Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas (AGUA)
AGUA seeks to build public support for protection of the Edwards Aquifer region of Central Texas. Both the fragile geology of this area and the rapid encroachment of under-regulated urban development threaten the purity of the Edwards Aquifer which 1.5 million people rely on for their drinking water.Tuesday, June 29, 2004
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Golf course civics lesson: Texas Latinas foil PGA plans
San Antonio is home to the world's most pristine aquifer and a group of women who worked hard to protect it.
By Kris Axtman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Settled by the Payaya Indians more than 300 years ago, San Antonio was originally named Yanaguana, or "place of refreshing waters," because of the richness of the resource.
In those abundant waters, local developers recently saw the potential for emerald golf greens and 800 permanent jobs in recreation. But here, where water has always been fiercely protected, the idea of building a huge golfer's paradise atop the Edwards Aquifer was controversial from the get-go.
What surprised many residents was that the battle, in the end, may have been swayed by a group that is hardly known as the local power brokers: Latina women.
The 2,600-acre project, known as the PGA Village, would have been set over the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer, one of the world's most pristine and profuse aquifers. At 180 miles long, it is the water source for 1.7 million people.
Concerned about possible water contamination, Latina community leaders organized house parties to discuss the issues. Neighbor-to-neighbor conversations resulted in new coalitions.
Environmentalists joined with neighborhood associations, limited-growth advocates united with churches, and scientists teamed up with social-justice organizations. The momentum eventually unseated a developer-friendly city council.
"They refused to give up," says George Rice, a groundwater hydrologist for the Edwards Aquifer Authority, who won a seat on the authority, with support of the Latinas, during the upheaval.
Not everyone sees the result as a win for San Antonio. The city, after all, lost a lucrative development that other cities are now vying for.
What is clear is that for some Latinas here, what began as a battle over water has become a lesson in civics, and in the power of grass-roots activism.
Clean water is particularly important to Hispanics, as many have immigrated from countries where it is not always easily accessible. And for Hispanic women especially, who are the traditional caretakers of health issues in the home and family, clean water is a hot-button topic.
"People who come from Mexico don't take clean water for granted. It's very important to them," says Annalisa Peace, a board member of the Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas in San Antonio. "In this case, some incredibly strong Latina women stepped up and did a very good job educating the community on the issue."
One of those leaders was former councilwoman Maria Antonietta Berriozábal.
"The water issue in San Antonio divides the men from the boys and the women from the girls," she says. "I lost a mayoral election [in 1991], not because I'm Latina or because of money, but because of my track record on water."
The national cachet, not to mention the jobs, would have been a major boon for San Antonio, say supporters. But opponents tapped into the growing frustration over tourism and service-industry jobs as the city's economic driver, and last week officials for the Professional Golfers Association declared the deal dead, citing the "churning political environment."
"The PGA name and brand is very important to them," says City Councilman Carroll Schubert. "They basically decided that they didn't want their name associated any further with negative controversy."
Other cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix are now gunning for the prestigious development, which includes a golf school, two 18-hole golf courses, a luxury hotel, and hundreds of homes.
In San Antonio, geologists warned that the development could block recharge and contaminate the water with chemicals from runoff. But city officials said the deal had strict environmental regulations that would protect the aquifer. Regardless, any development over the Edwards Aquifer sparks immediate controversy in Texas' third-largest city.
The issue escalated two years ago when opponents began a petition drive to force a referendum on the project.
They collected well over the 68,000 signatures needed, but the city council circumvented the election by quietly signing a new agreement with a frustrated PGA.
Councilman Schubert says the city did nothing illegal or underhanded. He believes the small group of people who collected the signatures did not explain the issue with any complexity. "I think they said, 'Sign this petition if you don't want your water poisoned.' "
In the end, it may have been simple economics that killed the deal, says Carlos Guerra, a columnist with the San Antonio Express-News who was the first to make the deal public three years ago. The PGA still had not secured the financing for the luxury hotel as of May. Still, he admits the Latina leaders played a significant role in proving that developers don't always win.
"We came out of this effort with a new sense of leadership and understanding," says Joleen García, a community advocate with the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in San Antonio. "We proved that what has been done by the male-led organizations for centuries can be done just as successfully by women-led organizations."
Golf course civics lesson: Texas Latinas foil PGA plans
San Antonio is home to the world's most pristine aquifer and a group of women who worked hard to protect it.
By Kris Axtman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Settled by the Payaya Indians more than 300 years ago, San Antonio was originally named Yanaguana, or "place of refreshing waters," because of the richness of the resource.
In those abundant waters, local developers recently saw the potential for emerald golf greens and 800 permanent jobs in recreation. But here, where water has always been fiercely protected, the idea of building a huge golfer's paradise atop the Edwards Aquifer was controversial from the get-go.
What surprised many residents was that the battle, in the end, may have been swayed by a group that is hardly known as the local power brokers: Latina women.
The 2,600-acre project, known as the PGA Village, would have been set over the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer, one of the world's most pristine and profuse aquifers. At 180 miles long, it is the water source for 1.7 million people.
Concerned about possible water contamination, Latina community leaders organized house parties to discuss the issues. Neighbor-to-neighbor conversations resulted in new coalitions.
Environmentalists joined with neighborhood associations, limited-growth advocates united with churches, and scientists teamed up with social-justice organizations. The momentum eventually unseated a developer-friendly city council.
