Saratoga Underground Water Conservation District directors, at their recent meeting, voted to send a letter to Groundwater Management Area 8 officials to encourage the organization to approve Desired Future Conditions for aquifers in the area and submit them to the Texas Water Development Board.

Precinct 4 Director Robert Wright said he is concerned about the Saratoga district's relationship with GMA 8, as its officials have not set regular meeting dates and continue to delay submitting Desired Future Conditions for aquifers.

"There were deadlines for submitting DFCs, and they were not met," Wright said. "We developed our DFC data in a timely manner and paid our share for developing the data."

Board Chairman David Hamilton noted that DFCs for the minor aquifers have been submitted to the Texas Water Development Board, and he said some of the recently organized districts in GMA 8 have been slow in developing their underground water models.

"Are we in jeopardy of losing our investment and data that we paid for if we missed another deadline? And will we have to go back and do it over again?" Wright asked.

Hamilton said he believed that would not be the case, as the district's data would not change in the foreseeable future. The model for underground water availability for Lampasas County is very stable, he added.

At-large director Randall McGuire said Saratoga directors should push for a vote on adopting DFCs for all aquifers and submit them to the state water board.

"We completed our water data some time ago, and we paid our share of the engineering study. We should not have to pay any additional funds for other districts to complete their data," McGuire said. "We need to send a strong statement to GMA 8 to get them to move on and quit dragging their feet, so we can submit water data to TWDB in time to be included in the next Texas Water Plan. I am concerned about some of the new districts not doing much to resolve this matter."

Hamilton said a letter would be prepared to state the SUWCD's position and ask other districts to join in getting water data completed and submitted to the state.

In other business, Hamilton reviewed the latest Palmer Drought Severity Index Map. It indicates Lampasas County is experiencing severe drought conditions, despite some recent rain showers in parts of the county. Directors encouraged those with wells to conserve and use water wisely.

Also at the meeting, T.J. Mabrey encouraged the board to attend a workshop on the Texas Watershed Steward Program set Sept. 25 at the Lampasas County Farm Bureau building from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The workshop will focus on water quality issues in the Lampasas River watershed, as well as efforts by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas AgriLife Research, Friends of Sulphur Creek and other entities to improve the river quality.

Mrs. Mabrey said the Lampasas River above Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir is listed as impaired on the Texas 303(d) List due to elevated bacteria levels. The river is designated as unfit for swimming and for wildlife.

Purpose of the workshop is to help develop a Lampasas River Watershed Protection Plan. The plan will address water quality issues and select management strategies to ensure the long-term health of the watershed.

The public is encouraged to participate in the workshop.

Saratoga Underground Water Conservation District directors will meet again Sept. 8 at 1:30 p.m. in the county courtroom.