River authority looks east for groundwater to serve new development

The GBRA is an exception.Virtually all the water in the GBRA's main reservoir, Canyon Lake, is spoken for, so to meet expanding demand, the river authority needs to buy water from other sources and has already announced its intention to go after groundwater

Send your comments and news tips to online.editor@valleyspringcomm.net or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story

From the Austin American-Statesman

Read the whole story at this link: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/18/1118waterpipe.html

By Asher Price
AMERICAN STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, November 18, 2009

The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority is negotiating a deal with a water developer that would pump as much as 45 million gallons of water per day from Bastrop and Lee counties to the San Marcos area for distribution to burgeoning development southeast of Austin, river authority officials have said.

The river authority, which serves Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, Lockhart and Luling, would buy water from End-Op, a company run by former Williamson County Commissioner Frankie Limmer, and pay as much as $100 million to build a pipeline for its delivery, according to river authority General Manager Bill West. The GBRA could then spend tens of millions more to buy the water rights and wells from End-Op, which has negotiated water leases with landowners.

So far, there have been no public hearings and no public comment has been sought on the proposed agreement. Its terms would be laid out in a letter of intent that the river authority board was expected to consider at its meeting today but will probably postpone until December, said LaMarriol Smith, a spokeswoman for the GBRA. At that time, the board could also issue a request for bids for the financing and construction of the pipeline itself.

Depending on the wording, such a letter could effectively commit the river authority to End-Op for groundwater supplies for at least the next two years as both sides try to iron out a long-term contract. Given future population projections, the proposed deal could put a straw in the aquifer big enough to suck up much of the annual available groundwater in the Bastrop area within 50 years.

It could also transform the nonprofit GBRA from the underling of Central Texas river authorities to a water magnate, putting it in prime position to sell water along the southern half of Texas 130, the half-built tollway that will run from north of Georgetown to Seguin, where the GBRA has its headquarters. The corridor is considered Austin's preferred growth area by policymakers.

"The area's not going to grow unless you got water," said David Davenport, general manager of the Canyon Regional Water Authority, which works with cities and water supply corporations south of Austin to develop drinking water supplies.

Anticipating that need, water prospectors such as End-Op have been vying to snatch up underground water leases beneath counties to the east. They have been frustrated, however, by the seeming lack of interest by major water suppliers in the Austin and San Antonio areas.

The prospectors need partners with deep pockets to pay for the massive infrastructure required to ship millions of gallons of water daily across the heart of Texas. Government partners are especially prized because of their high bond ratings and power of condemnation to obtain rights of way relatively cheaply.