On Tuesday October 1,  The bottom of the Comal Springs' Main Spring run was covered with an inch of flowing water all over except still the big opening in the cliff had no flow.  Also,  immediately prior to Oct 1 the aquifer rose high enough (over 635msl at J17 index well)  not to trigger (for this next year) the VISPO payout of public money to private groundwater permitees who "volunteer" for themselves to be paid public money  to agree not to pump part of their permit even though they could still be draining the aquifer with their other permits anyway.   What many citizens dont realize is whether the aquifer recovers or continues to drop can be manipulated to which ever will give the groundwater permitees the most profit,  maybe they were afraid of setting precedent with  the pay out to themselves with public money at too low a dollar amount so they decided to stop leaving the aquifer so low for this year so they could set a higher payout amount to occur upon the trigger date next year.  Don't expect the aquifer level to all of the sudden rise high enough to avoid VISPO next year if these current aquifer directors stay in control for their own benefit. They will make management of the aquifer pumping work so that the aquifer stays in crisis as much as possible and so they can make the most money from that.   Most of these EAA directors and the largest pumping permit holders have been making or influencing  decisions that are counter to keeping our large Comal Springs flowing.

On Thursday Oct 3, The small depth of water covering the bottom of Spring run1 stopped flowing as the seeping from below stopped upwelling. Now the water is still and drying up again.Late last week.  I wonder which wells quit pumping.  We may never know.  The Golf course near the main Comal spring and around some of the other Comal springs at Landa Park has been closed by the city of New Braunfels and it will remain closed through the year of 2014 prior to Jan. 1, 2014 preparations are being made to start an Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Project that may destroy what still remains of a great deal of Paleo Indian and Native American cultural heritage.(due to being covered by the golf Course)  After installing a new under-turf structure to control nutrients, a new turf will be installed, it will take over a year.  Some archeological exploration independent of and not controlled by the City of New Braunfels needs to occur that has a reputation of hiding artifacts and not making Paleo/Native american discoveries known.  However, there has been no existing Native American group take an intrest is overseeing and protecting these artifacts.

Protect Texas Water. 

Tell Texas Leaders from state to local levels we demand access, openness and accountablity to hold them responsible to remedy existing and prevent future over allocation (beyond sustainable yield) and contamination of Texas waters and groundwater and that public dollars should not be used to compensate or pay back water or groundwater permitees to reduce their already over allocated permit amounts. Most surface waters ( outside of flood events) in Texas depend upon our aquifers. Texas water is for all our people who live in Texas communities (including Native and Mexican Americans) and ecosystems. Texas Water and groundwater is not for commercial or private profit. Tell our State leaders and agency directors we do not want them giving companies the right to control access to water that should be available and of high quality to all life in Texas. Also we do want our taxes and public funds to be used and not held back for protection and clean up of water and groundwater quality especially in areas known to currently be associated with declines in human health. Also we DO WANT our public funds used to develop and implement more water conservation, reuse and non aquifer storage and supply technologies especially for storing and using rainwater on large and small scales first instead of or prior to making any plans and programs of blending treated but still contaminated salt or fresh water or groundwater into our public drinking water supply. We do not want our bodies used to filter contaminated waters nor our ecosystems contaminated with brine or toxic waste products.

Please sign the petition Stop Texas Water Hogs, it includes actions protect water quality for All Texans too.

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-texas-water-hogs.fb31?source=s.fb&r_by=5449175

Speak up for the water security of all Texans.  

Make sure water conservation is a highest priority at all levels of public water management.  Your health and well being, economic security and childrens’ future will be better if you do.

Tell our State leaders and agency directors we do not want them giving companies the right to control access to water that should be available to all Texans.

 Please sign this" Help Stop Texas Water Hogs!" petition and spread the word. 

Look who just signed my petition:! JC Dufresne, State Democratic Executive Committeeman SD25, President Dem's Café,
Recipient of the 2012 Buck Massey Legacy of Leadership Award!!