"They refused to give up," says George Rice, a groundwater hydrologist for the Edwards Aquifer Authority, who won a seat on the authority, with support of the Latinas, during the upheaval.
Not everyone sees the result as a win for San Antonio. The city, after all, lost a lucrative development that other cities are now vying for.
What is clear is that for some Latinas here, what began as a battle over water has become a lesson in civics, and in the power of grass-roots activism.
Clean water is particularly important to Hispanics, as many have immigrated from countries where it is not always easily accessible. And for Hispanic women especially, who are the traditional caretakers of health issues in the home and family, clean water is a hot-button topic.
"People who come from Mexico don't take clean water for granted. It's very important to them," says Annalisa Peace, a board member of the Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas in San Antonio. "In this case, some incredibly strong Latina women stepped up and did a very good job educating the community on the issue."
One of those leaders was former councilwoman Maria Antonietta Berriozábal.
"The water issue in San Antonio divides the men from the boys and the women from the girls," she says. "I lost a mayoral election [in 1991], not because I'm Latina or because of money, but because of my track record on water."
The national cachet, not to mention the jobs, would have been a major boon for San Antonio, say supporters. But opponents tapped into the growing frustration over tourism and service-industry jobs as the city's economic driver, and last week officials for the Professional Golfers Association declared the deal dead, citing the "churning political environment."
"The PGA name and brand is very important to them," says City Councilman Carroll Schubert. "They basically decided that they didn't want their name associated any further with negative controversy."
Other cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix are now gunning for the prestigious development, which includes a golf school, two 18-hole golf courses, a luxury hotel, and hundreds of homes.
In San Antonio, geologists warned that the development could block recharge and contaminate the water with chemicals from runoff. But city officials said the deal had strict environmental regulations that would protect the aquifer. Regardless, any development over the Edwards Aquifer sparks immediate controversy in Texas' third-largest city.
The issue escalated two years ago when opponents began a petition drive to force a referendum on the project.
They collected well over the 68,000 signatures needed, but the city council circumvented the election by quietly signing a new agreement with a frustrated PGA.
Councilman Schubert says the city did nothing illegal or underhanded. He believes the small group of people who collected the signatures did not explain the issue with any complexity. "I think they said, 'Sign this petition if you don't want your water poisoned.' "
In the end, it may have been simple economics that killed the deal, says Carlos Guerra, a columnist with the San Antonio Express-News who was the first to make the deal public three years ago. The PGA still had not secured the financing for the luxury hotel as of May. Still, he admits the Latina leaders played a significant role in proving that developers don't always win.
"We came out of this effort with a new sense of leadership and understanding," says Joleen García, a community advocate with the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in San Antonio. "We proved that what has been done by the male-led organizations for centuries can be done just as successfully by women-led organizations."
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Aquifer alliance obtains $1.5M grant
The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance has received a $1.5 million donation in the form of a challenge grant.
The alliance of environmental groups got the three-year grant from Houston geologist, developer and philanthropist George Mitchell, founder of Mitchell Energy and Development. It totals $500,000 a year.
Mitchell is the father of Save Our Springs Alliance board member Kirk Mitchell of Austin.
Founding members of the alliance, whose aim is to protect the environmentally sensitive Edwards Aquifer, are SOS, Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas, Smart Growth San Antonio, the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association, the San Marcos River Foundation, the San Antonio and Austin chapters of the Sierra Club and theHays Community Action Network.
The challenge grant encourages alliance members to obtain matching funds from individuals and organizations, says Bill Bunch, executive director of SOS.
Bunch says George Mitchell is allowing some fundraising leeway, meaning the first half of the money don't necessarily have to be matched immediately.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
Aquifer alliance obtains $1.5M grant
The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance has received a $1.5 million donation in the form of a challenge grant.
The alliance of environmental groups got the three-year grant from Houston geologist, developer and philanthropist George Mitchell, founder of Mitchell Energy and Development. It totals $500,000 a year.
Mitchell is the father of Save Our Springs Alliance board member Kirk Mitchell of Austin.
Founding members of the alliance, whose aim is to protect the environmentally sensitive Edwards Aquifer, are SOS, Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas, Smart Growth San Antonio, the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association, the San Marcos River Foundation, the San Antonio and Austin chapters of the Sierra Club and theHays Community Action Network.
The challenge grant encourages alliance members to obtain matching funds from individuals and organizations, says Bill Bunch, executive director of SOS.
Bunch says George Mitchell is allowing some fundraising leeway, meaning the first half of the money don't necessarily have to be matched immediately.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
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SAWS to sue state over secret memos
Web Posted: 06/02/2004 12:00 AM CDT
Christopher Anderson
Express-News Staff Writer
The San Antonio Water System plans to sue the state to try to keep secret previously undisclosed legal memos about four Edwards Aquifer recharge zone properties, including land once envisioned for the now-abandoned PGA Village resort.
Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas, a local environmental group, sought information from the city-owned water utility on an estimated 1,100 properties in the aquifer's recharge zone. The group says too many developers are being allowed to pave over too much environmentally sensitive property.
A 1995 city ordinance establishes how much recharge zone land in or near San Antonio a developer must leave free of pavement or buildings to help ensure that the aquifer, San Antonio's primary source of drinking water, is not contaminated by man-made chemicals.
The rules include an exemption, and property owners who can show they planned to develop their property before the adoption of municipal water quality rules can ask SAWS to determine whether they must comply.
