 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
AGUA sues over endangered warbler to protect Edwards On December 21, the environmental group Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas filed a suit in U.S. District Court againt the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army Corps of Engineers, claiming the USFWS has failed to adequately protect habitat for the endangered golden-cheeked warbler. AGUA wants officials to conduct a study of regional warbler habitat and set aside enough to ensure a viable and self-sustaining population. It is thought that the region needs about 1,000 pairs of warblers for a viable population, but there are only about 300. AGUA leaders admitted they filed the suit to hamper development that threatens the Edwards Aquifer. AGUA President Enrique Valdivia said "We believe that the warbler is an indicator of the health of the environment and the Edwards Aquifer. Our focus is really to protect the Edwards Aquifer." The Corps of Engineers was included in the suit as a defendant because the agency issued permits for the Cagnon-to-Kendall transmission line project based on an environmental assessment conducted by Fish & Wildlife. |
|
Drought restrictions drop back to Stage I On November 21, the Edwards Aquifer Authority lifted Stage II pumping restrictions and placed the region back in Stage I. The change had little practical effect on most users, because San Antonio did implement Stage II restrictions, saying it could meet the required pumping reductions without them. Currently, there is no regional approach to how drought stages are declared or implemented. The result is what some local leaders have criticized as a confusing patchwork, in which the EAA may declare one stage while various municipalities remain in others. EAA delays development of water quality rules On November 15 the EAA board delayed a vote to order staffers to begin drafting water quality rules that would limit impervious cover. It is widely thought that development of such rules might provoke a property rights backlash and retaliation in the upcoming 2007 legislative session. The issue of whether the EAA has the power to regulate water quality was hotly debated in the 2003 session. At that time, Kenneth Armbrister, who authored the legislation that created the EAA, claimed the EAA does not have the power to initiate water quality protections. EAA board member George Rice, who opposed the delay, said "I think the people of the region will be better off if the authority takes a stand on this. Doing nothing doesn't stop the people who want to take away our powers. It just shows we can be intimidated by them." |
|
In October, the still simmering rancor over the PGA golf resort resurfaced when City Council extended construction deadlines. The Forestar corporation, formerly Lumberman's Investment Corporation, will have an additional six months to begin construction and an additional 18 months to finish. The developer said extra time was needed because Marriott International wants to increase the size of the hotel from 800 to 1000 rooms. Another new provision was approved that will allow the development to use Edwards Aquifer water for golf course irrigation. When first proposed, the project had planned to use recycled water. J-17 real-time monitoring discontinued Many of you have reported to me that links to the USGS real-time monitoring page for the J-17 index well appear to be broken or not working. I asked my friends at the USGS about this and they reported that on October 1, the San Antonio Water System discontinued funding for the site. The real-time levels are no longer available. |
|
Leon Valley site proposed for Superfund list In April of 2004, high levels of perchloroethene (PCE) were found in a small private well near Bandera Rd. in Leon Valley. PCE is a volatile organic compound that is a known carcinogen and is regulated in drinking water. It is a common solvent used in many industries such as dry cleaning and automotive servicing. Since 2004, almost a dozen other private wells were discovered to be affected by the plume of contamination, now thought to be about a mile long and a half mile wide. It is thought the plume may be moving towards two public water supply wells for Leon Valley and six for the San Antonio Water System. Officials are making plans to do more geologic and groundwater work to find it. Since the Aquifer formation is deep underground in this area, the most likely source of contamination would be an abandoned or improperly constructed well. Placement on the 'Superfund' list makes a site eligible for immediate attention and remediation. The hazard ranking for the site was 50, which is among the highest possible. Sites can be considered for the Superfund list with a score of 28.5. Region enters Stage II water restrictions On September 8, the Edwards Aquifer Authority declared Stage II of its demand management/critical period plan, triggering a mandatory 10% cutback for Aquifer pumpers. Although soaking rains and cooler weather in early September caused the J-17 index well in San Antonio to rise above the Stage I trigger level of 650 feet above sea level, flows at San Marcos Springs continued to decline. While most people associate critical period Stages with the J-17 level, flows at San Marcos and Comal Springs are also triggers for declaring a Stage. Stage II rules are declared by the Authority when the five day running average flow at San Marcos Springs drops below 95 cubic feet per second. The region's largest pumper, the San Antonio Water System, announced it would not implement Stage II restrictions, saying it could meet the 10% cutback target without imposing additional measures. Other cities, such as Helotes, have water conservation ordinances that are triggered by an EAA declaration. Helotes councilwoman Alina Matutes-Eckhardt, who spearheaded a recent effort to update Helotes' ordinance, said "Citizens need a consistent message regarding water conservation. We felt that a regional approach to how the Stages are applied would be easier to communicate and would improve compliance. It's confusing for people when the EAA has declared one Stage and cities are in another." |