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-texas-water-hogs

Petition Background

Stop Texas Water Hogs. Existing and proposed water strategies adopted by our state and regional water boards and districts give companies the right to control access to water that should be available to all Texans. Water hogs  already cause water insecurity and threaten harm to our State, its people, economies, public health and to ecosystems we depend upon. Our state, regional and district level water/groundwater plans and rules and proposed plans only assess risks to Water Hogs and their profits and are not protecting the public and not helping Texans sustain our water supply for the benefit of the people and are not helping to minimize risks and costs to the public.

A list of Harmful water management activities that must be remedied immediately:

 The Edwards Aquifer groundwater needs rescuing as if it were a neglected elder in a poorly managed nursing home at the mercy of  Aquifer Authority directors who are allowed to manage their own elections and manage to have no elections as if they were a private groundwater profiteers club  in a system that allows for no correction. The aquifer management is undergoing a lot of management programs involving a lot of people but the priorities are focused upon private profits and not on protection of the aquifer.

I urge citizens to write their leaders and governor and insist upon  a moratorium on current agreements and prohibit future agreements of any Municipalities in which they agree   not  t o hold Edwards Groundwater pumpers liable for damages to their cities and citizens caused by over allocation and over-pumping of groundwater or resulting declines in water and groundwater quality and quantity.

Also to recall the amendment in the  Federal  US Endangered  Species Act  that  was implemented in 2000  that requires stakeholder steering committees(instead of  science experts)  to  vote upon which model designs, data inputs and assumptions to allow scientists to use in  advising and assessing risks  for  the determination of minimum springflows and instream flows to the coast.

Stop profiteering from causing declines in Texas surface water and groundwater quality, quantity and availability now! This year we are not in our worst drought but we are headed toward our state’s worst water crisis because of groundwater profiteering and aquifer management policies and laws that have accelerated the significant decline of our aquifers.

Texas citizens have been abandoned to the mercy of groundwater profiteers causing an end to spring flows, surface water flows and an end to high water quality with immediate severe declines in wildlife and human health, and punctuated aquifer depletions around much of Texas. It is also blocking progress toward efficient water use, reuse and conservation and non-aquifer water storage and supply alternatives.

Citizens of Texas deserve correction and  immediate  remedy  for harmful management strategy decisions and leadership  focused upon maximizing groundwater profits  by the State legislature and the  Edwards Aquifer Board of Directors over the last 13 years and out of current groundwater districts set up to function like the current Edwards Aquifer Authority board.  Not only have they not been successful in managing pumping and groundwater quality  for protection of the public good but their decisions to make groundwater profiteering a priority have made a very dangerous situation for our groundwater, our aquatic habitats, our economies and our health.  

1) Demand immediate  dismissal of all Edwards Aquifer Authority Board directors and HCP implementation committees and place a moratorium on rules and legislation involving groundwater marketing programs, Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan and SB3 critical period strategies which set a priority on maximizing pumping.  Distortions by the Edwards Aquifer Authority board implementing harmful management and HCP strategies that drain the Edwards aquifer are harming our groundwater resources and spring flows.   We insist that the Texas Water development Board determine and implement immediate limits upon pumping so that  ALL withdrawals allowed and permitted do not total more than  the sustainable for the aquifer  then set in action  standard s and  methods of water conservation and non aquifer water storage and supply  strategies  to achieve that amount of aquifer withdrawal permitting. We further insist that the TWDB take over the budgeting of aquifer fees and budgeting of pumping management and groundwater quality protection.

2) Insist that TWDB immediately develop and implement Critical period pumping permit reductions to be applied to critical periods and result in the necessary and appropriate reduction in pumping during critical periods (which is not happening now).

3) Demand an end to the Edwards aquifer authority and other groundwater districts being considered “special boards” that manage their own elections.  No aquifer board member(s) should be allowed to draw their own district lines or manage their own election(s) or to appoint who fills either their own or other district’s positions. Each position must be filled by an election from their district’s voters and when vacated emergency elections in the district must be held. In addition there must exist recall procedures for the district to be allowed to call an emergency election for recall if a petition for recall captures a number of signatures equal to or greater than 20% of the number of voters voting in the last election for that seat.  At this time there are no recall procedures.

