Water. Our most precious resource requires the utmost protection, while simultaneously remaining accessible to everyone. How does a drought-prone community like Dripping Springs balance such complicated efforts that seem so obviously counterintuitive to each other?
That’s a question I’ve pondered since I was in the work program as a senior at Dripping Springs High School. I was fortunate to be able to work in the office of a local water-well drilling and service company between 2004 and 2007. Longtime residents likely recall the severe drought we were experiencing. Wells were going dry and pumps were burning up at rapid rates. It seemed like every other work order required replacing and, when possible, lowering the pump — or fire ants were in the electrical box wreaking havoc. Estimates for storage tanks and drilling deeper were going out daily.
Fortunately, technology had advanced, as it often does, and a relatively inexpensive device called a pump saver was being installed alongside every replacement and new well pump. At least with the pump saver installed, a well pump would shut off, rather than running dry and burning up.
There was relatively exponential growth happening in Dripping Springs at that time, too — not quite at the rate we’ve witnessed in the last decade, but significant, nonetheless.
Here I am, two decades later, in my hometown, observing another prolonged drought. But this time it’s different.
Our once-sleepy little dry town is now booming with distilleries, breweries, wineries and thousands more people. For those who don’t know, yes, Dripping Springs used to be as dry as Onion Creek can become during the peak of Texas summer heat.
Today, our major surface-water reservoirs are substantially better supplied than our groundwater system, while groundwater levels continue to fluctuate rapidly from month to month. We’ve seen slow, but significant improvement when rainfall reaches the aquifer’s recharge zone, followed by dramatic declines during periods of extreme summer heat. At a recent Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation meeting, the board reported that well levels had declined approximately 50 feet from the previous month.
Regardless of my personal opinions on our community’s growth, I’m pretty certain there isn’t much to be done as far as effectively prohibiting growth. Given our proximity to Austin and San Antonio, it seems like a safe bet that we’re going to have plenty more new neighbors moving here.
It seems obvious to me that local water providers and developers alike should be considering all options, when it comes to meeting future water demand, while simultaneously conserving this finite resource.
This is probably about the point in my musings where I’m going to lose some folks, but I ask that you push through and don’t draw any conclusions yet.
It’s safe to say most of us agree that water is our most precious resource, but even with that acknowledgement, we often take it for granted.
To know is human, to remember is divine …
Groundwater. Surface water. Rainwater. Private property rights. Conservation. Stewardship.
I understand, at least as a layman, the limitations of our groundwater and the fragility of our aquifers. I recognize that surface water traveling through miles of transmission lines crossing county and city lines can come with a very high price. Some folks might argue that regardless of the cost, we’ve got to have the water. But I struggle with blindly accepting a significantly higher-priced option, especially without better understanding the long-term costs, including both the environmental and fiscal impacts on residents, many of whom are already struggling financially.
It’s worth mentioning that accessing the additional long-sought-after surface water is being negotiated through a regional water authority whose terms, in my opinion, would have compounded the restrictions facing our community under the current Stage 4 drought conditions.
In addition to Texas’ primary groundwater and surface-water supplies, developers and water providers should be seriously considering the addition of rainwater catchment, treatment and distribution into their systems.
This is not simply a theoretical concept. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has established regulatory guidance specifically for public water systems that collect and treat rainwater and distribute it as potable water.
In fact, Shield Ranch in the Texas Hill Country became the first Texas public water system approved to rely entirely on harvested rainwater as its source. Based on my research, it remains the only Texas example I have identified that has actually implemented this type of potable public-water system.
That doesn’t mean rainwater can or should replace groundwater or surface water. It means it could potentially supplement them.
Water providers could create incentives and rebates for developments that integrate rainwater systems that funnel collected water to nearby on-site storage and treatment facilities managed by licensed water operators. A properly designed system could remain connected to the broader public-water system, providing another source when rainfall and storage conditions permit, while maintaining access to conventional supplies when they do not.
That is the kind of creative, conservation-minded approach I believe deserves consideration.
While I no longer have a professional responsibility to pursue additional water, I haven’t been able to abandon my personally held concerns about our water issues.
To be clear, I’ve never said, or let alone thought, that our water issues were simple or easily resolved. I hope the folks who are making these decisions are considering the consequences of both their actions and their lack of action.
That is presumably the primary reason I’ve spent so much time musing over our water issues.
There’s a high-stakes regional tug-of-war over water occurring quietly and it’s been going on for decades. I personally think this tug-of-war should have a lot more public-facing conversation. It undoubtedly impacts all of us and I think greater public discussion would encourage the folks pulling the ropes to work together to resolve our issues rather than simply dragging the opposing tugger — and consequently, we the people — through the mud.
Something must be done and it must be done with conservation at the forefront of planning.
A note on perspective: The facts and historical data referenced here are drawn from public sources. The conclusions and questions are my own interpretation. This is intended as informed civic commentary, not a technical analysis or prediction.