|
New study re-defines Edwards hydrogeology In August, a new evaluation of the Edwards Aquifer in Kinney and Uvalde counties by Ron Green and others concluded that a large area underneath Kinney county deserves designation as a separate pool. Previously, the area was believed to be a portion of the "Uvalde pool". The study also threw new light on the structure and function of the "Knippa Gap". The work was undertaken in order to develop an updated conceptual model that incorporates existing and newly collected data, and to clearly define the hydraulic and hydrogeologic relationship between the San Antonio pool and the Uvalde pool. Based on a new examination of the geology, water chemistry, and hydrogeology, Green concluded there is a separate pool under Kinney county that has limited or minimal flow to the Uvalde pool. The work also furthered our understanding of the "Knippa Gap", which had not previously been well understood. It has long been observed that wells to the west of the Gap display much less variability than wells in the San Antonio pool. According to Green, there is a prominent ridge in the base of the Edwards that reduces the saturated thickness of the limestone formation. A series of prominent highpoints in the ridge constricts groundwater flow through topographic saddles between the high points, resulting in a 4-mile wide high-capacity flow channel just north of the City of Knippa. Groundwater flow in this channel is then doubled by the addition of recharge from the Frio River-Dry Frio River. The combined effect of the structural constriction and focused recharge at the Knippa Gap causes a damming of groundwater upgradient and to the west of the Knippa Gap. The new findings will have large implications for management and regulation of the Edwards and water supply schemes to bring water towards San Antonio from west of the Gap. EAA board proposes new regulations on hazardous materials, spill reporting On August 8 the board of
the Edwards Aquifer Authority unanimously approved new rules that, upon
final adoption, would require registration of sites where large
quantities of substances like paint, insecticides, and solvents are
stored. The rules would require that storage areas have a secondary
containment system, and site owners or operators would have to prepare a
spill prevention and response plan to outline how they would deal with
any spills. Any such spills would have to be cleaned up completely
and quickly and reported to the Authority within 72 hours. The rules
would apply to any hazardous materials storage area on the Edwards
Recharge Zone or the Contributing Zone within the EAA's jurisdiction
that stored 10,000 pounds or 1,000 gallons of a regulated substance. While many applauded the EAA's foray into water quality protection, others warned it would re-ignite the simmering battle over whether the EAA or the TCEQ should develop and implement such measures. Some insisted that EAA can and should do the job, while others warned it would become an example of why the EAA can not effectively regulate for water quality. Only a small portion of the Contributing Zone is within the agency's jurisdiction, so not all potential hazmat storage locations will be regulated. Some businesses may insist the new regulations will affect their ability to compete with others who are not subject to the measures. Even among factions who support strict water quality protections, there is a growing recognition that water quality measures will have to be developed on a state-wide basis to be equitable and effective. |
|
Region enters Stage I water restrictions On July 19, the Edwards Aquifer Authority declared Stage I of its demand management/critical period plan, placing most of the region under mandatory groundwater use restrictions. This is the first the region has entered a critical period since May 2000. See details regarding water use restrictions. Two Comal Springs beetles, Peck's Cave amphipod get habitat protection In July, the US Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to designate about 100 acres of springs in Comal and Hays counties as critical habitat for the Comal Springs dryopid beetle, riffle beetle, and Peck's Cave amphipod. The decision came more than three years after the Center for Biological Diversity sued to force the government to take action. In recent years, the Fish and Wildlife Service has adopted the position that designating critical habitat does not provide much protection for endangered species. The agency issued a statement that said "In almost all cases, recovery of listed species will come through voluntary cooperative partnerships, not regulatory measures." Peter Galvin of the Center for Biological Diversity said "We fundamentally disagree, and court after court has ruled against the Fish and Wildlife Service and clearly stated that critical habitat does provide protection." The Fish and Wildlife Service will collect comments on the designation for two months and also contract for an economic analysis to determine if the critical habitat designation will cause hardship in Comal and Hays counties. For more on the Comal Springs beetles and the Peck's Cave amphipod, see the Endangered Species page. EAA, San Antonio edge toward impervious cover limits On July 11, the EAA board unanimously supported the idea of limiting impervious cover to 20%, but put off until November a vote to order the drafting of rules. The city of San Antonio is also considering impervious cover limits for the lands within its jurisdiction, and the city's Zoning Commission recently heard a presentation from SAWS that would create a tiered limit depending on the type of development. The SAWS proposal is an attempt to bridge the wide gap between factions who believe