Thursday, April 25, 2024
In an effort to have the area's groundwater conservation authority more involved in helping to oversee local groundwater resources, the Coryell County Commissioners Court approved an agreement with the Middle Trinity Groundwater District on Sept. 27.
The next step in the process will come during the MTGCD's board meeting on Oct. 6, when that agency is expected to approve the agreement with Coryell County.
"This would direct all (property) developers using wells to go to Middle Trinity (for that agency's input on developments' impact on groundwater)," said Justin Latham, Coryell County road and bridge administrator. "This puts it on the front end, and helps us with the timeline."
Latham said the MTGCD will help to ensure that information submitted by developers regarding groundwater availability is accurate.
As a result of the pending agreement between the county and the MTGCD, the county is expected to amend its subdivision regulations soon.
"My recommendation is to move forward with it (the agreement with MTGCD)," Latham told commissioners. The commissioners court unanimously approved the measure.
Concerns about nearly 1,400 new water wells being located in one proposed subdivision and the impact on the county's water resources were addressed to the commissioners court in August.
At that time, County Judge Roger Miller said it was important for county leaders to address the concerns and start working on agreement with the MTGCD, "otherwise it's an unregulated system of drilling water wells into an aquifer and could have some very negative long-term impacts."
Latham had told the commissioners court in August that the high cost of putting in water meters results in developers choosing to do a well study, instead. However, there is no independent source checking on the facts and figures provided via the study. That dilemma could be solved by a partnership between the county and the MTGCD, he said.
Patrick Wagner, general manager of the MTGCD, which is based in Stephenville, has said that the district is working with each county in its jurisdiction (Bosque, Coryell, Comanche and Erath) to enact interlocal agreements to help address water concerns.
He told the commissioners court that the MTGCD can look at hydrologic fields, invest in monitoring of wells to check on water levels and conduct pumping tests to see if numbers provided in well studies are valid, work with hydrologic consultants and be able to monitor trouble spots.
