CUWCD board has received

the petition to annex the land and will hold three public hearings on the matter in March. The board will then vote on whether to accept the petition. Elliston said he expects CUWCD to accept the petition. Then, the GCD would call for a conrmation election, allowing Williamson County residents within the proposed territory to vote on whether to become part of the district. Since the deadline to call for a May vote has passed, Elliston foresees an election to be called for November.

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