Resources, Naturally Planning the Future of Groundwater

The deadline for groundwater conservation districts (GCD), within each of the state’s 16 GMAs, to set their Desired Future Condition (DFC) is September 2010. That date is fast approaching, and GCDs are discussing what the right or wrong DFC is for their area.

The article below weighs in on the DFC process and concludes with the true purpose behind the madness. Post a comment below and let us know what you think about the DFC procedure.

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Resources, Naturally Planning the Future of Groundwater
By Paul Sugg
TAC Legislative Staff

What do you want the future to look like?


We are not often given the opportunity to answer a question like this with any certainty, but some of us might get the chance to have some influence on the future of the state’s groundwater resources. This will be accomplished by groundwater management experts agreeing upon the desired future condition of the aquifers managed by groundwater districts.

Since 1904, Texas groundwater has been ruled by the law of the biggest pump or, more diplomatically, the rule of capture. With a number of exceptions, the rule of capture allows landowners to pump as much water as they choose without being liable for claims from surrounding landowners that the pumping caused their wells to go dry or diminished their production. (The Texas Supreme Court established this principal in 1904 in Houston & T.C. Ry Co. v. East, often called the East case). In more recent years, the court has reaffirmed the rule of capture and deferred to the Legislature regarding the regulating of groundwater; the Legislature has stated its preferred method for regulating groundwater is the creation of groundwater conservation districts.

When the court arrived at its decision in 1904, it noted the general and particular knowledge of groundwater — how it acted, how it moved — was lacking, and without that adequate knowledge, the court was hard-pressed to go beyond affirming the rule of capture:“Because the existence, origin, movement and course of such waters, and the causes which govern and direct their movements, are so secret, occult and concealed, that an attempt to administer any set of legal rules in respect to them would be involved in hopeless uncertainty, and would be, therefore, practically impossible.”

Thankfully, science has progressed a bit since then, and we have a greater (albeit unperfected) understanding of the water underneath us. Local groundwater districts, together with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), work toward a better understanding of the water underground. Back in 2005, the Legislature passed a law designed to encourage regional cooperation and collaboration among groundwater districts in a groundwater management areas (GMA). The districts within each of state’s 16 GMAs are directed to conduct joint planning and, through a process which includes assistance from and cooperation with TWDB and regional water planning groups, to establish the desired future conditions for their groundwater resources. The determination of the desired future conditions for these groundwater resources will be accomplished by September of this year.

Groundwater is important to the present and future of Texas: it represents 59 percent of the water used in the state. Groundwater feeds springs, creeks and rivers and thus is an essential component of the state’s surface water resources. This interaction between groundwater and surface water bears greater study, as does the impact of long-term drought on rainfall and, ultimately, groundwater and surface water levels.

An additional issue complicates this: the question of regulatory takings. Does setting a desired future condition for an area, and in effect, placing pumping limits, constitute a taking of private property? That’s a question for the lawyers and, in fact, there is a case currently before the Texas Supreme Court asking that question and there are a good number of people interested in the answerI

So there it is: by taking in and weighing all these complex political, legal and scientific factors, we can, as a people, determine what we want our groundwater resources to look like in the future. By carefully husbanding these resources, we can at least take an educated stab at predicting and arriving at a sustainable future for the groundwater resources of our state.

After all, this is the whole purpose of the state water planning process begun in 1997 by SB 1, to ensure generations unseen and unknown will have adequate water resources to live their lives. Or we can choose a more rapid depletion and an uncertain future for those that follow. We are a free people: the choice is ours.

source: T.A.G.D. via email

National Groundwater Awareness Week

7th-13th ,2010

National Ground Water Awareness Week, March 8-14, is a time to recognize the importance of groundwater and water well stewardship to our nation’s future, the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) said today.

Not only do about 12 million households nationwide rely on private wells for their water supply, many community water systems rely on groundwater in whole or part to meet water demands, and groundwater supplies much of our nation’s water for agricultural irrigation. Groundwater, makes up about 95 percent of all available fresh water.

source: Texas Groundwater Protection Committee

Everyone can easily become good stewards by protecting groundwater through the proper storage, use, and disposal of hazardous household substances. These include common products such as gasoline and oil, paints and paint thinner, fertilizers, weed killers, pesticides, and cleaning products.

For more information on National Ground Water Awarness Week, vist the following websites:
National Groundwater Association http://www.ngwa.org/
Texas Groundwater Protection Committee www.tgpc.state.tx.us/

Spring is Here

We have a few more weeks until the "official" day of Spring but Spring fever has already hit my desk! The Education Cooperative will be hosting and participating in numerous events for the months of March, April & May. I will be blogging about each event as they arrive. Until then, here is a hint of what you can expect...

H20 Image Contest: Round 1 Winner

Congratulations, David Kozlowski! The competition was impossibly tough, but in the end I kept going back to your beautiful photo. I love it.

As the winner of this photo assignment, you win a $25 gift card to Target. Contact savewater@windstream.net to claim your prize!

The other photos submitted were so beautiful. I will be posting a new contest soon! So stay tuned! Here are a few other favorites to tide you over.....

H2O Image Contest: Round 1

I have needed to add new pictures to our presentations that are given to the students, for some time now. Our current pictures consist of 1980’s art graphics that make me sick to my stomach every time I click over to the next slide! SO IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE, and you’re going to help me do it!


