by VERONICA GORDON
Buda locals Mary Stone and Jim Ruby battled for the Pct. 1 Director spot on the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District.
Stone found ground early Tuesday night with a 70 percent lead over Ruby before half of the precincts reporting results were counted. The final vote was 2,721 for Stone to 905 for Ruby.
The district oversees the supply of clean water in our area. Board members make decisions about the wells that are drilled in the county and promote conservation efforts.
Stone has served as director for four years and said Tuesday that she’s looking forward to continuing to serve.
“I am honored to serve another four years,” Stone said. “I look forward to getting back to work. There’s a lot of big issues ahead of us. We need to make sure we manage the resources we have and manage it well. We only have one aquifer and we need to take care of it and make sure the decisions we make are balanced.”
Stone said aquifer storage and recovery, desalination and use of the Trinity aquifer are at the top of her list of alternative water supplies to explore in her new term.
“We are in an area that has huge growth,” she added. “We need to continue managing the resources we have to keep it flowing for years to come for all of us.”
Ruby, who also ran on the platform of balancing the quality and quantity of the district’s water supply, had little to say when he learned the results of the election.
“Well, what should I say? Best of luck to her,” Ruby said. “The people have made their choice. That’s what they’re going to have to live with. If that’s what they want, then they can have that. Best of luck to the county. And we’ll go from there.”
Stone said she is looking forward to serving Ruby’s supporters.
“I really appreciate his willingness to run for office,” she added.
The Texas Legislature created the district in 1987 with a directive to conserve, protect and enhance the groundwater resources in its jurisdictional area.
The district boundaries reach from northern Austin to southern Caldwell County. This area encompasses approximately 247 square miles in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays and Travis Counties.
In the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer, management of the aquifer involves both protecting water levels to ensure water availability for all groundwater users and protecting the environmental flows for the endangered species that call the aquifer home.
