Water Authority maintains water restrictions to Stage 2

DROUGHT PLAN

With the start of summer, the region’s water supplies are uncharacteristically low.

Only three weeks after invoking Stage 1 water rules for those who pump from the Edwards Aquifer, the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) declared stiffer Stage 2 pumping restrictions on June 10, when it was confirmed that the 10-day average at the J-17 index well at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio dropped below the threshold of 650 feet above mean sea level (msl). The EAA declares Stage 2 based on the continued decline of water levels and diminished springflow. On June 11, the 10- day average was 648.9 msl.

Stage 2 of the EAA drought plan requires Edwards groundwater permit holders in Hays, Atascosa, Bexar, Caldwell, Comal, Guadaupe, and Medina counties to reduce their annual authorized pumping amount by 30 percent. The purpose of mandatory pumping reductions is to stabilize water levels and springflow until rainfall replenishes the aquifer.

Stage 2 reductions apply to all Edwards Aquifer groundwater permit holders authorized to pump more than three acrefeet annually. All affected permit holders must also report their pumping totals to the EAA on a monthly basis.

Residents and businesses that receive their water from a public water system are encouraged to contact their water provider directly to find out how Stage 2 reductions could affect them. More information on Stage 2 requirements is available by calling the EAA Critical Period Team at 866 931-3239 or by visiting the EAA website at www.edwardsaquifer.org.

About the Edwards Aquifer Authority

The Edwards Aquifer Authority is a groundwater district, created by the 1993 Edwards Aquifer Authority Act by the Texas Legislature. The Act grants all of the powers, rights, and privileges necessary to manage, conserve, preserve, and protect the aquifer. The EAA regulates the portion of the Balcones Fault Zone Edwards Aquifer – a jurisdictional area that provides water to over 2 million people, and covers more than 8,000 square miles across eight counties. These include all of Uvalde, Medina, and Bexar counties as well as parts of Atascosa, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Comal, and Hays counties. The EAA is governed by a 17-member board of directors representing constituents across the aquifer region. Fifteen directors serve as voting members of the board, elected from single-member districts to fouryear terms. Two non-voting directors are appointed to fouryear terms—one by the South-Central Texas Water Advisory Committee (SCTWAC) and one by the commissioner’s courts of Medina and Uvalde counties on a rotating basis.