4)Insist  that groundwater boards including the Edwards Aquifer be legislatively structured to not allow those with large amounts of groundwater permitted or those invested in businesses involved with large  groundwater withdrawals  or profits resulting from large permits or withdrawals to serve on the board due to conflicts of interest.

5) In the interim of this restructuring,   insist  that the Texas Water development Board decide with their own experts cooperation with USGS and  the USFWS  what amount of pumping should be allowed at this time and how to use conservation,  reuse and non-aquifer storage to best attempt to balance supply and demand and how pumping sustainably at this time shall be managed, monitored and enforced.  Then the stakeholders can determine between themselves how to best regionally accomplish what the TWDB, USGS and the USFWS require while making a highest priority to obtain a balance between supply and demand without endangering our spring flows and water quality both surface and ground. ( Our current Edwards Aquifer stakeholder steering committee voted not to consider balancing water supply and demand and not to consider  water quality in spring fed streams as  within their scope.)

6) Insist that no public money be used to buy down or suspend all or any parts of groundwater permits and for them not to be considered property to be traded or sold among private interests or outside of spring system and watershed boundaries. (Which means canceling the scheduled Oct 1, 2013 initiation of VISPO  if the aquifer is below 635 at J17 index well.  The Edwards Aquifer HCP strategy VISPO would pay back permitees who volunteer not to use the part of their permit they can not market anyway,   while they continue to profit and drain the aquifer with the rest of their permit.  That will not result in reducing the aquifer drawdowns and will provide incentive for keeping the aquifer at dangerously low levels.

7) Insist upon the Texas Water development board development of aquifer contamination prevention and clean up strategies and water conservation and reuse technologies and non-Aquifer water storage and supply to balance water supply and demand without having to rely upon more than our state’s aquifers’ sustainable yields and for groundwater permit holders (if groundwater marketing) not be allowed to influence the research and development of these technologies.

8) Insist upon immediate accounting of all pumping by real time metering  and water uses and the application of standards of water conservation to the determination of permit amounts.

9) Insist upon strict protective management with respect to both wildlife and human health , well monitored, enforced recharge zone protection, water shed protection riparian zone protection, groundwater quality protection and clean up rules be immediately developed and implemented by the TWDB,  the TCEQ,  the Texas Department of Public health, US Geological Survey and State and federal  soil conservation services  including protections from conditions that favor harmful aquatic microbes including harmful sewage microbes and that favor types of  freshwater and marine algae and plankton that are beneficial so that the free ecosystem services that are saving our tax payers money will be sustained.

10) Insist that aquifer management fees be used for both management of pumping and groundwater quality and that the public money managed by aquifer boards not ever again be used for the directors to lobby and that a minimum amount of aquifer withdrawal fees be budgeted each year for groundwater and spring run water quality protection rule development, monitoring and enforcement of existing water quality rules.

11) Insist upon an immediate moratorium to the use of karst aquifers for Edwards Aquifer Authority Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) permitting rules which allow application of extreme pressures and injecting water or other substances into karst aquifers and a moratorium on  the use of Edwards Aquifer for industrial cooling because these physical alterations threaten to shift underground formations in ways that can result in cutting off and changing  for many generations current historical flow paths to springs and wells or in contamination of  both underground and surface water supplies. (Karst Aquifers are not considered by geotechnical standards to be qualified to hold and store injected waters in place or for such activities to warrant the permitting of extra groundwater allocation  for marketing to  landowners where this is allowed). (These Practices in the Edwards Aquifer region, although formerly prohibited,  are all authorized currently by the Edwards Aquifer Authority and by TCEQ.   If this is what caused the cessation of the largest of the Comal Springs, then it may not resume for many generations if ever).  Both low flows of colder older spring water and also Rock Quarry Industry use of the Edwards Aquifer for cooling disrupts the natural buffering against temperature changes in the springruns so that when temperature is not constant from top to bottom, density layers occur with warmer, lighter water on top capping off colder, heavier water on the bottom in spring runs and contribute to hypoxia (low dissolved oxygen).  Increases in temperature, water layering  and declines in dissolved oxygen were already occurring in Comal Springs’ major springruns at river flows below 150 cfs and contributing to conditions known to promote  harmful aquatic organism. Since 2009 these layers have occurred in the Comal River and in August of 2013, the main Comal spring ceased to flow indefinitely and dried up much of the spring run.  Now, in  late September 2013,  the Edwards Aquifer region currently experienced a major rain event caused by simultaneous hurricanes from the Pacific and the Atlantic but still five of the ceased major Comal Springs ( which have not completely ceased since 1956)  did not resume flow.

