DRIPPING SPRINGS — Dripping Springs residents who rely on bulk water for their homes slept a little easier after the Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation (DSWSC) voted to continue its bulk water service at its meeting on Monday, June 9.
After postponing the item at its May 19 meeting, due to overwhelming turnout of citizens, DSWSC met at Dripping Springs Ranch Park on Monday to debate canceling all bulk water, truck meter, hydrant meter and construction bulk water sales.
Legislation changes
To begin the meeting, DSWSC General Manager Rick Broun presented information on Senate bills 2660 and 1253, the latter of which was approved by both the House and the Senate and awaits a signature by Gov. Greg Abbott.
According to Broun, the first iteration of the bill, SB 2660, made the following changes to water legislation in Texas:
• Added a production fee of $0.30/1,000 gallons of water used, plus a 5% annual increase, to all water users
• Allowed the board of directors of water districts to be compensated for their work
• Hearings on budgets not required
• Defined what an exempt well is by rule
• Allowed districts to enter private property without consent
• Allowed districts to select an election date that did not line up with general elections
SB 2660 did not advance out of the Senate; however, some of the language was added into an unrelated bill, SB 1253, which ultimately did pass in the Senate and then, the House.
SB 1253 allows the production fee, as stated above, and repeals Section 8843.104 of the Texas Special District Local Laws Code, which protects a well used for domestic use by a single private household from being regulated, permitted or metered by the district. Additionally, 8843.104 prohibits a district entering property to inspect and exempt well without the property owner’s permission. Both of these protections will be removed, if the bill is signed by Gov. Abbott.
Lawsuits against DSWSC
DSWSC receives its water from the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (HTGCD).
According to the presentation, the corporation is permitted to pump one million gallons per day or 366.5 million gallons per year. Since 2023, the district has been under 40% curtailment, due to the drought.
The president explained that the permit DSWSC holds with HTGCD has not been updated in nine years; therefore, the capacity has remained the same. In 2022, HTGCD changed its rules to ban amending permits during drought stages three and four.
“Well, where we got in trouble is people have said Dripping Springs over pumped our permit. Ladies and gentlemen, we did not over pump our permit. We over pumped the 40% drought reduction. So, we went from a million gallons a day we could pump, to 600,000,” said board president Mark Key.
In 2023, at 40% curtailment, DSWSC was allowed to pump 219.9 million gallons for the year, however, it pumped 248.5 million gallons, 7% over the allotment, which led to a $143,000 penalty.
In 2024, the corporation pumped 26 million gallons less than allotted.
“To get out of drought stage four, you have to have 60 consecutive days of flow to move into a less severe stage,” Broun said. “Put that in perspective, Noah, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. He had problems getting out of this drought.”
“Our engineer provided us with all the general system information a couple of meetings ago and he said serving existing customers without exceeding the 40% curtailment is not feasible,” Key continued.
In addition to the HTGCD lawsuit, DSWSC is fighting a lawsuit from West Travis Public Utility Agency (WTCPUA).
According to Key, the WTCPUA Board is made up of five members, three of whom are from Travis County and two representing Hays County, including Hays County commissioner Walt Smith.
Key explained that, in 2017, the DSWSC attempted to get water from WTCPUA, but ultimately decided the cost was too great to bear.
In 2023, the corporation tried again. However, after paying $24,050 for the service extension request (SER), the term sheet provided was “unacceptable.”
At a subsequent meeting with the board to discuss the term sheet, Key and DSWSC vice president Travis Crow claim that the first thing WTCPUA discussed was the board's desire to buy DSWSC.
“At their meeting on June 20, 2024, the PUA voted to rescind our SER — the one that we paid $24,000 for. Neither Walt Smith nor Scott Walker reached out to us to let us know this was on the agenda,” said Key. “The reason listed was the DS Water Supply Corp. refused to agree to the term sheet. Of course, the deal on the term sheet was giving up our wells.”
Then, in September 2024, WTCPUA “somehow” found some missing living unit equivalents that it says DSWSC never paid for, the president explained. This resulted in an $8,888,380 bill.
Public comments
Following the presentations, the floor was opened to allow for public comments.
“We have been customers of the bulk water at Dripping Springs Water Supply since 2020. My wife and I have had a rainwater system put in since 2005. We do not have a well,” said Stan Rech. “During a drought, we depend on Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation bulk water to get us through. I have a trailer with only a 500-gallon water tank on it that I can supplement my rainwater system. Without Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation bulk water, I am afraid we will run out of drinking water.”
Many others in similar situations echoed Rech’s sentiments.
"I'm going to give you a TLDR — the too long didn't read — of what's going on right here, and it's much more than just what you're seeing in this room. We have a county commissioner, as well as special interests, teeing up all of the water pipelines within our community to serve and facilitate dense development within our county at your expense. He's supplementing his developer interest with your private property rights,” said Ashley Whittenberger. “I love nature. I love Mother Earth. Water is life. It is, but we also have our private property rights that we need to protect.”
Local business owner Denver Fredenburg, who has a water permit through HTGCD, implored the board to pay the HTGCD fee.
"Lastly, I'll say I, too, got a curtail permit for 150,000 gallons. It was actually permitted at 100,000 and it was curtailed down to 60,000 and I went over by 9,000 gallons. I paid my fee. That's what business owners do. I don't know why the rules apply to me, but don’t apply to you. Pay the fee. Open up bulk water. Support your community,” he said.
“To be frank, I don't care about a green looking yard, a great green golf course, a car wash or moving more and more people into the city that doesn't have the infrastructure or resources to support it,” said Dripping Springs resident Jean Cyrus. “What I do care about is having water to drink, water to shower, flush my toilets, wash my clothes and dishes and water, put out small fires that might spark to keep them from becoming out of control. I care about farmers that need water to produce the food we eat. I care about the ranchers that need water for their livestock. We are in serious trouble with our aquifers, but please reconsider keeping bulk water sales available. It's our lifeline.”
Board discussion
Following a quick break after public comment, the board immediately voted 4-0, with Brett Pasquarella not in attendance, to discontinue construction bulk water.
After making an additional motion to not cancel bulk water, truck meter and hydrant meter for personal use, Key addressed some of the comments from public comment: “I’m sorry you have to go through all this. This is new. We've been trying. I think, a gentleman said earlier, ‘I just paid a fine.’ Well, we'd already paid one from the groundwater district and the thought was if you’ve got somebody bullying you, they’re going to keep bullying you and bullying and bullying you and we feel we have a right to use that water.”
“We’re the only bulk water fill up station in five counties,” said Crow. “People are coming here in our natural resources, I understand. We are being penalized for other communities that haven't stepped up. You're being penalized for these other communities that haven’t stepped up. We all are. This is a Central Texas issue, not a Dripping Springs water issue.”
The board approved the motion 4-0.
To watch the full meeting, visit bit.ly/4kJJzFd.