"It is our belief that the aquifer protection ordinance is not being implemented to the fullest extent that the city is authorized to implement it," said Richard Alles, an AGUA member who requested the SAWS documents. "We believe that the city is grandfathering projects that aren't grandfathered under state law."
After the Professional Golfers' Association announced last week that it would pull out of its agreement to participate in the development of the PGA Village, Mayor Ed Garza said the city would re-examine whether the original plans of Lumbermen's Investment Corp., which owns the site, and other recharge zone developers are truly grandfathered.
John Reynolds, a lawyer on SAWS' staff, said the water system closely follows city rules in determining if developments are exempt.
He also said he provided AGUA with the bulk of the information it asked for but that he believes it is not entitled to fewer than 10 pages containing legal advice and opinion about four recharge zone properties.
"Any time any attorney is required to give up advice to his client, it affects the ability of the organization to function properly, and that's what this would be," Reynolds said.
The Texas Public Information Act allows governmental entities to cite attorney-client privilege as a justifiable reason for withholding documents, but it also requires them to seek an opinion from the Texas attorney general within 10 business days after a written request has been received.
Reynolds acknowledged SAWS failed to meet the deadline.
"The mailroom, for whatever reason, did not get it to the post office in time," he said.
In a May 20 letter to SAWS, Debbie Lee, an assistant attorney general, wrote that because the water system missed the deadline, the documents "were presumed public."
Lee stated that such information must be released unless SAWS can demonstrate "a compelling reason" to withhold it. She also wrote that SAWS had two options. It could release the material or it could sue the state.
Last week, Denton, Navarro, Rocha and Bernal, a San Antonio law firm representing SAWS, sent a letter notifying Attorney General Greg Abbott that it would file a lawsuit.
Charles Daughtry, a media lawyer in Houston and a member of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said he believes the law is on AGUA's side.
"I think with them missing the time deadline they're stuck," Daughtry said. "I think the court will rule they have to release the documents."
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canderson@express-news.net
SAWS to sue state over secret memos
Web Posted: 06/02/2004 12:00 AM CDT
Christopher Anderson
Express-News Staff Writer
The San Antonio Water System plans to sue the state to try to keep secret previously undisclosed legal memos about four Edwards Aquifer recharge zone properties, including land once envisioned for the now-abandoned PGA Village resort.
Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas, a local environmental group, sought information from the city-owned water utility on an estimated 1,100 properties in the aquifer's recharge zone. The group says too many developers are being allowed to pave over too much environmentally sensitive property.
A 1995 city ordinance establishes how much recharge zone land in or near San Antonio a developer must leave free of pavement or buildings to help ensure that the aquifer, San Antonio's primary source of drinking water, is not contaminated by man-made chemicals.
The rules include an exemption, and property owners who can show they planned to develop their property before the adoption of municipal water quality rules can ask SAWS to determine whether they must comply.
"It is our belief that the aquifer protection ordinance is not being implemented to the fullest extent that the city is authorized to implement it," said Richard Alles, an AGUA member who requested the SAWS documents. "We believe that the city is grandfathering projects that aren't grandfathered under state law."
After the Professional Golfers' Association announced last week that it would pull out of its agreement to participate in the development of the PGA Village, Mayor Ed Garza said the city would re-examine whether the original plans of Lumbermen's Investment Corp., which owns the site, and other recharge zone developers are truly grandfathered.
John Reynolds, a lawyer on SAWS' staff, said the water system closely follows city rules in determining if developments are exempt.
He also said he provided AGUA with the bulk of the information it asked for but that he believes it is not entitled to fewer than 10 pages containing legal advice and opinion about four recharge zone properties.
"Any time any attorney is required to give up advice to his client, it affects the ability of the organization to function properly, and that's what this would be," Reynolds said.
The Texas Public Information Act allows governmental entities to cite attorney-client privilege as a justifiable reason for withholding documents, but it also requires them to seek an opinion from the Texas attorney general within 10 business days after a written request has been received.
Reynolds acknowledged SAWS failed to meet the deadline.
"The mailroom, for whatever reason, did not get it to the post office in time," he said.
In a May 20 letter to SAWS, Debbie Lee, an assistant attorney general, wrote that because the water system missed the deadline, the documents "were presumed public."
Lee stated that such information must be released unless SAWS can demonstrate "a compelling reason" to withhold it. She also wrote that SAWS had two options. It could release the material or it could sue the state.
Last week, Denton, Navarro, Rocha and Bernal, a San Antonio law firm representing SAWS, sent a letter notifying Attorney General Greg Abbott that it would file a lawsuit.
Charles Daughtry, a media lawyer in Houston and a member of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said he believes the law is on AGUA's side.
"I think with them missing the time deadline they're stuck," Daughtry said. "I think the court will rule they have to release the documents."
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canderson@express-news.net
Friday, March 19, 2004
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Join the Texas Water Matters Campaign!
Step 1:
Read and Consider these Five Principles
Resolution to Support Principles for Protecting Texas’ Water Resources
1) Use existing water supplies efficiently.
Municipal, agricultural, and industrial water users should adopt aggressive water conservation practices, both large and small-scale. We should make the most of current water supplies before we start building dams and pipelines to develop new ones.
2) Keep rivers flowing.
Water planners and managers should make sure that enough water remains in rivers and streams to keep Texas rivers flowing. They should also ensure that enough fresh water reaches coastal bays and estuaries to maintain their productivity as fisheries and as wildlife habitat.
3) Protect wildlife habitat.
