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WATER
When it rains, Texans forget drought & worsening water scarcity
BY KEITH SCHNEIDER — CIRCLE OF BLUE SEPT. 23, 2020
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After the pandemic, soaring population growth, development will again challenge planning and water supply.
WIMBERLEY, Texas – Among the famed springs that distinguish the Texas Hill Country as a region of crystal-clear water and iconic swimming holes, Jacob’s Well stands out. The spring’s water source is rain that falls on the thin soils of Hays County and filters through porous limestone before filling a network of deep, ancient caves. The water rises back to the surface from a hole, about 12 feet across, in the bottom of Cypress Creek. The round opening is so blue, so shimmering, that viewed from the top of a nearby limestone cliff it looks like an eye. Unblinking as it emerges from the darkness, the water forms an intent gaze that appears capable of seeing the opposing moods of the Hill Country: the calming influence of ample water supply in wet seasons, and surging alarm during drought. When it’s wet in Hays and the 16 other counties that form the Hill Country, Jacob’s Well pours about 900 gallons a minute into Cypress Creek, more than enough to fill the Blue Pool downstream that is a summertime recreational asset in this town of 3,000 residents. In wet years, ample rainfall means that the various circumstances of economic development — population growth, land use changes and water supply — are like soft breezes, licks of wind that are not terribly distracting. |
Brian Lehmann/Circle of Blue
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‘God is not making more Honey Creeks’: Longtime neighbors clash over planned Hill Country development
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Joyce Moore lives in Gillespie County, but on many weekends, she makes the roughly hourlong drive south to Bulverde to the 640-acre ranch where she grew up, land that has been in her family for nearly 150 years.
Last Saturday, termite damage was the issue of the day. She and her 19-year-old son Josh worked in 103-degree heat fixing a decaying roof on a century-old pumphouse. After long days such as this, Moore likes to drive up to the old chapel on the hillside, where she can see across the rolling hills of oak, juniper, prickly pear, and native grasses. "I used to enjoy coming out here," Moore said. "Now, I don't, and I can't with what's to come." Moore now only sees what will soon change that view forever. A massive residential subdivision planned by her neighbor to the south originally called for 2,400 homes packed on small lots. Ronnie Urbanczyk and his wife, Terry, own approximately 560 acres and have lived in the area 6 miles northwest of Bulverde on State Highway 46 since the early 1990s. Moore remembers when she first heard about the Urbanczyk development from one of the hunters to whom she leases her land. "I felt sick to my stomach," she said. There's more to read below. |
The water that feeds Honey Creek stays at an almost constant temperature in the low 70s.
Honey Creek is a nearly untouched water source on private property near Guadalupe State Park.
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| hill_country_development.docx |
One Water – Blue Hole Primary School
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While COVID-19 dominates headlines in 2020, groundwater protection efforts in the Texas Hill Country are set to realize a tremendous success story when the first One Water school in Texas officially opens its doors for classes this fall! Blue Hole Primary School will serve the growing Hill Country communities of Wimberley and Woodcreek with one of the most water efficient and cost-effective approaches ever envisioned for a school campus in Texas.
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| one_water_–_blue_hole_primary_school.docx |
Subsurface drip irrigation field installation. Treated effluent and harvested rainwater will irrigate Blue Hole Primary School’s new athletic fields. Photo by Bob Farmer, AGCM
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Installation of onsite treatment and reuse system will feature a low energy and highly efficient packed-bed recirculating gravel treatment system to polish black/gray water for irrigation. The system has been designed to meet Edwards Aquifer rules for nutrient reduction. Photo by Bob Farmer, AGCM
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Water Rights Success Story to Preserve & Protect
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When looming development threatened an idyllic slice of the Texas Hill Country known as the Pedernales Falls River Corridor, a group of like-minded neighbors took action to preserve the rare riverside beauty, habitat and history of the corridor, not only for themselves, but for future generations. These landowners used conservation easements to protect their property forever, and are encouraging other property owners along the corridor to do so as well.
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| water-rights-success-story-to-preserve-and-protect-prc.pdf |
Texas Stormwater Score Card 2020
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Water is a part of life, and our waterways are a part of what makes Texas special. But, runoff pollution threatens our favorite swimming holes, our drinking water, our pets, and wildlife. When stormwater runs off roofs, roads, parking lots, and sidewalks, it gathers toxic chemicals, excess nutrients, trash, and other forms of pollution. Traditional concrete channel infrastructure compounds the problem: it concentrates pollutants and directs the dirty water directly into local streams. To address the issue Texas municipalities are turning to nature-based infrastructure. Rain gardens, green roofs, the conservation of natural spaces, and other techniques can reduce runoff pollution by up to 90%.
The Texas Stormwater Scorecard evaluates the stormwater management policies of local governments across Texas to see how well they support the use of nature-based infrastructure. |
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CCCA & Great Springs Project Create Protected Land Map
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Edwards Aquifer is a world class freshwater supply in a world where that should really mean something. Its crystal clarity and purity provides clean drinking water for millions of people, and it gives rise to great beautiful springs that have nourished minds, bodies and spirits for thousands of years. These great springs have, in turn, given rise to great cities: mainly San Antonio, New Braunfels, San Marcos, and Austin. We are blessed beyond words to live in this place with this natural wonder. And we are responsible for ensuring others who come after us will enjoy and benefit from it as well.
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"BEST BETS FOR TEXAS WATER " is a great website that examines solutions to provide more water to Texans.
San Antonio's Edwards Aquifer Protection Program
Read a review and analysis of San Antonio's Edwards Aquifer Protection Program. The city of San Antonio has effectively educated the public on the value of this sales tax funded measure, even though some justification of its premises, such as inevitable development in western counties, remains subjective.
| txwj-sanantonioaquiferprotection.pdf |
Historical Timeline of Comal County, Edwards Aquifer, & Comal Springs
| comal-county-timeline-2-11-19.pdf |