Water district directors address Desired Future Conditions
By MAT TAYLOR Special Correspondent

Saratoga Underground Water Conservation District directors met recently to discuss Desired Future Conditions for the Trinity Aquifer.

At a previous meeting, the board voted to ask Groundwater Management Area 8 directors to call a meeting to discuss Desired Future Conditions for remaining major aquifers, as the Saratoga district had completed its data for the Trinity Aquifer.

SUWCD had requested that Lampasas County Trinity Aquifer DFCs be submitted to the Texas Water Development Board.

GMA 8 has not set another meeting but is expected to meet this month. Saratoga board chairman Dave Hamilton said some of the other groundwater districts are dragging their feet in compiling their DFC data. And districts such as Table Rock (Coryell County) still are gathering data and have determined more groundwater use than anticipated, he said. This is not expected to affect Lampasas County, except for a small portion in the eastern end. "There should be adequate underground water in Lampasas County for at least 50 years," Hamilton added.

The Table Rock data, however, has prompted Clearwater UWCD (Bell County) to consider not allowing any new wells to be drilled unless another well is taken out of service. Directors there also are concerned about excess pumping of irrigation wells in an adjoining county.

Hamilton said after contacting the Texas Water Development Board, the agency indicated it would not accept data from a single county as the aquifer covers multiple counties. The Saratoga district will have to wait until all districts have compiled their DFC data.

Hamilton also reviewed the current Palmer drought status, which indicated that as of April 5 Lampasas County had slightly above-normal rainfall amounts. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is an index of meteorological drought, but it also takes into account factors such as precipitation, evaporation and soil moisture.

In other business, directors discussed the need to develop a records management plan to meet state requirements. Precinct 4 Director Robert Wright said he contacted other water districts to inquire about their plans, and most did not have one. "Right now, the best policy is not to throw anything away," Wright said, "until we know what records need to be maintained and what can be disposed of. Also, copies of all e-mails pertaining to the district need to be kept on file."

He said he would contact the state and the county attorney to get more information, and would have a recommendation at the next meeting.

In a related matter, directors voted to purchase a four-drawer filing cabinet to store district records in a proper manner. They also discussed the possibility that the SUWCD may need to purchase a computer and possibly develop a district Web site.

In other recent activities, Saratoga directors participated in the annual Kline Whitis Elementary Ag Day. They manned a booth and explained the water cycle and water conservation measures.

Ex-officio board member T.J. Mabrey informed the board of a new publication for spring owners. "Some of our state's most fragile water resources are springs," she said. "They have played a major cultural, historical and ecological role in shaping Texas. The intent of the Spring Owner's Guide is to assist spring owners in taking steps to care for their spring."

Lampasas County is noted for its many springs and reportedly has more than any county in Texas.

Copies of the guide are available by phoning (512) 327-6915 or writing to springsoftexas@sbcglobal.- net.