Of any issue that has captured the attention and concern of Hays County residents in the recent past – the threat to our groundwater and the future of our water resources are two that top the list. The proposed plan by the Houston corporation Electro Purification to pump more than five million gallons of water each day from the Trinity Aquifer and pipe it east to Buda, Goforth Water SUD and the private Anthem development near Mountain City has generated more criticism than a bonehead play that decides a Super Bowl.
These new water developers in Texas in many ways resemble the wildcatters of the past. Texas was once the “wild cutting edge” of the oil industry during the early twentieth century. The first generation of Texas oilmen used their wits and money to drill for oil and gas – often in an irresponsible, devil-may-care approach.
Ironically, if oil were at play here instead of water, we would have rules firmly in place that would require permitting, some protection for landowners, and sharing the resource through “pooling” agreements. Texas Supreme Court Judge Nathan Hecht opined in the recent Day McDaniel ruling that groundwater is owned in place like oil and gas. But, since it is groundwater in an unregulated part of the aquifer subject only to the “rule of capture,” all rationale and fair approaches are forgotten.
