Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Video: More on the county's head long rush to purchase LCRA water assets
Note: Sam Brannon forwarded this video, his first attempt he says at documentary style reporting on county affairs. More are to follow. He promises the editing will improve. The video captures some of the action at a recent meeting of the county's water and wastewater authority led by Pct. 4 Commissioner Ray Whisenant. We gotta say that the other erstwhile participants around the table look like they haven't a clue why they're there. The interview segments with Pct. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones are interesting and revealing.
In the latest update, we are informed that the county has NOT been informed by LCRA of the West Travis County regional (Hwy 290 segment) water/wastewater system's 'high end' revenue receipts. This is the system the county is interested in purchasing. How, we ask, can the county make an informed bid (in the millions) for a system it has no idea how much revenue it is generating? LCRA's final bid deadline is just weeks away.
Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to Sam at sam_brannon@hotmail.com, to Commissioner Whisenant at ray.whisenant@co.hays.tx.us or click on the "comments" at the bottom of the story
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23 comments:
Good Video Report, Sam! It is beginning to look a lot like no one really knows why the County is bidding on the LCRA properties or even knows much about what they are bidding on.
There should be a law that if a bid like this wins and fails as an investment those responsible should be forced to resign and pay the taxpayers back for the loss. I'll bet that would create some real due diligence.
Richard... Heck of an idea on the law.
On Tuesday, they stated more than once that there's no guarantee that taxpayers won't end up financially responsible.
They also stated they would be running the line to Wimberley (add'l BIG money) and around north/west Hays.
They also stated that nobody from Hays County has even seen revenue numbers for the West Travis Region properties.
They also stated a "moral obligation" to see that western Hays has surface water access. That concept is new to me, and I can't get my mind around it.
Bid due 3 weeks from today.
No slight to Ray Whisenant, but somebody else is running this deal behind the scenes and has left him out of the loop. Its obvious.
The members of the HC Water and Sewer Authority attend diligently (except for Judge Cobb, who has missed 3 of the 4 meetings I've attended), but they are in the dark even as to what they're purpose is.
Every week, 4 items on the agenda. The only item that goes to a vote is approving last weeks minutes. There's nothing to say on the other items, nothing to vote on.
Again... Bid due 3 weeks from today.
Its weird...
Told you the line would be run to Wimberley. That's what this is about and Conley is the one behind all of this. He's letting Whisenant take the heat because Whisenant doesn't know what's really going on, there fore he can't spill the beans.So what happens when there's no water in Lake Travis to pump and now you have all these people depending on this waterline and no water? J
Anonymous said... "Told you the line would be run to Wimberley. That's what this is about and Conley is the one behind all of this."
I say Good, and what is wrong with the line being run to Wimberley? And if Conley can make that happen, is that a bad thing and what is your point about him? Do you not want another source of water for our valley?
You must be no-growther or something to want to warn us of this. I think we need all the sources of water we can muster.
Having surface water available to Hays county is a great idea but at what cost? I don't know what morality has to do with it, except that it may be immoral to spend money we don't have on someone's weak and unknown idea of resource security. These days, at all levels of government, throwing taxpayer dollars at a problem is thought to be the only solution. If that doesn't work, go out and borrow money and throw that at it. I haven't heard what plan 'C' is yet. Since the County can't print money like the Feds, would it be even more borrowing or Bankruptcy? Those buzzards are going to come home to roost, someday.
There are other water ideas out there and they will all be expensive, but is this the only one to hang your hat on? Has the County signed on to this as the only solution for the water predicament we find our selves in? Have they looked into other possibilities without a "bail out" of the LCRA at our expense?
Sam, your Video is very helpful. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video may be worth a million. Please keep them coming.
I haven't followed this process as closely as I should have and don't know who all the players are but, this whole "LCRA Bail Out" seems like too little water for too much money, to me.
So it's really starting to sound like this deal isn't a good one but we do need to be thinking of something other than groundwater for the western part of the county. Why is their such resistance to this?
Since no one -- including Commissioner Whisenant, our representative on the UDC ("Coalition") Board -- has any idea what this LCRA venture might end up costing Hays County taxpayers, it is very hard for any of us to make suggestions as to other options. ALL new water sources will be very expensive.
