Forestar Bulletin: Permit Limits Reaffirmed

Last night the Lost Pines GCD Board of Directors reaffirmed their decision to limit the Forestar permit to 12,000 acre-feet per year.  This action makes final the Board's decision on the Forestar application.        We are very proud of the Lost Pines Board and thank them for standing strong in light of the tremendous pressures they have faced over the past year.    We understand that this struggle is not over, and look forward to working with them over the next year to strengthen their ability to manage our precious water resources. Thank you, we have your back.        ************************  To those who support our efforts and who support the Lost Pines Board:  THANK YOU FOR SHOWING UP AND SHOW THE BOARD THAT YOU SUPPORT ITS CONSERVATIVE APPROACH   TO PROTECTING THE GROUNDWATER UNDERNEATH   BASTROP AND LEE COUNTIES.    Click here to write a THANK YOU email to the Board.  OUR JOB NOW IS TO DO ALL WE CAN TO BACK THE BOARD DURING THE LAW SUITS THAT WILL LIKELY FOLLOW.       **************************************

GROUNDWATER BULLETIN    January 2013 Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District Hearings Draw-down:  A Visual Perspective PRINT FLYER What does "draw-down" resulting from groundwater pumping look like on a map?  As you may know, the Desired Future Conditions are established in terms of the draw-down, in feet, of aquifers in Bastrop and Lee counties and throughout the District.  Recently, Environmental Stewardship obtained visual images based on the Groundwater Availability Model (GAM) used by the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District to evaluate the impact of proposed pumping from current permit applications on the Simsboro Aquifer.  Draw-down, measured in feet, is indicated on the contour lines of the maps below.  Click on Maps below to Enlarge NOTICE:  Please keep in mind that the images below (except for Image 1) are for the PROPOSED permits ONLY (124,226 acre-feet/year) and DO NOT include EXISTING permits (45,365 acre-feet/year).  Image 1.  PERMIT THIS - The draw-down, in feet, expected when the Adopted Desired Future Conditions (DFC) are met in Bastrop and Lee counties. The dark area in Burleson County is from Post Oak Savannah GCD pumping.  Click on Map to Enlarge   Image 2.  NOT WATER BANKRUPTCY - The draw-down, in feet, expected if ALL current applications are approved and pumped to the maximum permitted.  Notice the red area in Lee county where draw-down is 1000 ft, and orange area in Bastrop County where draw-down is 750 ft.  Click on Map to Enlarge  Image 3.  WATER BANKRUPTCY - The majority of draw-down, in feet, in Lee County is from the proposed Forestar well field.  Click on Map to Enlarge Image 4.  WATER BANKRUPTCY - The majority of draw-down, in feet, in Bastrop County is from the proposed End Op well field, which is directly below Houston Toad habitat.  Click on Map to Enlarge PERMIT THIS:  If permitted at all, individual permits should first be reduced to levels actually supported by the application and then all permits reduced overall as necessary to an aggregate level that, including existing permits, protects the Adopted Desired Future Conditions.  In summary, if permitted at all, Forestar and End Op qualify for less than 5% of the water they are seeking.  In addition, the district needs to factor in the impact of existing permits before issuing any new permits. This has not been done. (See Image 1).    Image 5.  This image depicts Forestar pumping reduced to 25% of requested pumping volume but DOES NOT include existing permits.  Click on Map to Enlarge   Image 6.  This image depicts End Op pumping reduced to 25% of requested pumping volume but DOES NOT include existing permits.  Click on Map to Enlarge New Website and Blog We are excited to announce that we have a new website and blog.  The site contains the same information that was on our old site, but now includes the ability to BLOG.  This means the site is MUCH MORE INTERACTIVE by allowing you, the reader, to make comments on specific pages and information posted.  We look forward to having a conversation with you about your interests and concerns.