COLORADO COUNTY

Below is an article from this weeks' Colorado County Citizen--local newspaper.  The LCGCD was confirmed by voters in 2008.  The fallacy about "local control", which was a selling point by the TWDB to voters is that the historic use referred to below has to be approved by TWDB.  TWDB has already determined the generally available water for this district. This is water that can be permitted to be exported to other areas of Texas. 
 
Well registration required
by Lu Ann Martell
 

The Colorado County Groundwater Conservation District has adopted their rules governing water wells and use of water resources this month, and county residents should be aware of some of the pertinent points that will affect their water wells.

All existing water wells in the county need to be registered with CCGCD, and certain types of larger wells will also require permits to operate. New wells must be registered prior to drilling, and well owners could be fined if their existing well is not registered by this time next year.

Wells that will not require an operating permit include domestic or livestock wells with a casing of 5” or less, or wells over 5” that are incapable of producing over 50,000 gallons per day (gpd). Mining use wells, such as those drilled during gravel operations, and rig supply wells for oil and gas exploration and drilling operations will also not be required to obtain an operating permit. The exemption from permitting for all these types of wells may change if a well is altered to increase production, use or ownership is changed, or if a rig supply well is used for certain activity such as hydraulic fracture stimulation.

Permits are given for three different classes of wells, based on pumping rates determined by historic use records, and approved by the CCGCD board or management, and all wells that need a permit must be metered and report monthly usage rates each year. Wells exempt from permitting do not require a meter, but all new wells drilled will have an initial water level measurement.

All wells that require a permit must submit to periodic water level monitoring, and exempt wells may volunteer for their wells to be periodically monitored by the district.

A well may not be drilled on property less than one acre, and may not be drilled closer than 50 feet to a property line, and other rules apply to distances from septic systems, sewage, and waste collection facilities.
 

The district can assess penalties if there is evidence of contamination of groundwater supplies, and can also declare an Aquifer Emergency if unsafe drinking water conditions apply.

A Critical Groundwater Depletion Area can be declared by CCGCD if there is significant drawdown or depletion of the water table due to drought or over-pumping, and the district has the authority to reduce water usage.

The district has several actions that can be taken against parties who violate the rules of the district or endanger groundwater supplies including citations, lawsuits, well sealing, permit revocation and penalties anywhere from $200 to a max of $10,000 per day.

 

A more complete listing of the rules is available online at www.ccgcd.net, or by contacting the offices of the CCGCD at 979-732-9300. The office is located at 425 Spring St., Suite 102, in Columbus within the Stafford Opera House.