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Support for Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District
Send email to State Rep. Patrick Rose and Senator Jeff Wentworth supporting full Chapter 36 authority for Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District.
Dear Rep. Rose and Sen. Wentworth:
We, the undersigned citizens of Hays County, urgently need your attention and cooperation. You have the ability to pass, and will be held accountable for, legislation that can help all the citizens within the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (HTGCD) protect their water supply.
We live in one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, but the area within the HTGCD has gravely limited water resources. It has a special state designation (Priority Groundwater Management Area) because of its limited ability to supply water. The Texas Legislature has refused to give counties the ability to regulate growth, and for the third time you have refused to help us strengthen the HTGCD so it can manage most wells that draw down groundwater to serve new growth. Consequently, our local economy, communities, and livelihoods are being jeopardized.
Our economy and property values are intrinsically tied to groundwater - it is our primary and traditional source of water. New development is being proposed with your help, and new homes and businesses are being built, which put increasing demand on the aquifer. An HTGCD with adequate funding and Chapter 36 authority is the State's (or Texas Water Development Board's) preferred means of managing the local aquifers.
We recognize there are concerns with full Chapter 36 legislation for the HTGCD. To address those concerns the HTGCD Board of Directors provided you with proposed substitute legislation April 24, 2009 that resolves each concern raised by those opposing the Chapter 36 legislation. It is a fair compromise. The HTGCD is asking no more - and even less - than the 90+ other groundwater conservation districts that have been authorized by the legislature across the state, and over the the majority of the area you represent.
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There is still time for the legislature to approve this bill, but not without your support. Your action is urgently needed to attach an amendment to another bill, just as you did with legislation in the 2007 Session for the Mustang Valley Subdivision developer with the creation of the True Ranch Municipal Utility District #1.
If you do, the citizens of Hays County will be immensely grateful and continue to support you in your future political endeavors.
Sincerely,
updated on Thursday, May 21, 2009 by billc