Sincerely, Cheryl Gilpin Former Edwards Aquifer Director District 8, M.Sc. Oceanography

Ancient Waters Foundation
Photo is of Cheryl Gilpin at Comal Spring #1, the "Main Spring" in Landa Park New Braunfels on August 24, 2013   after it was pumped dry ( no one knows when it first ceased).  on September 1, 2013, Morning low Dissolved oxygen here in a small but largest puddle that was left in the springrun bed in front of the main spring   was 2.2 mg/l a level lower than  TCEQ standard (5 mg/L)  and known to promote harmful microbes. and is below the tolerance level of the endangered fountain darter.   Dissolved oxygen levels below 4mg/l have never been recorded here before.

Causes/incentives:
1.  over allocated pumping permits with no standards of conservation applied (started 2000)
2.  No pumping legislated critical period  reductions required to take place during the time of critical periods.(started 2007 after SB3) Senate Bill 3 required percentages of  pumping reductions to occur at certain triggers of  critical period stages.  But in the Edwards Aquifer authority rcritical period rules drafted by its board of directors to implement SB3, the thing that is triggered is a notice to groundwater umping permittees that their end of year permit will be reduced by the fraction of days in a year we are in critical period multiplied by the % reduction mandated by the legislature.  Then the EAA directors told the state legislature that they can not manage any reductions on less than an annual basis for annual pumping permits because it would be too hard to do.
3. Municipalities made unneccessary agreement with the regions pumpers not to hold them liable for damages to their cities.(started 2013 after Habiat Conservation PLan was approved by USFWS even though there had been no assessment of risks to water quality in the Comal River or plan to minimize harm to water quality or funding mechanism developed to do so, thus technically USFWS was not supposed to have approved that.
and on OCtober 1, 2013 there will be an advance critical period stage triggered that will ad more incentive to pumping and profits to groundwater marketers and threats to more rapidly permanently spoil the Water supply capacity of the Edwards Aquifer. Here is how that will work:

October 1,2013 in the aquifer management strategy called the Edwards Aquifer  Habitat Conservation Plan, is when VISPO will be triggered if the aquifer levels do not go up at the San Antonio monitoring well J 17.
VISPO means Voluntary Irrigation Suspension Program.  That sounds rational and good but it is neither.  What that strategy involves is paying with public funds from aquifer pumping fees to  private individual groundwater permit holders who volunteered to reduce part of their groundwater permits because they were way over allocated groundwater pumping rights to begin with and because they will still be able to pump or market the rest of their groundwater permit with no restriction during critical period when it costs the most.  Now the really be problem besides increasing incentives to keep the aquifer overpumped,  is that this will set a legal precedent in history that will legally make all the Edwards Aquifer groundwater pumping permits vested property rights from now on by for the first time in history paying back some permit holders for reducing their permit amounts.  They had to over pump the aquifer real good first to make the public think it might be a good idea for them to be paid to reduce pumping but the language to provide pay back for reducing pumping permits has been the EAA pumping rules for over ten years and it is against the Edwards Aquifer Authority Act original language which prohibits the consideration of the permits as private private rights requiring pay back to reduce and the ACT states that when permits are reduced that makes the value of the remaining amount of groundwater worth more per acre/ft/yr.
After we initiate VISPO on Oct 1, 2013 then forever more any time we try to reduce the way over allocated pumping permits amounts and anytime permit holders cant get enough water out of their wells as they are permitted in a year then they get paid back with our aquifer fees.  THAT is a serious problem because it will discourage strategies to reduce pumping permits to be closer to the sustainable freshwater supply yield of the aquifer, and because when we can no longer get any fresh or any freshwater out of the wells we must spend public money paying the permitees back instead of  paying for non aquifer alternative water UNLESS we keep buying thier water even if we have to desalinated and take out the contamination from the bad water that seeped into their wells when the aquifer was too low.  BAsically what this increased pumping and drying of COmal SPrings is all about this year is a big experiment to see how groundwater marketing profits can be maximized without anyregard to either surface water or underground water quality impacts.  And it is also about an excuse that the public will agree with for having to initiate vesting the pumping permits as private property rights requiring payback if they are decrease and as per the EAA permit rule language requring buy back from over ten years ago, the buy back will have to be at Market Value which will always make more profit the longer we are in critical period.  IF you dont understand all of htis trust me its a BAD DEAL for PUBLIC WATER SECURITY, HEALTH AND SAFETY and discourages other strategies that more typically used that more reasonably increase  water security that  avoid and minimize critical periods like Water conservation and reuse technologies, rainwater harvesting and any types of nonaquifer water storage. (these strategies dont increase groundwater marketing profits)
Gee doesnt that sound like how are State Water PLan strategies look right now HMMMMMMMMM. 

