Dr. Larry Sunn, a rainwater harvesting consultant with Rain Bees, opened a 13-part Water Conservation series water Wednesday to a packed room at the Patrick Heath Library.
“Aquifer” was the topic of the night, with the roles played by the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District (CCGCD) and Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) as key discussion points.
In addition, Sunn provided insightful information on maintaining wells, local laws and regulations, and a deeper look into the Trinity Aquifer — the main aquifer in Kendall County.
With the unexpected rainfalls in June and July, many residents questioned how this affected the Trinity Aquifer. Surprisingly, Sunn said, only 4-5% of rainfall recharges Trinity.
“And the recharge moves slowly,” Sunn said. “It takes 2-3 years for water to get to a plumpable state.”
Cow Creek is responsible for monitoring the aquifer’s levels and quality, and the information is available to residents on its website: https://ccgcd.org, where visitors will find data on any local well and aquifer they require.
CCGCD also manages groundwater rights, issues drilling authorizations, measures rainfall in inches, enforces construction standards, ensures safe plugging of abandoned wells and monitors entities drought contingency plans.
“Remember, the CCGCD only monitors contingency plans, they do not control them,” Sunn said.
Sunn pointed out a piece of Texas legislation of particular interest for not just Kendall County residents, but for all Texans.
“We have what we call the Texas Right of Capture legislation,” he said. “This means that if you own property, you own the water on the land. There are very few regulations on water in Texas.”
But few or not, Sunn reminded landowners of important regulations: wells must be built 3 feet above the 100-year flood plain; wells cannot be in a flood zone; and to drill, you must have a lot size of 10 or more acres.
Distances became a focal point of Sunn’s presentation, being that there are many to consider: Drilling must be done 50 feet from the property line, 150 feet from livestock, poultry yards and cemeteries, and 500 feet from a sewage treatment plant.
Just as importantly, Sunn emphasized, is the need for all wells to have a tank.
“If your well does not have a tank, it will fail. There is no question about it,” he said. “Wells without tanks will only last from 7-10 years when it should last you around 30 years.
“Get yourself a tank. They are not that expensive,” he added.
Wednesday’s seminar was the first in the 13-session program slotted every Wednesday until Nov. 19, with each session running noon to 1:30 p.m. Questions are always welcomed.
To see the Water Conservation topics for each Wednesday, visit: https:// www.ci.boerne.tx.us/CivicAlerts.
aspx?AID=1638.
Comment
Comments