If Hays County continues in its agenda with UDC, the deal is very complicated, and lines of responsibility (both financial and operational) can become blurred.
It seems that a less complicated solution -- and one that would give us more control of our water destiny -- would be for Hays County to build the Phases 2 and 3 pipelines which LCRA had planned for the future. Those two phases would bring water directly from Lake Travis down to Hwy 290 near Dripping Springs. Using that pipeline path would mean that Hays County wouldn't have to use the more lengthy path now in use from Bee Cave, going south on Hwy 71 into western Travis County, and then west along 290 to Dripping Springs.
If we had our own direct pipeline and our own water allotment from LCRA, we wouldn't have to worry that rapidly-growing Austin would be in line above us to get water from Lake Travis.
I freely admit up front that I have no idea of the plausibility or relative costs of these projects. I'm merely throwing out an idea.
According to Bob Barton, Wimberley and Dripping Springs areas have about 25% of Hays County's population.
San Marcos, Buda and Kyle, the bulk of the county's population, have already arranged for groundwater. And we pay dearly for that.
This initiative is essentially having all Hays taxpayers subsidize (once the guarantees are made) bailing out LCRA, and most likely building other infrastructure (10s of millions) for the 25% of the population that has not yet done so.
The Cities of Dripping Springs, Wimberley, and the suppliers who serve them would be best suited for this.
Or the users of the LCRA water can take control into their own hands and Co-op. That's real power, should they choose to retain it rather than give it away.
And thanks for the good words, Richard.
Developer interests are pushing this water purchase, nothing more. We will all get stuck with the bill. Betcha new/newest subdivisions will be first to get served. This has much less to do with securing a future water source for current residents.
An illustration of why it's better to be first in line, or upstream, for a surface water source, comes in the July 14 American-Statesman, p. B2:
"An advisory committee established by the Lower Colorado River Authority on Tuesday recommended that the utility modify the way it manages its reservoirs as it prepares for greater growth in the Austin area.
Seeming to favor upriver interests over agricultural ones downstream, the advisory committee suggested doubling the minimum amount of water kept in Lakes Travis and Buchanan and adding a second 'trigger point' during the year to help decide how much water should be available for farmers."
To me, this article shows why we should want to be ahead of Austin on any pipeline taking water from Lake Travis. The State or the TWDB will never allow the capital city of Austin to suffer because little Dripping Springs or other Hays County towns need water.
We don't know whether the Coalition plans to buy all 28 remaining LCRA assets or just the West Travis Regional properties.
However, LCRA itself, as seen from its own online plans, intended to spend $23,576,000 on the West
Travis properties alone for the period 2011-2015. I think we should include those costs for our acquisition of LCRA money-losing properties.
To see the table for these figures, go to www.lcra.org/library/media/public/docs/business_plan/lcr. Go to p.46 of the 94-page document.
LCRA ratepayers will be paying a
bundle to buy the assets, and then
a $23.58 million bundle more to
update and expand them. Plus ratepayers' water rates will almost certainly be as high as, or higher, than those of the dreaded Aqua Texas, because LCRA has been subsidizing the water rates for this area for years. Now the rates will rise overnight to their true cost. Ouch!
The link in previous post is not
complete. Just go to www.lcra.org. When you get there, search for "LCRA FY 2011 Capital Improvement Plan." Click on the first link to see the CIP. Then see pages 45 & 46 for the LCRA planned expense for the West Travis properties for 2011-2015.
Thanks for the good research, Barbara. I'll check the link.
In my last post I wrote "groundwater", intended "surface water".
If you will scroll down this blog to what is now the last article, you will see a map which shows the pipelines LCRA intended to build in this area in the future. Phase 1 (Bee Cave to DS, by Hwy 71 South and Hwy 290 West) is complete. A combination of part of Phase 2 and all of Phase 3 would have brought water by a more direct route from Lake Travis to Dripping Springs and would have had the advantage of bypassing Austin on the pipeline route.
Meanwhile, fracking by oil companies is taking more waters and draining our wells and acquifiers more quickly than anyone really knows.
