At its Thursday meeting, the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District board of directors voted unanimously to support proposed legislation that would expand the district’s territory and give the board authority over part of an unregulated area where water supply company Electro Purification has set up shop. Electro Purification acquired three contracts for water supply in […]
Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District
An entity charged with oversight of a portion the Edwards Aquifer. Groundwater Conservation Districts are established through Texas State legislative approval, under a state law first approved in the 1950s. According to its web site, the BSEACD’s charge is “to conserve, protect, and enhance the groundwater resources in its jurisdictional area.”
Posted inEnvironment, Local Government, Public Safety, Resources
BSEACD debates annexing unregulated wells
Water supply company Electro Purification is planning to pump 5 million gallons of water per day from an unregulated area just outside the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, causing neighbors to question whether EP could deplete water in the area. At a meeting Thursday, nearby residents asked the district’s board of directors to annex the […]
Posted inHays County, Local Government, Resources, Water
Many on alert over water drilling plan in Hays
Hays County officials and residents concerned over the proposed pumping of 1.8 billion gallons of water per year from the Trinity Aquifer are calling for the Texas Legislature’s help. “Immediate action needs to be taken to fill in that white zone, that white area, and that can only be done by our legislature,” Pct. 3 […]
Posted inHays County, Local Government, Resources, Water
Buda Council makes waves with water contract
Much to the dismay of a standing-room-only crowd at Buda City Hall, City Council members approved a water supply contract Tuesday that would allow up to 1 million gallons per day for city use from the Trinity Aquifer in western Hays County. Electro Purification, the Houston-based water supplier that is looking to extract water from […]
Posted inAustin, Environment, Roads, Transportation, Travis County
Conservation District delays vote on SH45 SW agreement
Representatives of the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District voted to put off a decision on an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation that is intended to provide greater environmental protection for the construction of State Highway 45 Southwest. District residents, civic organizations and representatives of Austin and Travis County urged the aquifer district board […]
Posted inEnvironment, Transportation, Travis County
Travis seeks delay in BSEACD-TxDOT agreement
Travis County Commissioners voted Tuesday to ask the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District board for a three-week postponement of a hearing planned this week on an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation over environmental standards for the construction of State Highway 45 Southwest. Commissioners also voted to work with the parties to clear […]
Posted inEnvironment, Roads, Transportation
Aquifer district cancels SH45 meeting with TxDOT
The Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District postponed a planned meeting Thursday at which the district’s board planned to consider a controversial agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation regarding construction of State Highway 45 Southwest. Aquifer board officials said they called off the meeting because of a posting error and rescheduled it for next […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Government, Resources
Aquifer district finishes Habitat Conservation Plan
After a decade of research, public input and development, the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District is sending its completed draft Habitat Conservation Plan, approved last month, to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for approval. The aquifer district board’s recent approval of the plan brings a complex process begun in 2004 to an end. […]
Posted inElections, Local Politics
Trio runs for seat on Barton Springs aquifer board
Three people will be on the Nov. 4 ballot running for the Precinct 2 seat on the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District board. Candidates include Blayne Stanberry, a civil engineer; Ron Stried, a retired veterinarian; and Terry Newton, a college professor. The Barton Springs aquifer district was created by the Texas Legislature in 1987, […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government, Transportation
Few changes as aquifer board OKs SH45 SW comments
The Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District board approved its staff’s written comments on the State Highway 45 Southwest draft Environmental Impact Statement on Tuesday night amid heated discussion over the district’s role in future iterations of the project. Though the district approved only two minor changes to the comments during the meeting, which was […]
Posted inResources
Revenue shortfall creates budget worries for aquifer district
Revenue is down for the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District and its board members are starting to worry. The members expressed concerns at Thursday night’s meeting as they approved the fiscal year 2015 budget, citing a revenue loss of $26,000 from last year and nearly $40,000 in the last two. Though the budgetary gap […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Local Government, Transportation
Aquifer district staff critical of SH45 SW environmental study
The staff of the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District is expressing strong doubts about the science and data behind a proposed environmental impact statement for State Highway 45 Southwest. In their review, district staff calls the information in the draft document “incomplete and deficient,” and recommend that state officials go back to the drawing […]