twca 2009 mid-year conference groundwater regulation panel

TWCA 2009 Mid-Year Conference

Groundwater Regulation Panel


• The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is a publicly owned utility providing water, wastewater, and reclaimed water service to approximately 1.3 million people.

• San Antonio’s historic reliance on the Edwards Aquifer was curtailed in 1993 with adoption by the Texas Legislature of the Edwards Aquifer Act.

• The city must now develop new water supplies to meet future demand.


• Water supply initiatives already successfully pursued by SAWS include:– Aggressive water conservation– Nation’s largest recycled water system– One of the nation’s largest aquifer storage and

recovery (ASR) projects– Surface water from Canyon Lake– Trinity Aquifer groundwater from Bexar County

(GMA 9)– Carrizo Aquifer groundwater from Bexar County

(GMA 13)


• New water supply initiatives being pursued by SAWS include:– Production and transportation of fresh Carrizo

Aquifer groundwater from Gonzales County (GMA 13)

– Production, transportation and desalination of brackish Wilcox Aquifer groundwater from Bexar, Atascosa, and Wilson Counties (GMA 13)


• New SAWS water supply initiatives (cont.):– LCRA project, including groundwater

component for local agricultural use in the Colorado River Basin (GMA 15)

– Possible development of other groundwater sources to the west, north, or northeast of San Antonio (GMAs 7, 9, 10, 12 or ?)

– Seawater desalination


• Specific GMA/DFC issues being addressed:– Drawdown levels by aquifer and sub-aquifer– Point of measurement (well field v county

average)– Aquifer and spring flow interaction– Consistency with regional plans– Apparent predilection by some GMAs for

adoption of DFCs on a political, rather than hydrological, basis


• Priority issues for SAWS:– Timely adoption by GMAs of reasonable

DFCs that allow predictable and reliable development of essential new groundwater projects

– Expansion of Texas Water Development Board’s appellate role in reviewing the reasonableness of DFCs adopted by GMAs

• Impact of MAG determination:– Determination of managed available groundwater will

be a key factor in the availability of permits from local groundwater districts for future groundwater production.

– Groundwater production will in turn be a critical factor for the future of the State of Texas.

– The importance of water for the state’s future suggests the need for a larger state role in management of the state’s groundwater resources.


twca 2009 mid-year conference groundwater regulation panel

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