current limits are not stringent enough and powerful interests such as the San Antonio Real Estate Council who are solidly against additional limits. Those opposed to limits insist that water quality is still high after more than 20 years of development, and they favor the continued use of stormwater basins that are designed to filter debris before releasing it to streams. It's true that when properly maintained, stormwater basins can significantly reduce the amount of suspended materials in waters that may end up as Aquifer recharge; however, they are not designed to remove dissolved substances. Anything that dissolves in water or is already in liquid form, such as pesticides and gasoline, will automatically go right on through the filter. Hydrogeologist George Rice, an environmentalist and EAA board member, disagrees with the heavy reliance on stormwater basins and says that "experience has shown that sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't." Both the EAA and San Antonio are concerned that imposing impervious cover limits would expose them to liability under the state's new Private Real Property Rights Preservation Act. The new law says that government entities that enact ordinances or rules that devalue a property by 25% or more must compensate the landowner. The law has put a real chill statewide on any governmental efforts to protect natural resources. In considering any environmental regulations such as impervious cover limits, a major factor will be a "takings assessment" that will determine the impact on property values. |
|
Longtime water activist Tom Culbertson passes away For decades, hydrogeologist Tom Culbertson was an outspoken activist on local water issues. He died on June 21 at the age of 89 years. He was a fixture at city council and water agency meetings, and was usually signed up for the citizens-to-be-heard session. He was a founder of the Regional Clean Air and Water Association, and taught geology at San Antonio College for many years. His daughter Rosalind Kurita said he was a man who "knew who he was, lived his beliefs, and always reached out to help other people." I knew him as an extremely intelligent and concerned citizen who always put the public good first. |
|
Study on Western Edwards concludes pipeline idea would impact region In early 2004, a public debate erupted over a proposal to pipe large amounts of Edwards water from Uvalde county to San Antonio (see previous News item). At that time, SAWS leaders were under intense pressure from water marketers and business interests to purchase supplies from the other side of the "Knippa Gap", where Edwards well levels are much less variable and pumping has less impact on springflows. In order to give the public some assurance that all parties had taken an unbiased look at the proposal, SAWS had the University of Texas conduct a study using a new Edwards model. The results suggested that pumping large amounts from the "Uvalde pool" would throw the entire region into drought restrictions more often and lower well levels in Uvalde county by a significant amount. Uvalde county has a growing agricultural base, and SAWS Board Chairman James Mayor said "I just don't think it would be the right thing to do." EAA committee recommends impervious cover limits On May 23, an Edwards Aquifer Authority committee recommended limiting impervious cover to 20% on all properties in the authority's jurisdiction. Committee members acknowledged that sending the recommendation to the full EAA Board could trigger a property-rights backlash in the Texas Legislature, which last year passed a law exempting any land with existing development plans from new rules imposed by environmental agencies. It may also re-kindle a bitter debate that erupted in 2003 regarding the Edwards Aquifer Authority's powers to adopt rules designed to protect water quality. Although the EAA's enabling act seems to explicitly give it that power, the legislator who authored the bill, Sen. Ken Armbrister, said that was never intended. Some insist the task of water quality protection is much larger than the EAA's boundaries and must be addressed on a regional or state-wide basis by the TCEQ. Others say the state's rules are not strong enough and not enforced, so the EAA should act on its own or assist TCEQ with enforcement. Tree-ring study suggests 50's drought was not worst ever Most regional water planners use the "drought of record" of the 1950s as the basis for development of adequate new supplies, but a new study sponsored by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority suggests that more severe droughts have occurred. The GBRA commissioned the University of Arkansas Department of Geosciences Tree-Ring Laboratory to reconstruct historical climates for the south Central Texas and Edwards Plateau regions, pushing back knowledge to 1648. The study concluded the worst drought on record started in 1708, and several others were worse than the 1950s drought. Head researcher Malcolm Cleaveland said "It would appear unwise for civil authorities to assume that the 1950s drought represents the worst-case scenario to be used for planning purposes." Last year, the San Antonio Water System selected the 1982-84 drought as the standard for its water planning. The new study suggests the 82-84 drought is not in the top 20 among short or long-term episodes. SAWS said it chose that drought because usage patterns in 1984 more closely reflect those of today, and that it has built in several safety factors, such as the utility's Aquifer Storage and Recovery facility. You can get the study here. SAWS drops participation in Regional Water Resources Development Group In 1998 the San Antonio Water System created a coalition of 12 communities and water systems to acquire and share Edwards water rights, but in May the SAWS Board voted to pull out of the group. SAWS said it had been short-changed by new rules that placed its own needs at the bottom of a priority list, and that it was the victim of "guerilla warfare" in response to its decision last year to drop participation in the Lower Guadalupe project. The San Antonio River Authority assumed management of the group, and SARA General Manager said "we're continuing to do our job to support the other water purveyors in our district to meet their water needs." |