Water management decisions and new water development projects should avoid or minimize adverse impacts to wildlife, water quality, and wildlife habitat.
4) Use surface and groundwater sustainably.
We should take water from rivers and pump water from underground aquifers only as fast as rainfall can replenish them. We need to leave water — and wildlife — for future generations.
5) Save tax dollars.
Water planners should make sure that new water development projects are cost-effective by carefully weighing the costs and benefits of the proposed project and alternatives.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 2:
Pledge your Support by Printing and Filling out the Endorsement Form
Resolution to Support Principles for Protecting Texas’ Water Resources (Abode PDF - 64k)
Step 3:
Mail Completed Endorsements To:
Texas Living Waters Project
PO Box 1931
Austin, TX 78767
You may also email this endorsement information to info@texaswatermatters.org.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to Those who have Already Signed On...
- Plaska Lodge in Memphis, Texas
- Sabine Lake Guide Service
- Ace in the Hole Guide Service, Port Aransas
- Central TExas Chapter Surfrider Foundation
- League of Women Voters of Texas
- Museum of the Gulf Coast, Port Arthur
- Outdoor Nature Club, Houston
- Paddling Anglers in Canoes & Kayaks (P.A.C.K), Houston
- Public Citizen
- San Marcos River Foundation
- Senior Citizens Association
- Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition
(SEED Coalition)
- TAMU Chapter of the Wildlife Soceity
- Texas Campaign of the Environment
- Texas Environmental Action Coalition, Texas A&M University
- Texas Environmental Democrats, San Antonio
- Texas Public Interest Research Group (TXPIRG)
- Texas Shrimp Association
- Tide Guide
- Travis Boating Center, Beaumont
- Island Sun Photo, Groves, TX
- Law Office of HW Leverett, Jr. Midland
- Friends of the Sabine, Longview
- Concerned Citizens for Clean Water, San Augustine
- Neighbors for Neighbors, Elgin
- North American Hardwood Preservation Assn., Gladewater
- Lower Laguna Madre Foundation
- Texas Committee on Natural Resources
- Galveston Bay Foundation
- Government Canyon Natural History Association
- Save Barton Creek Association
- Houston Canoe Club
- Texas River Protection Association
- St. Edwards Environmental Club
- WE CAN (Working Effectively for Clean Air Now)
- Central Texas Fly Fishers, San Marcos
- Pines & Prairies Land Trust, Bastrop, Texas
- Wildlife Society, Texas A&M University Chapter
- Floydada Senior Citizens Center, Floydada Texas
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For More Information
For more information on how to present these principles as a resolution for consideration by your city or county or to request a presentation to your group about these principles, contact Texas Water Matters at (800) 919-9151.
Get involved today to help safeguard Texas' natural heritage!
For more information call 512-477-1729, or visit www.texaswatermatters.org.
Join the Texas Water Matters Campaign!
Step 1:
Read and Consider these Five Principles
Resolution to Support Principles for Protecting Texas’ Water Resources
1) Use existing water supplies efficiently.
Municipal, agricultural, and industrial water users should adopt aggressive water conservation practices, both large and small-scale. We should make the most of current water supplies before we start building dams and pipelines to develop new ones.
2) Keep rivers flowing.
Water planners and managers should make sure that enough water remains in rivers and streams to keep Texas rivers flowing. They should also ensure that enough fresh water reaches coastal bays and estuaries to maintain their productivity as fisheries and as wildlife habitat.
3) Protect wildlife habitat.
Water management decisions and new water development projects should avoid or minimize adverse impacts to wildlife, water quality, and wildlife habitat.
4) Use surface and groundwater sustainably.
We should take water from rivers and pump water from underground aquifers only as fast as rainfall can replenish them. We need to leave water — and wildlife — for future generations.
5) Save tax dollars.
Water planners should make sure that new water development projects are cost-effective by carefully weighing the costs and benefits of the proposed project and alternatives.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 2:
Pledge your Support by Printing and Filling out the Endorsement Form
Resolution to Support Principles for Protecting Texas’ Water Resources (Abode PDF - 64k)
Step 3:
Mail Completed Endorsements To:
Texas Living Waters Project
PO Box 1931
Austin, TX 78767
You may also email this endorsement information to info@texaswatermatters.org.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to Those who have Already Signed On...
- Plaska Lodge in Memphis, Texas
- Sabine Lake Guide Service
- Ace in the Hole Guide Service, Port Aransas
- Central TExas Chapter Surfrider Foundation
- League of Women Voters of Texas
- Museum of the Gulf Coast, Port Arthur
- Outdoor Nature Club, Houston
- Paddling Anglers in Canoes & Kayaks (P.A.C.K), Houston
- Public Citizen
- San Marcos River Foundation
- Senior Citizens Association
- Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition
(SEED Coalition)
- TAMU Chapter of the Wildlife Soceity
- Texas Campaign of the Environment
- Texas Environmental Action Coalition, Texas A&M University
- Texas Environmental Democrats, San Antonio
- Texas Public Interest Research Group (TXPIRG)
- Texas Shrimp Association
- Tide Guide
- Travis Boating Center, Beaumont
- Island Sun Photo, Groves, TX
- Law Office of HW Leverett, Jr. Midland
- Friends of the Sabine, Longview
- Concerned Citizens for Clean Water, San Augustine
- Neighbors for Neighbors, Elgin
- North American Hardwood Preservation Assn., Gladewater
- Lower Laguna Madre Foundation
- Texas Committee on Natural Resources
- Galveston Bay Foundation
- Government Canyon Natural History Association
- Save Barton Creek Association
- Houston Canoe Club
- Texas River Protection Association
- St. Edwards Environmental Club
- WE CAN (Working Effectively for Clean Air Now)
- Central Texas Fly Fishers, San Marcos
- Pines & Prairies Land Trust, Bastrop, Texas
- Wildlife Society, Texas A&M University Chapter
- Floydada Senior Citizens Center, Floydada Texas
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For More Information
For more information on how to present these principles as a resolution for consideration by your city or county or to request a presentation to your group about these principles, contact Texas Water Matters at (800) 919-9151.