Do we think we can get by with never balancing water supply and demand forever.  Didn't we learn a lesson from Enron about their poor accounting.  But the water agencies are very careful to not do the accounting of risks and harms all on the same books as the profits so we cant see the impacts til it is tooo late there is alot of multiple bookkeepping to keep impacts from overpumping from showing up and there is a lack of collecting pumping and flow and well data at proper times and places to show impacts. but after we are screwed out of this wonderful water supply resource and after a few groundwater marketers make a whole lot of money, Suieng profiteers wont do any good because we cant drink money and water shortages are increasing all the time on this planet and our water supply security and quality will never again be provided as well as it is now nor as affordably.  In other places were this has happened economic security also collapses and food security collapses and poverty becomes much worse, public health declines  and people get pissed and go to war within their own country.  Historically this first started around the world  with water but in more recent history we see this going with oil and gas.  Shortages of oil and gas have meant profit and power for a few people but NOTHING like the profits and Power that come with Water shortage for private water profiteers. IS that where want to go?    Thinking more locally the way other groundwater districts are being set up and managed is by following the examples and precedents set in the management of the Edwards Aquifer in Texas, and other states and countries are looking to model their groundwater management like the Edwards Aquifer is managed in Texas too.  I'm sure to their profiteers this will seem like a great plan since the profiteers dont get left with the burdens and risks they cause the public.

Read and share this and join Ancient Waters Foundation to save Comal Springflows and Aquifer health and well levels now. Ancient Waters Foundation is a politically neutral,  native ,   Latino and minority cultural heritage organization committed to aquifer protection for social and environmental justice, and advocacy until fair trade, justice and healthy waters  flow sustainably in South Central Texas.

Can you please send this information   to the others  intrested to join individually or in groups.  consider joining this group to make positive steps to safeguard us against the negative impacts of groundwater contamination, privatization and overpumping.

We can share ideas for Water Conservation projects and education outreach and video tape our groups doing these things and singing the songs on the blog below to promote care for our Comal springs and aquifer too.  Send me these videos and I will complile them on a website to show aquifer managment decision makers.

Thanks Cheryl  Gilpin, former Edwards Aquifer director elected from New Braunfels.

Springflows in Comal River  http://www.edwardsaquifer.net/comal.html

 and pumping in New BRaunfels and permanent Damage to the water supply capacity of the Edwards Aquifer is about to be upon us in NB more severely and worse and start first here in NB and its going to hurt our Latino COmmunity the worse because the impacts are ignored and their is no stakeholder voice speaking up against these impacts on the Latinos in our communities at the Spring end of this San Antonio part of the  Edwards Aquifer.

