Shifting water sources
An SJRA surface water treatment plant opened on Lake Conroe in 2015 to reduce reliance on groundwater.
w rds WAT E R Stakeholder entities disagree on what the plans and rules to use to reduce groundwater usage should be.
20 aquifers supply the state of Texas with groundwater.
5 aquifers supply Montgomery County with groundwater.
55 miles of pipeline transmit surface water from the facility.
$500M . The Surface Water Treatment Plant on Lake Conroe cost
The SJRA Surface Water Treatment Plant became active in
LSGCD mandated water users reducing 2009 groundwater usage by
30% .
2015 .
Conroe that cost nearly million to build, said Heather Ramsey-Cook, the SJRA’s director of communications and public a airs. The facility sends surface water from Lake Conroe to large portions of the county, including The Woodlands. However, the LSGCD mandate to reduce groundwater usage by % was ruled unenforceable by Judge Lamar McCorkle in May. That same month, the TWDB rejected the dis- trict’s groundwater management plan because the district did not include the Desired Future Conditions plans the TWDB required from , adding another layer of regulatory confusion, LSGCD General Manager Saman- tha Reiter said. The DFCs outline the quantiable condition of groundwater resources at a future time, according to the TWDB. The LSGCD led an appeal of the TWDB decision in August. Reiter said the district aims to have a dra of the new groundwater regula- tions ready for public comment by the end of the summer. Although the total costs associated with the district’s groundwater man- agement plan appeal were not yet known, Reiter said she believes the district’s nancials support its pro- posed rate decrease next year. WHY GROUNDWATERMATTERS O cials in The Woodlands said they support continuing to move away from groundwater as a primary source, regardless of whether it is required by regulation, because of the e ect it has
Woodlands Joint Powers Agency in The Woodlands, WJPA General Manager Jim Stinson said. The overall WJPA rate increase to customers will be from . to . per , gallons, Stinson said. The SJRA’s rate increases will not a ect Shenandoah residents because the city does not purchase water from the SJRA as part of its Groundwater Reduction Plan, Public Works Director Joseph Peart said. Oak Ridge North par- ticipates in SJRA’s GRP, and although it is not raising its water rates, the increases are passed on as part of the fees on residents’ water bills, City Man- ager Heather Neeley said. SJRA o cials attributed the rate increase to uncollected revenue, the need to fund the agency’s surface water treatment plant and uncertainty surrounding groundwater conserva- tion regulations set by the LSGCD. In , the LSGCD mandate went into e ect requiring large-volume water users to decrease their ground- water usage by % of their groundwater usage. This forced cities, MUDs and other governmental entities such as the The Woodlands to partici- pate in Groundwater Reduction Plans to manage groundwater resources. Since then, the region has shi ed some of the groundwater extraction burden away from local underground water sources. In , the SJRA began drawing surface water from Lake Conroe through its own GRP, which included the creation of a sur- face water treatment facility on Lake
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The Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District was
LSGCD
about the authority of regulatory entity Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, which limits the amount of groundwater extracted from local aquifers, SJRA General Manager Jace Houston said. LSGCD is working on new groundwater regulations this year a er its previous plan was rejected by the Texas Water Development Board in May. “Changing the rules is costly for utilities, cities and MUDs [municipal utility districts],” Houston said. “Ulti- mately everyone’s water bills go up, not down.” E orts to reduce groundwater extraction were intended in part to reduce land and property damage due to subsidence, which occurs when aqui- fer water levels drop, causing land to sink, said Mike Turco, the general man- ager of the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, a special service district that regulates groundwater withdrawal. Turco said the issue is of particular concern in areas of heavy development such as The Woodlands, which also has numerous fault lines that can be acti- vatedby subsidence, causingmovement that can result in property damage. “The question moving forward is are the regulations going to change by [the LSGCD], and what would that impact be?” Turco said. RATE CHANGES The SJRA rates are increasing, and the LSGCD rates are decreasing, but many local water customers will likely end up with higher water bills as a result, o cials said. The SJRA’s new rates for FY - are . per , gallons for ground- water and . per , gallons for surface water—an increase from . and ., respectively. The LSGCD announced a reduction in water use fees Aug. from . to . per , gallons for the same time period. The rates a ect large-volume water users such as cities and MUDs, which pass the increases on to indi- vidual water users. The rates changed Sept. , which could translate to about a -cent increase on an average water bill from MUDs that are part of The
created by the state to regulate Montgom- ery County’s groundwater resources.
The San Jacinto River Authority is tasked with
SJRA
implementing LSGCD groundwater rules to develop, conserve and protect water resources of the San Jacinto River watershed.
The Woodlands Joint Powers Agency, which will change its
WJPA
name to The Woodlands Water Agency in mid-September, is the retail supplier for 11 MUDs in The Woodlands area. SOURCES:LONESTARGROUNDWATERCONSERVATION DISTRICT,SAN JACINTORIVERAUTHORITY,THE WOODLANDS JOINTPOWERSAGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACTNEWSPAPER
G R O U N DWAT E R R U L E S History of
LSGCD requires large-volume water users to decrease groundwater use by 30% of 2009 levels. SEPT. 18 , 2018 Judge rules the LSGCD does not have authority to enforce 30% rule NOV. 5 The first LSGCD board is elected by voters instead of appointed. NOV. 7 The LSGCD files appeal of judge’s September ruling. MAY 16 , 2019 The Texas Water Development Board rejects LSGCD groundwater rules, instructs LSGCD to use management goals approved by groundwater districts in surrounding counties. MAY 17 Judge rules LSGCD groundwater rules void and unenforceable.
SURFACE water VS GROUND water
SURFACEWATER: water on the surface of the earth such as streams and lakes
AQUIFER: An underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock. PERMEABLE ROCK: layers of porous rock and sand capable of holding water
JUNE 28 The SJRA announces plan to increase 2020 water rates. JULY 9 The LSGCD files appeal of the TWDB rejection.
GROUNDWATER: water that saturates soil, sand and rock beds, supplying springs and wells
SOURCE:U.S.GEOLOGICALSURVEY/COMMUNITY IMPACTNEWSPAPER
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