None of our leaders are dealing with this issue. Our wells and acquifiers will dry up faster than the drought and well usage.
See this article:
In the worst drought in Texas history, 13.5 billion gallons of water used for fracking | Grist or
http://www.grist.org/list/2011-06-30-in-the-worst-drought-in-texas-history-gas-companies-use-13.5-bil
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Peter said... "Meanwhile, fracking by oil companies is taking more waters and draining our wells and acquifiers more quickly than anyone really knows."
Nice try at changing the subject, Peter. Confusing surface water and groundwater is a common mistake or maybe in your case a diversionary tactic. We are talking about surface water and possible County misconduct, incompetence or fraud here. Trying to work "fracking" into the discussion is absurd. Please read the title again.
I think you may need to review fracking.
While you are correct that fracking uses a majority of surface water, it also uses a fair percentage of water that we would otherwise use.
And the way oil companies are pushing fracking, it WILL make a large dent in our potable waters, especially here in Texas with the volume of sites and the 3rd worse draught ever in the state's history.
I neglected to say more directly that fracking also destroys natural groundwater supplies.
https://www.texasobserver.org/forrestforthetrees/a-big-fracking-deal
So, it is an appropriate discussion for this thread.
Hey, It's Surface Water, what the hell are you talking about?
Surface water comes from a groundwater source somewhere. The issue is definitely related - to anyone who can think beyond simple industry propoganda.
We are seeing an increasingly disturbing acquiescence to "fracking" technology as if it is the answer to all our domestic energy needs. Fear breeds ignorance and gullibility in this case.
We are seeing more and more scientifically proven examples of fracking-activity surface water being mixed with dozens of toxic chemicals poisoning the ground water in communities throughout the southwest (and increasingly in the northwest).
And because of the corporate citizen supplicants who believe anything they are told, the stock prices of Cabot Oil and Gas and other irresponsible fracking exploration companies are rewarded for making water unsafe for our children and grandchildren.
Natural gas, like nuclear energy, can be a great solution for our need to be independent from foreign oil cartels and to move toward cleaner energy.
But the extraction and the disposal process of these energy sources need to be done responsibly and with strong public health standards in mind.
Otherwise, we will end up being just another shithole country with no justification for calling ourselves "exceptional."
As Dripping Springs users of LCRA water take on millions of dollars in revenue bond debt, they might keep in mind that they will sooner rather than later need to expand their wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). They currently have a WWTP near the intersection of RR 12 and
FM 150, called the South Regional Wastewater Treatment System. (There is no sign to identify the location. Just a gate across a dirt road leading off FM 150. Next to Howard's Ranch subdivision.)
The plant is currently rated to process only 0.1625 mgd of sewage, and the resulting effluent is disposed of by drip irrigation. Upkeep of the WWTP is not done by the City of DS, but is contracted out.
The Hay County Water and Wastewater Facilities Plan (Feb. 2011) says that Dripping Springs will need to spend at least $15,765,000 to expand the WWTP as future growth arrives and as inadequate downtown septic system owners connect to the WWTP. "The improved system will allow the City to further extend sewer service, taking defective OSSFs offline and provide capacity for growth. The proposed wastewater service area will include approximately 2,850 acres to encompass the City's city limits and a portion of the City's ETJ adjacent to the city limits."
Scenic Greens development (4.4 miles west of DS) has been given a permit by TCEQ to the developer to construct a WWTP there for his subdivision. Whether this WWTP has been been started, I don't know.
Rocky said... "Surface water comes from a groundwater source somewhere. The issue is definitely related - to anyone who can think beyond simple industry propoganda."
Surface water primarily comes from rainfall, sir. Maybe you haven't noticed but the Blanco and Colorado Rivers along with others are not doing so well right now solely due to a lack of rainfall, not anything to do with groundwater which is an equal victim of a Stage II (soon to be a Stage III) Drought. Fracking has absolutely nothing to do with that either. In your marginally justified rush to blame the practice of fracking for every calamity known to man; maybe you should leave the science to those that have that side of their brains still intact.
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Hey refracting anonymous, read the article Stern provided the link to.
Refracting is an issue you cannot isolate from the discussion of ground water, surface water and/or drinking water.
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