I want to gather support so I can seek help for our group by the support of some international groups that protect and safeguard Latino and native cultures from these types of powers and greedy take overs of water supplies so they are not allowed to damage our economies and public health.

Please see below information about  Ancient Waters Foundation  and consider joining this group to make positive steps to safeguard us against the negative impacts of groundwater contamination, privatization and overpumping.

Ancient  Waters  Foundation : a politically neutral,  native ,   Latino and minority cultural heritage organization committed to aquifer protection for social and environmental justice, and advocacy until fair trade, justice and healthy waters  flow sustainably in South Central Texas.

The mission of the Ancient Waters Foundation is to support aquifer water quantity and quality for humans and wildlife and for preservation of springs of paleo, native, Latino and minority cultural heritage and well being of existing native and  Latino and minority  cultures in the Americas who respect the world’s aquifers in their efforts to protect their environment and fulfil their rights to water, land, life and livelihood by assisting them in:

1. Securing and controlling their ownership or access to affordable healthy aquifer resources and aquifer management and education necessary for their long term health and economic well being and managing these resources in ways which do not harm their environment, violate their culture or compromise their health or economic  future.
2. Developing mechanisms of environmental, economic and consumer practices and protection for their individual and collective social, economic  and environmental rights and obtain, shape and control basic expectations regarding policies and management of water ecosystems and water supply and demand management and water markets.(waters is a term inclusive of surface and groundwater).

Current projects are involved in restoration of healthy aquifer water, well levels  and major springflows of the Edwards, Trinity, Carrizo- Wilcox and Gulf Coast Aquifers in Texas starting with aquifer clean up in Center for Disease Control Cancer cluster zipcodes in Bexar and Comal Counties with known aquifer contamination,   restoration of drought time Comal Springflows and Edwards Aquifer well levels which are in a state of crisis due to ovepumping and inadequate pumping management at this time. Paleocultures lived along the Comal River 5000-2000 years ago. Comal Springflows are the largest west of the Mississippi river and management of its aquifer’s pumping impacts Latino communities from Del Rio to Austin and all the watersheds from the Lower Colorado to Rio Grande rivers from their spring fed head waters to the coast. The population majority in most of this region is of  Latino heritage.  This region experiences world record breaking droughts and its surface flows are primarily composed springflows during non-flood periods even more so  during the worst droughts so many diverse endemic species are also threatened by mismanagement of pumping in this region.

If you would like to be a member please copy paste and Email Contact information below  to  ancientwatersfoundation@gmail.com 

Ancient Waters Foundation Membership  Information:

Do you want a newsletter emailed  Yes or No

May we list your name as a member?_Yes  or No…….

May we list your Contact info on membership directory? Yes or No

Name:________________________________________________________

Address:______________________________________________________ Cultural Ethnicity/Nationality_____________Local aquifer(s)if known______

Email:_______________________________________________________

phone:(   )-     -______________ Major concerns:__________________  

___________________________________________________________

Why lots of people need to join and get active right away within next two weeks:

At the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan Drought planning meeting held on September 3,2013,