We will be hosting a H2O Image Contest on our blog! So all of you graphic artist and photographers, this is your time to shine! Rules and Prizes are listed below...

RULES:
H20 Image Contest. There will be four rounds to the contest, with one winner for each subject matter. A subject will be chosen and participates are asked to email their picture or graphic to me. The following week I will announce the winning picture and that person will be awarded with a $25 gift card to Target.
* One photo submission per day
* Submit your favorite photos that demonstrate water use in agriculture
* Finalists will be selected based on creativity, clarity, color, and how well it falls under the assignment category

ROUND ONE:
This week I want a photograph or graphics of Water Use in Agriculture. The word agricuture is defined by dictionary.com as;the science, art, or occupation concerned with cultivating land, raising crops, and feeding, breeding, and raising livestock; farming.

For example; you could send a picture of this


Or maybe this

Or something along the lines of

You get the idea!



EMAIL PICTURES to: savewater@windstream.net
Winner for Round 1 will be announced: TUESDAY February 23rd
GOOD LUCK!

To Make The Best Better

Denver City 4-H Club

I received a call yesterday morning from a frantic Mom who had forgotten to book someone to present at the Denver City 4-H meeting. Being a veteran 4-Her myself, I couldn't leave her in a bind, I agreed to come.

I had so much fun with the girls who attended last night. I was able to sit-in on their 4-H meeting and learn of their past and present 4-H projects.

Soon, it was my turn to speak. I talked to the girls about water conservation and the importance of saving water in and around their home. We then played Deal or No Deal and had a great time. My favorite part of the night was when my little Vanna White would open the cases. She was very sassy, and took her job very seriously! I may need to hire her to travel around with me!

I would like to thank the Denver City 4-H Club for inviting me to speak! I hope to come back and talk to their club again soon.

On a side note: I apologize for the quality of the pictures posted today. I am still trying to learn how to speak and take pictures at the same time. It is not easy!!

E. Coli in the fountain soda supply?

Someone once told me, that you could tell how clean a restaurant or gas station is, by how clean its bathroom is. Thanks to this person’s statement, I now have to take a peak in any bathroom before I sit down for dinner.
Some may call me crazy, but I can’t help wonder and pray when I go somewhere to eat that the cook or lady filling the fountain machine has washed his or her hands in the last 24 hours.
The below Times article, does not help put my wondering mind at ease. The article analysis 90 soda fountains to find if they were dispensing more than fizzy beverages.





E. Coli in the fountain soda supply?

Soda fountains may dispense more than Diet Coke and Dr. Pepper, according to new research to be published this month in the International Journal of Food Microbiology. In an analysis of 90 soda and water samples taken from fountains in 30 different fast food restaurants in the Roanoke Valley region of Virginia, researchers from Hollins University found that 48% tested positive for coliform bacteria, or bacteria found in human and animal feces, 11% tested positive for Escherichia coli, and more than 17% tested positive for Chryseobacterium meningosepticum, which has been shown to cause pneumonia and even meningitis in people with compromised immune systems. So, how are these microbes ending up in our cokes? And, what does it mean for public health?

According to standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the public water supply cannot have a heterotrophic plate count (HPC)—or basic concentration of microorganisms—higher than 500/ml. (In Europe, the standard is 100/ml.) Yet, the researchers point out, there are no government regulations in place for the liquids dispensed from soda fountains. In this study, 20% of water and soda samples had HPC counts higher than 500/ml.
So, how are those bugs getting into the soda supply? As part of the study, researchers observed people using soda fountains to determine whether bacteria might be introduced by touching nozzles with their fingers. But, of the 281 people observed, only 5 (or 1.8%), actually nudged the nozzles. What's more, even people who got refills seldom touched the nozzles with their used cups—only 2 of 47 (or 4.2%). Amy S. White, a biologist at Hollins and lead author of the study, says she was surprised. "That was our first guess. I would have guessed that this was hand-touching—I thought that kids or people were putting their hands on the nozzles, but it's actually a really small population."


Understanding how the bacteria enter the soda fountain is key, White says, because once it's introduced, it can thrive and multiply in what is effectively a closed system. In the study, White and colleagues found that soda samples collected in the morning had far higher levels of bacterial contamination than those collected later in the day, something she hypothesizes likely has to do with the fact that, overnight, as the plastic tubes feeding the fountain aren't being regularly flushed, bacteria can take hold and grow. "What we think is happening is that there are communities of bacteria living in those tubes inside those machines—a biofilm," she explains. "As the machine gets used, the top layers of the biofilm get washed out." But, when few people are buying sodas, the liquid isn't being flushed through the tubes. "Overnight they multiply—and most bacteria can double every 20 minutes—so it doesn't take long for a whole lot of organisms to grow."


If it isn't likely down to customers putting dirty fingers on the nozzles, though, what could be introducing the bacteria that ultimately may be creating this biofilm? White and colleagues confirmed that the municipal water supply met all EPA regulations, and that there were no outbreaks during the study period, so the bacteria wasn't likely coming from the water. And sodas purchased in plastic bottles that were tested as controls showed no microbial contamination, so it wasn't likely the syrup. Previous research had found similar problems—where clean water entered a fountain but contaminated water came out—leading White and colleagues to believe that it was in fact the soda fountains, but where were these bacteria coming from?


Read the full article:

http://wellness.blogs.time.com/2010/01/12/e-coli-in-the-fountain-soda-supply/