The Wimberley Valley Watershed Association and the Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association are gearing up for a February 9 community meeting concerning water issues in the Wimberly Valley. The discussion is expected to include the dispute between the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District and Aqua Texas, the company that provides water to customers in Wimberley, Woodcreek and other communities in Hays County.
Aqua Texas was fined last Spring nearly half a million dollars for overpumping 89 million gallons of water from the Trinity Aquifer.
Over the last year, the Aquifer level dropped to among its lowest levels ever recorded. The Trinity Aquifer is the main waterway feeding Jacob’s Well and Blue Hole. According to the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association, the “spring stopped flowing for the sixth time since 2000.” When Blue Hole was closed to the public in August 2023 because of low water levels, the city lost $250,000 in revenue in that month alone.
According to local activists like David Baker, Executive Director of the Watershed Association, Aqua Texas’s overpumping exacerbated the stress on the area’s water resources. According to US Census Bureau population figures, Hays Country grew over 170% between 2000 and 2022. An extended drought and a summer with record high temperatures added to the stress.
The fines levied by the District against Aqua Texas were due May 8, but Aqua Texas has not paid. District officials said they wouldn’t renew the company’s contract until they do.
In an article published by the Wimberley View on January 11, the newspaper reported “that Aqua Texas filed a suit on Dec. 29 against the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District and its board of directors for what the business said was “unlawful and unequal treatment of Aqua Texas and its complete disregard for Aqua’s state law duty to provide continuous and adequate water service to its customers.”” The View further reported that Craig Blanchette, president of Aqua Texas, “said the aim of the suit is to prevent the district from allowing Aqua Texas’ groundwater permits to expire on Dec. 31, 2023. “HTGCD is exceeding its authority under federal and state law, raising concerns that [it] is violating due process [as intended by] the U.S. Constitution,” Blanchette said. “Its proposed fine significantly surpasses the legal limits set for Groundwater Conservation Districts when penalizing utilities.”” KUT’s Hays County reporter Maya Fawaz wrote on January 9 that “Charlie Flatten, general manager of the HTGCD, agreed that the district regularly reduces the fines in cases when pipes break due to extraordinary freezes or when corrective action is implemented, but went on to say that “Aqua Texas has not abided by its permit from the District and has failed to keep its infrastructure in shape, resulting in the ongoing overproducing of its permit.”” In a January 10 article by Liz Teitz of the San Antonio Express- News, the newspaper quoted Aqua Texas as saying, “To date, Aqua Texas has voluntarily spent millions of dollars in water conservation and replacing aging infrastructure to reduce water loss, to proactively address conservation and for line leakage with the Hays Trinity GCD during the drought curtailment period,” the company said.”
The District’s Flatten, in a statement to KUT News, said “it’s unclear whether Aqua Texas’ decision to improve its infrastructure is a conservation effort or something that would be considered regular maintenance.”
The Watershed and TESPA meeting will be held at the Wimberley Community Center, 14068 Ranch Rd 12, February 9 at 6 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.
