Friday, April 19, 2024
Looking for ways to help ensure that adequate water is available to meet growing demands, members of the Coryell County Commissioners Court met with Patrick Wagner, general manager of the Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (MTGCD) during a recent workshop.
Continued growth in Coryell County will require access to reliable water sources, and managing the growth successfully is a top goal of county leaders.
Some of the concerns regarding water have stemmed from a planned development in eastern Coryell County near Oglesby that is scheduled to add an estimated 592 homes, which would require new wells to serve that area. However, that is just one of the planned developments the county anticipates, with a significant number of people looking to move to Coryell County.
"What we're trying to do is influence growth in a responsible manner to the extent we can so that current and future residents have access to water," said County Judge Roger Miller. "We want to do that in a positive manner, and I am thankful for your (the MTGCD's) involvement. I think it will help not just Coryell County, but the entire area."
The MTGCD is currently gathering information on groundwater levels for the four counties it serves — Coryell, Comanche, Bosque and Erath, as well as Hamilton County.
This information will be used not just to confirm current groundwater levels, but to help make projections about groundwater availability as many as 50 years in advance.
"It helps us understand volumetrics and identifies areas of concern," Wagner said. "Phase one will involve getting all the information in place, districtwide and county by county. This will include water levels and water chemistry."
The data will also help determine why water levels may vary significantly from one area to another.
"You might have a couple of wells a mile apart and have an 80-foot difference — this will help us determine why," Wagner said.
The district also plans to do a study of recharge and groundwater flow "that will potentially allow us to look at the district in management zones," he said. That will be helpful because "what's going on in Comanche County is different from what's happening in Coryell County.
In 2022, Coryell County signed an agreement with the MTGCD that allows the two governing entities to collaborate on priorities.
Wagner said the district is working to "identify not only what is adequate water availability, but whether the water quality is good enough for people to live on."
Miller asked the timeline for MTGCD to complete its data collection.
"We hope to have phase one done in early 2023 and then to finish phase two within four to six months after that."
"Phase two will help to identify any anomalies that stand out?" Miller asked.
"Yes — and you can actually narrow in on areas of concern," Wagner said.
Miller said the information will be valuable to the county in helping to protect water resources.
"We've got significant interest from our citizens and we are trying to meet their expectations while also making the best decisions for everyone moving forward," he said.
Wagner said the work will go a long way in helping lay a foundation for managing and protecting area groundwater resources.
"This is not the be-all, end-all," he said. "There are more things we'll be working on. This will help us better serve the citizens of all our counties, and this is just the start."
