AUSTIN — The Public Utility Commission issued a Preliminary Order for a formal complaint filed against Aqua Texas by the Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association (TESPA), which refers the matter to the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) for a full evidentiary hearing.
In the spring of 2024, TESPA announced that it had filed a formal complaint with the PUC of Texas, documenting “years of reckless practices by Aqua including the fact that the utility is serving its customers with an illegal groundwater supply.” In the filing, the association claimed that Aqua has been serving its customers with an illegal groundwater supply; it also requested that the PUC either “decrease Aqua’s customer base in the Wimberley area” or “mandate significant changes to its operations.”
The complaint details a history of actions that establishes that Aqua 'violated public trust, placed local residents’ water service in jeopardy and caused Jacob’s Well to go dry,” according to TESPA. The claims include the following:
• In 2022, Aqua violated its authorized groundwater production limits by 90 million gallons
• Aqua exceeded its production limits by 70 million gallons in 2023
• Aqua lost 55 million gallons of water, due to leaks in its infrastructure and a lack of maintenance, which is a direct violation of the PUC’s requirements to maintain infrastructure and state and district prohibitions on wasting groundwater
• Aqua’s actions caused Jacob’s Well to stop flowing for multiple days when it had been otherwise flowing
• Aqua allegedly misrepresented the number of connections within its service areas when it requested authority from the PUC to sell water in those areas, claiming a smaller number than actually existed. Since that time, the number of connections Aqua represented to the PUC has grown by 65%, without the company ever demonstrating to the PUC it has an adequate water supply
• Aqua continues adding customers in Hays County communities despite not having a legal water supply “TESPA is very gratified with this action by the PUC,” said Jim Blackburn, president of TESPA. “We filed an action because what is occurring with Aqua should not be allowed to continue and we filed this action because we needed a state remedy to this state of Texas problem. We now have a chance to prove our case before an administrative law judge.'
Adam Friedman, TESPA’s attorney before the PUC added, “We plan to present a compelling case that Aqua has been a rogue utility in violation of PUC rules that needs to be reined in. Hill Country residents are counting on the PUC to make sure Aqua can provide adequate water service and that Aqua is not wasting the already stressed groundwater supply.”
The PUC filing also follows ongoing litigation. In December 2023, Aqua filed a lawsuit against the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (HTGCD) and its board of directors for “unlawful and unequal treatment” and for “complete disregard for Aqua Texas’ legal obligation to provide ‘continuous and adequate’ water service to more than 3,000 customers in Hays County,” read a news release that was sent out earlier this year.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Western Texas, came after the district fined Aqua approximately $450,000 for pumping nearly twice the amount of water it was allowed to in 2022 out of the Trinity Aquifer that feeds Jacob’s Well and Blue Hole, which have experienced diminishing and record-low water levels. Aqua claims that the district exceeded its authority and gave the water company “unlawful and unequal treatment,” stating that the fine was targeted specifically toward the company, as the district has forgiven similar water utilities for their penalties.
And on Sept. 23, 2024, Senior United States District Judge David Alan Ezra granted TESPA’s motion to intervene in the case; the request was filed in the interest of protecting Texas groundwater, which is being threatened by Aqua’s legal action in federal court, according to TESPA.
“We were formed to defend the groundwater users of the Wimberley area and the Hill Country and also to protect our springs. Ultimately, the water that flows out of the ground and is used for recreation and also for residential and commercial purposes,” said Blackburn following the granting of TESPA’s motion to intervene. “This action by Aqua is a threat to all groundwater users in Texas because it threatens the regulatory fabric and framework that we have here in Texas. We felt that this was the type of adverse action [where] we just had to stand up [to] try to have a say and try to have an effective, positive role for groundwater users, owners and resources.”
The case — ongoing lawsuit between Aqua Texas and HTGCD — remains in federal court pending further action on Aqua’s claims against the groundwater district.
“Aqua Texas continues to be focused on our lawsuit with the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, which failed to treat Aqua Texas equally. Aqua Texas is pouring more than $30 million into improving our Wimberley Valley water infrastructure and have already completed the replacement of 5,000 feet of aging water mains — the first of several phases totaling 25,000 feet,” said a representative of Aqua Texas. “The upgrades also include construction of a new $25 million wastewater treatment and reuse plant and the establishment of new groundwater wells that will reduce pumping in the Jacob’s Well Groundwater Management Zone.”
TESPA’s PUC filing seeks to ensure Aqua customers do not lose their water and that Hill Country water resources are protected. Now that TESPA’s complaint has been officially referred to SOAH, it will be docketed and a preliminary hearing date will be scheduled.
