by Courtney Griffin
Staff with the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District spent more than an hour briefing board members on House Bill 3405’s implications Thursday. The long-anticipated bill could nearly double the district’s jurisdiction, and staff is presuming months of increased work as they wait for Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature.
HB 3405 will immediately incorporate about 200 square miles of Hays County under BSEACD’s regulating authority if signed or left blank by June 21. Stemming from concerns that arose after Houston-based water supplier Electro Purification revealed plans to pump an estimated 3.5 million gallons of water per day from seven wells in the Trinity Aquifer, the bill brings governmental control to a previously unchecked area.
