San Antonio Scraps Plans To Buy Water From Alcoa
Aqua Water Supply Applauds Action
Bastrop, TX — One of the longest running controversies in Texas water history ended today when the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) board of trustees voted to abandon plans to purchase large volumes of groundwater from Alcoa, thus scrapping plans to build an expensive 120-mile pipeline to transport the groundwater from the Simsboro aquifer to San Antonio.
Opponents of the SAWS-Alcoa Simsboro Project have long maintained that it did not make hydrologic or economic sense. From the beginning, the project faced intense organized opposition from residents of Bastrop and Lee Counties. Local residents criticized the project because it would have damaged a crucial recharge region of the Simsboro aquifer and put their future water supply at risk.
The Simsboro Project was put into motion in December 1998. Under their contract, Alcoa, which operates a lignite mine in Lee County, would have pumped up to 90,000 acre-feet of groundwater each year for export to San Antonio. Over time, sustained pumping of large volumes of water would have dewatered the recharge area near the well fields. The Simboro Aquifer is a major water supply for residents in the area.
Aqua Water Supply Corporation, a nonprofit co-op that supplies drinking water to approximately 16,000 rural households in Bastrop and neighboring counties, stepped forward to address the issue. Aqua general manager John E. Burke joined county officials, city councils, and many local residents in pressing the Texas Legislature in its 1999 session to pass Senate Bill 1911, which created a temporary groundwater district. The Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District's mandate from area residents was to protect the groundwater for residents of Bastrop and Lee Counties. In 1999, Burke was one of ten local residents appointed to the board. In 2001, local residents succeeded in getting legislation passed to make the district permanent. In the confirmation election of November 2001, the district won overwhelming support, with over 70 percent voter support confirming the district. Following the election, Burke left his position as president of the district board but remained active on the issue.
Today, Aqua officials commended the SAWS board on its decision to discontinue the Simsboro project and CEO David Chardavoyne for his leadership.
"The citizens of Bastrop and Lee Counties persevered and stayed the course to the end. It took a great deal of hard work by many people over seven years to achieve this result," said Burke.
SOURCE: Aqua Water Supply Corporation