|
City committee recommends new impervious cover limits Last month, a city committee gave up on trying to reach an agreement regarding revisions to the city's Aquifer protection rules. On April 20, San Antonio's Quality of Life committee voted to recommend slight reductions in impervious cover limits for new developments on the recharge and contributing zones within San Antonio's city limits and extra-territorial jurisdiction. Support from committee members was weak, but they approved the recommendations in order to move them forward for city council and public debate. Some members felt that since only 17% of the recharge zone under the city's control is undeveloped, the rules would have little effect. Others insisted that since only 17% is left, it's all the more important to protect what little remains. Councilman Richard Perez was concerned that tighter controls would bring lawsuits against the city, since a new State law now allows landowners to sue governmental agencies if their rules result in significant property devaluations. Annalisa Peace, executive director of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, said "It's really frustrating that Richard Perez is more concerned about being sued than he is about the water quality of our city." SAWS delivers Canyon Lake water to SA customers In February of 2000, the Bexar Metropolitan Water District became the first Bexar county purveyor to distribute treated surface water. Now the San Antonio Water System has followed suit, distributing water provided by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority to customers in northwest San Antonio near I-10. SAWS contract with GBRA calls for the firm delivery of 3,950 acre-feet per year through 2037, which is about 35% of the plant's capacity of 10 million gallons per day. SAWS will also take any water not used by other customers. As more water is needed in GBRA's service area, SAWS will receive declining quantities. Crownridge Canyon Natural Area opens In April, the new 211 acre Crownridge Canyon Natural Area opened to the public. It was purchased by the City using Proposition 3 sales tax funds, which were collected to provide money for Aquifer protection. The measure raised $45 million before it expired, which has now all been spent on acquiring more than 6,500 acres. In 2005, voters approved Proposition 1, which re-authorized the 1/8 cent sales tax. It will expire after it raises $90 million for Aquifer protection and linear parks along area creeks. Since the intent of Prop 3 was to provide for Aquifer protection, not all of the purchased lands are open to the public. The Crownridge Canyon site has rolling, rocky hills and about two miles of fairly easy hiking trails. It contains tracts of pristine oak and cedar forest and is prime habitat for the federally protected golden-cheeked warbler and black-capped vireo. |
|
Panel fails to reach agreement on Aquifer protection rules In 2003, former San Antonio Mayor Ed Garza drafted a citizens committee to take a look at the city's Aquifer protection rules. In March 2006, the committee announced that it had given up and had not reached a consensus. The panel was formed of both developers and environmentalists, and they could not agree on contentious issues such as how much impervious cover should be allowed on new development. Environmentalists wanted tighter limits, but developers argued there is no proof that current development standards are polluting the Aquifer. Several members of the committee, including Bonnie Conner, an EAA Board member and a longtime fixture in Aquifer protection efforts, signed a four page statement that asserted "The city political leadership must confront a handful of private interests whose development contaminates the public well, fight those interests in Austin, and in the Texas courts. Enacting significant changes in the water quality ordinance will provoke the powerful but will protect." Drought reaches "Exceptional" status Having received only 11 inches of rain in almost a year, the San Antonio region was declared by the National Drought Mitigation Center to be suffering from "exceptional" drought conditions, the highest of five categories. At this time, it appears likely that San Antonio will be subject to water use restrictions sometime this spring or in early summer, which has not occurred since 2002. |
|
San Antonio modifies vested rights regulations On February 16 the San Antonio city council approved changes in the city's Unified Development Code that will make it more difficult for developers to get around environmental rules by obtaining "vested rights" exemptions from regulations on building and development. In the 1990s, just before regulations went into effect to protect the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, developers filed dozens of plats so they could pursue at least another 10 years of development the 'old way', without adhering to the new rules. This month's Development Code changes limit the amount of time that developers can sit on a piece of property and still claim vested rights, and it also requires site plans to be filed earlier in the process. The new code also reflects changes in state law that were sought by developers to define "filed" as the day an application is hand delivered or postmarked to a regulatory agency. New EAA position may cause earthquake in Texas water law In a development that has the potential to shake the foundation of Texas' water law, the Edwards Aquifer Authority recently adopted the position that the rule of capture does not provide landowners with a protected property interest. Until now, the "rule