Get involved today to help safeguard Texas' natural heritage!
For more information call 512-477-1729, or visit www.texaswatermatters.org.
Thursday, March 18, 2004
====================================================================
AGUA Welcomes New Guardians
AGUA met last night and welcomed two new board members, Rene Balderas and Jon Thompson. We got deep into discussion of the PGA Village movement and its aftermath.
What was the fuss all about? Here's a brief reminder.
Our Far Flung Cohorts in Victoria
Richard Alles and his laptop couldn't be with us last night because both were in Victoria doing battle with Ken Armbrister and the Senate Selects. Richard reports that the hearing was more congenial than the one held in San Antonio recently. Kudos to Dianne Wassenich, Lauren Ross and Lisa Fithian for their efforts to spread the GEAA message.
To read the Victoria newspaper coverage click here.
___________________________________________________________________________________
AGUA Welcomes New Guardians
AGUA met last night and welcomed two new board members, Rene Balderas and Jon Thompson. We got deep into discussion of the PGA Village movement and its aftermath.
What was the fuss all about? Here's a brief reminder.
Our Far Flung Cohorts in Victoria
Richard Alles and his laptop couldn't be with us last night because both were in Victoria doing battle with Ken Armbrister and the Senate Selects. Richard reports that the hearing was more congenial than the one held in San Antonio recently. Kudos to Dianne Wassenich, Lauren Ross and Lisa Fithian for their efforts to spread the GEAA message.
To read the Victoria newspaper coverage click here.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Monday, February 02, 2004
====================================================================
A History Lesson - AGUA Circa 1994
From a manual published by the League of Women Voters Education Fund
Case Study 4
Building Coalitions Across County Lines
In a joint effort, the San Antonio Area and San Marcos, Texas Leagues launched a public education campaign on the protection of the Edwards Aquifer, a water bearing layer of cavernous, fractured and cracked limestone. Extending 175 miles, the Edwards underlies four counties in South-Central Texas and provided drinking water for about 1.5 million people. Portions of the Edwards Aquifer have been designated a sole-source aquifer by the U.S. EPA, and both San Marcos and San Antonio depend entirely on groundwater from their public water supply. Owing to the regions hydrology, the aquifer is recharged by water falling on 11 counties and so it requires region-wide management. Efforts to produce a regional management plan for the aquifer had stalled, however, because concerned parties could not agree as to who would pay, who benefits and who has the power to govern and regulate. Users devided into three factions, the "ranch" people in the west, the "spring" people to the east and the "municipal" people in the San Antonio area. The cooperation of the two area leagues was an important element in the project's success. Because reconciliation of regional interests is critical to resolving management of a hydrological unit that covers several counties, the goal of the grant project was to bring together people from all areas of the region. joint management of the project and a focus on water quality issues helped achieve this goal.
Principal Issues
Concerns about the contamination of the aquifer include the large number of septic tank systems over the recharge area, pesticide and fertilizer use and agricultural runoff in the western counties, underground hydrocarbon storage tanks, abandoned wells that may be illegally used for dumping, and urban runoff. Contaminants can travel quickly without much filtering through the cavernous limestone. The Texas Water Commission has initiated an inventory of potential pollution sources around 350 public water supply wells in the Edwards Aquifer area, as part of the state's wellhead protection program.
Concerns about water supply have grown in recent years, as well, with the depletion of aquifer-fed springs and other signs of overpumping. Calls to limit pumping, however, conflict with state law—and strongly held tradition—that allows unlimited rights of capture of underground sources of water in Texas. And the state's rapid growth—the population of Texas is the second fastest growing in the country—is causing intense development pressure on the Edward's Aquifer recharge area. One major new tourist development planned in the area, a theme park, is expected to service 25,000 people daily.
Choosing the Project Focus: Water Quality
The Leagues decided to focus on the issue of water quality, because it held the most promise for identifying common interests and common goals for all parties and jurisdictions. While realizing that allocation questions will have to be addressed in the future, project leaders determined that focusing on this divisive question at this stage would be fruitless.
Public Forum
In order to get basic information about agency purposes and operations to the public and to stimulate as much dialogue as possible between agencies at local, state and federal levels of government, the Leagues presented a groundwater protection forum entitled "Putting It Together: Policy and Practice," in November 1991. Cosponsored by the Edwards Underground Water District, the forum focused on the multiple jurisdictions involved in protecting the aquifer from pollution and the variety of pollutants that potentially could affect the sole source of water for this region.
