Staff report
DRIPPING SPRINGS —Citing threats to the existing water supply posed by a contract proposed by Electro Purification (EP), the Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation (DSWSP) on Oct. 12 rejected a wholesale water contract with the company.
There was not a vote or formal action but the the water supply’s board of directors overwhelmingly rejected the proposed term son the contact, which were not made public.
The board did, however, invite EP to submit a revised contract to be considered at its Jan. 2021 meeting.
The decision was thought to have been heavily influenced by comments to the board from Hays County Commissioners Lon Shell (Pct. 3) and Walt Smith (Pct. 4), along with former Pct. 3 Commissioner Will Conley and Adam Friedman, an attorney for the Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association (TESPA), who all addressed the board prior to when the agenda item was to be addressed.
Additionally, TESPA Executive Director Patrick Cox submitted his organization’s position that EP’s due to the size of the well field and the amount of pumping requested would result in a “major decline” of the Trinity Aquifer.
““EP’s proposed well field is located in an area where hundreds of domestic wells provide the sole source of water supply to homes and businesses in the area,” Cox said. “EP’s well field and proposed pumping permit will result in a massive withdrawal of groundwater that not only threatens to dry up dozens of nearby water wells, but also jeopardizes the groundwater flowing into Jacob’s Well which is critical for its survival.”
“Many citizens of Hays County, including those represented by TESPA, have worked tirelessly for more than five years on this issue,” Shell told the board. “I believe their efforts were recognized today as we made our case for why this project is not in the best interest of Hays County. There is still work to be done. However, I’m pleased we have the ability to continue working together toward solutions that do not further threaten our groundwater supplies.”
A Houston-based company, EP first became known in Hays County in 2015, when its plans to pump more than 32 million gallons annually became known. The company located its well field to draw from a portion of the aquifer that was not currently included in the jurisdiction of any groundwater conservation district, a so-called “white zone.” At the time, EP had contracts including the city of Buda, Goforth Water Supply Corporation and the developer of the proposed Anthem subdivision.
In 2017, the Texas Legislature voted to extend the boundaries of the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD) to cover that area was was previously unregulated.
Over the years, EP conducted a series of tests on nearby wells and and at the same time filed for a permit from the BSEACD to pump 2.5 millions of gallons a day. By the summer of 2019, an Austin-based consulting company put a number on the expected decline, saying the proposal would result in a 35% loss of volume of water in the Trinity overall, with some portions seeing a decline of 60 feet in one year and 120 feet in seven years.