of capture" has meant that landowners also owned the water beneath their land. In the past, users in the Edwards region were free to take as much as could be beneficially used, and the issue of unlimited withdrawals and property rights was the crux of the Edwards Aquifer debate in the 1990s. The courts eventually ruled that pumping could be limited to protect endangered species, the EAA was created to implement the limits, and the Edwards region became the only area in Texas where the rule of capture was modified to include such limits. It was still universally understood, however, that landowners owned the water. In a case involving ranch owners who say they were not properly notified of the deadline to file an application for a pumping permit, the EAA has taken the position that "the rule of capture does not provide landowners with a protected property interest because, among other reasons, the groundwater underneath ones property is not 'owned' until it is pumped and reduced to possession at the surface." SAWS filed a brief against the EAA position, countering that if no property right in groundwater exists, there could be very few limits on the regulatory authority of groundwater districts, and it would also wreak havoc on various agency's plans to increase their water inventories by purchasing property over other aquifers. The EAA fears that if SAWS position wins, it would be more likely the EAA could be held liable for a "taking" when it denies a groundwater permit, and that landowners who didn't seek a permit in the past may now be able to successfully do so. It's possible the court that heard the arguments may rule only on the issue of whether the ranchers received proper notification. However, if the court takes on the larger issue of protected property interests, an eventual Supreme Court rule could have sweeping implications for water law and water rights in Texas. |
|
State takes over regional water planning In December, Region L planners appeared to be on track to complete a required five year review of the region's section of the State Water Plan, but it all fell apart in January. Amid squabbling and finger-pointing, the Region L Planning Group missed the deadline for including their work in the larger State plan. The group asked for an extension, but the State said the law did not provide for late filings and it assumed control of planning for the region. Most of the blame for the failure of the group to agree on an updated plan was directed at SAWS, which in 2005 dropped its participation in the Guadalupe River component of the plan. Other agencies complained that it was a huge problem for them to adjust and respond to SAWS decision. SAWS officials said it would be unfair to blame their agency, and that it had worked many hours to ensure the utility's proposed plans were acceptable. Another major flash-point was the controversial Carrizo Aquifer component of the plan (see Carrizo page). There is disagreement about water availability, and the Planning Group voted 13-7 to remove it from the plan. However, 14 votes were required for removal, and the element stayed in. Two weeks after the deadline, the Group eventually approved a plan and also voted to include a letter stating that not everyone agreed to everything in the plan. The State said the Group's work would be considered in the final plan, and that failure to have an approved plan from Region L would affect the Region's ability to get loans and grants from the State without special waivers. TCEQ asks EAA to rethink junior/senior permits On January 10, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recommended that the Edwards Aquifer Authority reconsider rules that allow Aquifer users to take more water than legislatively allowed. In 2003, the Edwards Aquifer Authority attempted to solve the region's pumping dilemma by designating about 10% of most pumping permits as junior rights which cannot be used if Aquifer levels drop below certain triggers (see June 2003 news item). The dilemma was caused by conflicting provisions of the legislation which created the Authority. It is required to limit pumping to 450,000 acre-feet per year, but it is also required to issue minimum annual pumping rights to users who could prove their use during the prior 21 years. Those rights turned out to be far in excess of 450,000 acre-feet, so the Authority issued "junior rights" for the excess volume. In 2003, the Guadalupe Basin Coalition developed a white paper on the subject of compliance with the pumping limits in Senate Bill 1477. The analysis concluded that EAA actions inconsistent with respecting the 450,000 acre-foot-per-year permitting cap would be contrary to the EAA Act and the EAA’s duties and responsibilities under the Act. You can download and read the entire white paper here. Sewer leak over Aquifer stops toll road work In December 2005, Aquifer activists sued to stop work on new toll lanes over the recharge zone on 281 north of 1604. In January, an undetected sewer leak led to a work stoppage instead. A crew clearing brush bent a valve on a sewer lift station, which then leaked intermittently for about a month before it was detected and repaired. Tests for bacterial contamination in nearby wells were negative, but the Federal Highway Administration halted work on the project until a new environmental assessment could be completed. A few days later, motorists complained that TXDOT had finagled with stoplight timing to cause traffic backups, but TXDOT insisted it had not. Last November, five persons hired to become "residents" on the PGA site voted to create the special taxing district that will finance the development. The new Board got right to work, and on January 9 it proposed detailed plans for how hotel, sales, and property taxes will finance the project. Three days later, Bexar County commissioners approved the plans, quietly ending one of the most contentiously debated issues in San Antonio history (see Nov. '05 story).
|