Because fostering dialogue among agency representatives was as much a project goal as educating the public, forum organizers invited senior staff in charge of groundwater protection, as well as high-level office holders, to serve on discussion panels. Panelists included the general manager of the Edwards Underground Water District, a local state representative, the mayor of San Marcos, the San Antonio planning director, a representative of the U.S. EPA Region 6 Office of Groundwater, and representatives of the groundwater protection divisions of the Texas Water Commission, the Texas Water Development Board, the state Attorney General's Office, the Texas Railroad Commission and the Department of Transportation. The mayor of San Antonio gave the welcoming speech and the chair of the Texas Water Commission delivered the keynote address. The meeting agenda included a map and cross section of the aquifer and included information on some of the regional groundwater concerns (Figure 8—not shown on-line).
Approximately 175 people attended, including public officials, planning commissioners, water purveyors, farmers and ranchers and small business owners. Organizers arranged for the local public television station to interview the major speakers, and these and other relevant interviews were edited into a special one-hour edition of a weekly public affairs program. Media coverage was good, particularly because of the importance of Water Commission Chairman John Hall's call for unity on regional management. After the forum, both San Antonio papers ran special sections on the aquifer.
Spin-Offs/Continuing Progress
The forum helped establish the Leagues' credibility as important players in the debate over management of the Edwards Aquifer. Since the forum, the Leagues have worked with a coalition of regional groups to secure the purchase of 5,000 acres of Resolution Trust Corporation property on the Recharge and Transition Zones of the Edwards Aquifer known as Government Canyon. The acquired land will be managed by the Edwards Underground Water District and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife under a "sensitive area" protection plan. The coalition's activities included generating educational material and presentations, continued coalition-building, working with agency staff to educate board members, and advocating the land purchase at board meetings.
The San Antonio Area League, along with six other local organizations, received a World Wildlife Fund 1992 Innovations Grant—a $5,000 challenge grant—to organize, incorporate and devise an educational/marketing strategy for the establishment of Bexar Land Trust, which would serve as a private conservation organization for protecting recharge zone land and other ecological and environmental attributes of the area.
The San Antonio Area League also is working with Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas (AGUA), a coalition of San Antonio groups working to propose comprehensive revisions to current regulations for recharge and drainage zone development. Developing bilingual education products is a priority of this effort.
To follow up the November 1991 forum, the San Antonio Area LWV hosted a public meeting on "Putting It Together: Regional Water Management Issues" in June 1992. Invitations were sent to the same mailing list used for the fall forum. The audience had many questions regarding the issues of regional water management and new Texas Water Commission rules. Panelists included a West Texas Water Commissioner, the newly appointed board chair of the San Antonio Water System and the president/CEO of the San Antonio Water System.
One of the project managers was appointed to the Groundwater Subcommittee of the Texas Clean Water Council, a taskforce organized by the Texas Water Commission to set the commission's legislative and administrative agenda for the 73rd Texas legislative session and for the commission's administrative reorganizations. She also was appointed to the U.S. EPA's Effluent Guidelines Taskforce charged with helping to devise policy and procedural improvements to the Effluent Guidelines under the Clean Water Act. Her work focused on the issues of incentives and disincentives for pollution prevention and the problems of the transfer of pollutants between different media.
Excerpted from "Protecting Your Groundwater - Educating for Action", League of Women Voters Education Fund. Copyright © 1994. Order from the League of Women Voters of the United States, 1730 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, 202-429-1965. Pub. #980: $6.95 ($5.95 for members) plus shipping and handling.
You may read the complete manual online here
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A History Lesson - AGUA Circa 1994
From a manual published by the League of Women Voters Education Fund
Case Study 4
Building Coalitions Across County Lines
In a joint effort, the San Antonio Area and San Marcos, Texas Leagues launched a public education campaign on the protection of the Edwards Aquifer, a water bearing layer of cavernous, fractured and cracked limestone. Extending 175 miles, the Edwards underlies four counties in South-Central Texas and provided drinking water for about 1.5 million people. Portions of the Edwards Aquifer have been designated a sole-source aquifer by the U.S. EPA, and both San Marcos and San Antonio depend entirely on groundwater from their public water supply. Owing to the regions hydrology, the aquifer is recharged by water falling on 11 counties and so it requires region-wide management. Efforts to produce a regional management plan for the aquifer had stalled, however, because concerned parties could not agree as to who would pay, who benefits and who has the power to govern and regulate. Users devided into three factions, the "ranch" people in the west, the "spring" people to the east and the "municipal" people in the San Antonio area. The cooperation of the two area leagues was an important element in the project's success. Because reconciliation of regional interests is critical to resolving management of a hydrological unit that covers several counties, the goal of the grant project was to bring together people from all areas of the region. joint management of the project and a focus on water quality issues helped achieve this goal.
Principal Issues
Concerns about the contamination of the aquifer include the large number of septic tank systems over the recharge area, pesticide and fertilizer use and agricultural runoff in the western counties, underground hydrocarbon storage tanks, abandoned wells that may be illegally used for dumping, and urban runoff. Contaminants can travel quickly without much filtering through the cavernous limestone. The Texas Water Commission has initiated an inventory of potential pollution sources around 350 public water supply wells in the Edwards Aquifer area, as part of the state's wellhead protection program.
Concerns about water supply have grown in recent years, as well, with the depletion of aquifer-fed springs and other signs of overpumping. Calls to limit pumping, however, conflict with state law—and strongly held tradition—that allows unlimited rights of capture of underground sources of water in Texas. And the state's rapid growth—the population of Texas is the second fastest growing in the country—is causing intense development pressure on the Edward's Aquifer recharge area. One major new tourist development planned in the area, a theme park, is expected to service 25,000 people daily.
Choosing the Project Focus: Water Quality
The Leagues decided to focus on the issue of water quality, because it held the most promise for identifying common interests and common goals for all parties and jurisdictions. While realizing that allocation questions will have to be addressed in the future, project leaders determined that focusing on this divisive question at this stage would be fruitless.
Public Forum
In order to get basic information about agency purposes and operations to the public and to stimulate as much dialogue as possible between agencies at local, state and federal levels of government, the Leagues presented a groundwater protection forum entitled "Putting It Together: Policy and Practice," in November 1991. Cosponsored by the Edwards Underground Water District, the forum focused on the multiple jurisdictions involved in protecting the aquifer from pollution and the variety of pollutants that potentially could affect the sole source of water for this region.
Because fostering dialogue among agency representatives was as much a project goal as educating the public, forum organizers invited senior staff in charge of groundwater protection, as well as high-level office holders, to serve on discussion panels. Panelists included the general manager of the Edwards Underground Water District, a local state representative, the mayor of San Marcos, the San Antonio planning director, a representative of the U.S. EPA Region 6 Office of Groundwater, and representatives of the groundwater protection divisions of the Texas Water Commission, the Texas Water Development Board, the state Attorney General's Office, the Texas Railroad Commission and the Department of Transportation. The mayor of San Antonio gave the welcoming speech and the chair of the Texas Water Commission delivered the keynote address. The meeting agenda included a map and cross section of the aquifer and included information on some of the regional groundwater concerns (Figure 8—not shown on-line).
Approximately 175 people attended, including public officials, planning commissioners, water purveyors, farmers and ranchers and small business owners. Organizers arranged for the local public television station to interview the major speakers, and these and other relevant interviews were edited into a special one-hour edition of a weekly public affairs program. Media coverage was good, particularly because of the importance of Water Commission Chairman John Hall's call for unity on regional management. After the forum, both San Antonio papers ran special sections on the aquifer.
Spin-Offs/Continuing Progress
The forum helped establish the Leagues' credibility as important players in the debate over management of the Edwards Aquifer. Since the forum, the Leagues have worked with a coalition of regional groups to secure the purchase of 5,000 acres of Resolution Trust Corporation property on the Recharge and Transition Zones of the Edwards Aquifer known as Government Canyon. The acquired land will be managed by the Edwards Underground Water District and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife under a "sensitive area" protection plan. The coalition's activities included generating educational material and presentations, continued coalition-building, working with agency staff to educate board members, and advocating the land purchase at board meetings.
The San Antonio Area League, along with six other local organizations, received a World Wildlife Fund 1992 Innovations Grant—a $5,000 challenge grant—to organize, incorporate and devise an educational/marketing strategy for the establishment of Bexar Land Trust, which would serve as a private conservation organization for protecting recharge zone land and other ecological and environmental attributes of the area.
The San Antonio Area League also is working with Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas (AGUA), a coalition of San Antonio groups working to propose comprehensive revisions to current regulations for recharge and drainage zone development. Developing bilingual education products is a priority of this effort.
To follow up the November 1991 forum, the San Antonio Area LWV hosted a public meeting on "Putting It Together: Regional Water Management Issues" in June 1992. Invitations were sent to the same mailing list used for the fall forum. The audience had many questions regarding the issues of regional water management and new Texas Water Commission rules. Panelists included a West Texas Water Commissioner, the newly appointed board chair of the San Antonio Water System and the president/CEO of the San Antonio Water System.
One of the project managers was appointed to the Groundwater Subcommittee of the Texas Clean Water Council, a taskforce organized by the Texas Water Commission to set the commission's legislative and administrative agenda for the 73rd Texas legislative session and for the commission's administrative reorganizations. She also was appointed to the U.S. EPA's Effluent Guidelines Taskforce charged with helping to devise policy and procedural improvements to the Effluent Guidelines under the Clean Water Act. Her work focused on the issues of incentives and disincentives for pollution prevention and the problems of the transfer of pollutants between different media.
Excerpted from "Protecting Your Groundwater - Educating for Action", League of Women Voters Education Fund. Copyright © 1994. Order from the League of Women Voters of the United States, 1730 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, 202-429-1965. Pub. #980: $6.95 ($5.95 for members) plus shipping and handling.
You may read the complete manual online here
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AGUA 2004 - Kicking Groin...
From the San Antonio Express-News
Council likely to reject plan to allow auto shops in recharge zone
By Christopher Anderson
Express-News Staff Writer
Web Posted : 01/07/2004 2:59 PM
The San Antonio City Council is expected to reject a controversial measure on Thursday that would allow auto dealerships to perhaps have auto body and auto repair shops in the Edwards Aquifer's recharge zone.
Ken Brown, an attorney and lobbyist representing Gunn Honda, a dealership that had wanted to relocate to the recharge zone, said that he expects that council members will nix the proposal.
“They will shoot it down,” said Brown, who indicated that the measure would have few supporters at the council meeting.
“There's no sense in going and getting kicked in the groin. It's a loss. You can't win that one.”
The proposed change to the city's unified development code would allow an auto dealership on the recharge zone to also have auto body and auto repair operations if it receives special approval from the council.
A now-defunct technical advisory committee recommended the amendment. The San Antonio Water System and the Zoning Commission oppose it.
Richard Alles, a member of Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas, a recently reconstituted local environmental group, said hazardous chemicals stored and used at such facilities would pose a threat to the aquifer.
Granting auto dealerships the right to possibly operate such facilities on the recharge zone also would set an awful precedent that might end up allowing stand-alone auto body and repair shops in the environmentally sensitive area, Alles said.
“If these auto dealers are allowed to operate paint and body shops, then the independent operators will rightfully be able to complain that they should be allowed the same right,” Alles said.
Brown said that if city does not change its rules to accommodate auto dealerships, they would likely instead build elsewhere in the recharge zone outside city limits or anywhere in the aquifer's contributing zone.
The recharge zone is where surface water enters directly into the aquifer through caves, sinkholes and other openings.
The contributing zone is where rivers and creeks collect rainfall and runoff that flow into the recharge zone and feed the aquifer.
Scientists say that both zones are essential to the aquifer, San Antonio's primary source of drinking water.
Last year, Gunn Honda opted to relocate to another area known as the contributing zone within the transition zone. Pollutants in this area can enter the aquifer directly through openings at the site or indirectly as runoff that is carried into the recharge zone.
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AGUA 2004 - Kicking Groin...
From the San Antonio Express-News
Council likely to reject plan to allow auto shops in recharge zone
By Christopher Anderson
Express-News Staff Writer
Web Posted : 01/07/2004 2:59 PM
The San Antonio City Council is expected to reject a controversial measure on Thursday that would allow auto dealerships to perhaps have auto body and auto repair shops in the Edwards Aquifer's recharge zone.
Ken Brown, an attorney and lobbyist representing Gunn Honda, a dealership that had wanted to relocate to the recharge zone, said that he expects that council members will nix the proposal.
“They will shoot it down,” said Brown, who indicated that the measure would have few supporters at the council meeting.
“There's no sense in going and getting kicked in the groin. It's a loss. You can't win that one.”
The proposed change to the city's unified development code would allow an auto dealership on the recharge zone to also have auto body and auto repair operations if it receives special approval from the council.
A now-defunct technical advisory committee recommended the amendment. The San Antonio Water System and the Zoning Commission oppose it.
Richard Alles, a member of Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas, a recently reconstituted local environmental group, said hazardous chemicals stored and used at such facilities would pose a threat to the aquifer.
Granting auto dealerships the right to possibly operate such facilities on the recharge zone also would set an awful precedent that might end up allowing stand-alone auto body and repair shops in the environmentally sensitive area, Alles said.
“If these auto dealers are allowed to operate paint and body shops, then the independent operators will rightfully be able to complain that they should be allowed the same right,” Alles said.
Brown said that if city does not change its rules to accommodate auto dealerships, they would likely instead build elsewhere in the recharge zone outside city limits or anywhere in the aquifer's contributing zone.
The recharge zone is where surface water enters directly into the aquifer through caves, sinkholes and other openings.
The contributing zone is where rivers and creeks collect rainfall and runoff that flow into the recharge zone and feed the aquifer.
Scientists say that both zones are essential to the aquifer, San Antonio's primary source of drinking water.
Last year, Gunn Honda opted to relocate to another area known as the contributing zone within the transition zone. Pollutants in this area can enter the aquifer directly through openings at the site or indirectly as runoff that is carried into the recharge zone.
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USGS finds Contaminants in the Edwards Aquifer
The frequencies of detection of herbicides and insecticides in recently recharged urban ground water in northern San Antonio (Edwards aquifer recharge zone) ranked among the highest 25 and 30 percent, respectively, of frequencies of detection in urban shallow ground water across the country.
For more click here.
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USGS finds Contaminants in the Edwards Aquifer
The frequencies of detection of herbicides and insecticides in recently recharged urban ground water in northern San Antonio (Edwards aquifer recharge zone) ranked among the highest 25 and 30 percent, respectively, of frequencies of detection in urban shallow ground water across the country.
For more click here.
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Join AGUA in Supporting the Greater Edward Aquifer Alliance.
THE EDWARDS AQUIFER DECLARATION
The Edwards Aquifer Ecosystem of Central Texas is one of our most valuable, irreplaceable, and endangered public treasures. It is both our right and our civic duty to preserve and protect the Aquifer, its contributing Hill Country watersheds, its Great Springs, and its native biodiversity in perpetuity for the benefit of all citizens and all future generations. We invite everyone to join with us who hold the following principles in common.
* Water is necessary to life; therefore, water must be conserved, reclaimed and protected for all future generations and its natural patterns respected.
* Water is a fundamental human right and a public trust to be guarded by all levels of government.
* The water in aquifers, rivers and lakes should not be privatized nor treated as a mere commodity to be sold or traded for commercial purpose.
* Local communities must be respected as equal partners with governments in the protection and regulation of water.
To see the entire Declaration click here
Join AGUA in Supporting the Greater Edward Aquifer Alliance.
THE EDWARDS AQUIFER DECLARATION
The Edwards Aquifer Ecosystem of Central Texas is one of our most valuable, irreplaceable, and endangered public treasures. It is both our right and our civic duty to preserve and protect the Aquifer, its contributing Hill Country watersheds, its Great Springs, and its native biodiversity in perpetuity for the benefit of all citizens and all future generations. We invite everyone to join with us who hold the following principles in common.
* Water is necessary to life; therefore, water must be conserved, reclaimed and protected for all future generations and its natural patterns respected.
* Water is a fundamental human right and a public trust to be guarded by all levels of government.
* The water in aquifers, rivers and lakes should not be privatized nor treated as a mere commodity to be sold or traded for commercial purpose.
* Local communities must be respected as equal partners with governments in the protection and regulation of water.
To see the entire Declaration click here
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