In the absense of up to date biological monitoring data , absence of any information about pumping levels and the factors influencing them or about water conservation implementation around the region, the stakeholders panel considering  recommendations about drought management decided everything was fine and no changes need to be made in stakeholder  strategies and pumping management. Meanwhile we are experiencing record breaking drops in aquifer levels in a typical drought period in which Comal Springs normally would be flowing but now all the major spring run endangered species habtiats are dried up except one that is only half dried up.  Not one stakeholder or entity involved with monitoring responsibilities knew when these springs stopped flowing or how low the night time oxygen levels were dropping at the major Comal springruns (never with adequate flow has this happen and only once before in 1956)  these are now about totally dried up. By Oct 1 if aquifer levels dont go up from where they are now today we will be in a stage in which we will for the first time history start vesting groundwater pumping permits by paying private pumpin permitees our aquifer fees to volunteer not to pump part of their permits while they continue to use the rest of their over allocated permits with no restrictions to reduce pumping during critical period.  This plan was widely protested most in the western countie and those counties refused to sign off on the Habitat Conservation Plan because of the impact that encourgeing overpumping in drought would cause to the economies, property values and  public health of most of the citizens in these agricultural counties while only a few people would be hogging up alot of  profits trading groundwater during critical period (when they can charge the most).  Not only that but the water and aquifer conditions around the Comal are so much worse than expected (much worse than they depicted at the meeting) that City of New BRaunfels is heading for some law suits and fines for not tracking and maintaining high water quality while the pumpers keep pumping at flows above 90% less than average flow but we already are causing alot of loss of endangered individuals and loss of habitat and loss of springflows that HCP modeling did not indicate would happen. City of New Braunfels was told they did not have to agree to such low flows or taking on the responsibility for the survival of the species away from the pumpers and leaving the bill on NB taxpayers but our City Council insisted on making that agreement with the pumpers anyway at the advise of NBU.  That means Citizens and businesses of New Braunfels not San Antonio next month if the aquifer levels keep dropping like this may be the first to have their Edwards Aquifer pumping turned off and we citizens may have even higher tax increases to cover fines and lawsuits over allowing the water quality to get so bad and kill endangered species. and that means the city is likely going to give us citizens Trinity water that they may not know how to remove all the known contaminants and also have to transport in at great expense water they will  be buying at a very high crisis scalping  price.  For the wealthy in town it may not be a big deal but for the Hispanic and lower income citizens it will likely threaten to worsen their health and economic well being and property values. I hope others will join me in requesting the drought planning meeting be called again next week and include the missing needed information required to make a well thought out determination of the causes and impacts of abnormal these fast dropping aquifer levels immediately since springflows are ceasing much faster and wter quality declining much worse than expected and because of the consequences that will be very severe on the minorities in New Braunfels.  However, the obstacle to that happening is that the stakeholders of the HCP voted that such impacts were not in their scope since City of New BRaunfels agreed to be responsible.  Meanwhile Stakeholders that care alot about San Marcos Springs and are please to have the HCP in place for them are ready for our springsflows and our New braunfels minorities to take a hit since our leaders are so gullable and they think that leaves all the other stakeholders better off but it really will hurt everyone as it causes alot of permanent decline in the freshwater holding capacity of the Edwards aquifer a problem that there is no adequate remedy for.  There are no stakeholder positions voting on this who represent the latino intrests in the spring end of the Aquifer or in the Western Counties of the Edwards Auifer.  If there were it would be possible to bring forth their analysis and suggestions to minimize harmful impacts and improve pumping management and stakeholder strategies.  We need active citizens to demand consideration of proper data on impacts and new meeting to reconisder needed improvements immediately.

Cheryl Gilpin Biography

Cheryl Gilpin Biography by Lendon Gilpin  copyright  2013

Cheryl Gilpin first began studying algae and aquatic field ecology in the 1970s as a student at Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth, Texas where she was trained and mentored by biology professors at University of Texas At Arlington.  Her work earned her a Bausch and Lomb science award and two scholarships.  She earned a B.S. in Aquatic Biology with minors in Chemistry and Environmental Law from Stephen F. Austin State University and later earned a M.Sc. in Oceanography from Texas A&M School of Geoscience.  She has been a visiting scholar at universities in Japan, Canada, Italy and Iowa, and several universities in Texas.  Ms. Gilpin has been trained and obtained certifications in water and wastewater treatment, FEMA emergency management and conflict mediation.  She has done consulting work for Texas Engineering Extension Service, Brazos River Authority, Lower Colorado River Authority, UT-Pan American, U.S. Geological Survey in Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, University of North Texas, among others.  She has also been a consultant for marine and oceanographic research projects.  Ms. Gilpin served as a Director on the Edwards Aquifer Authority Board (District 8, Comal Co) from 2002-2004. She has a Texas composite science teaching certification and formally taught middle school science.  She has experience developing and presenting workshops for science teacher training, watershed best management practices, rainwater harvesting and water conservation and has been a university teaching assistant for undergraduate classes in Botany, Environmental Law, and Photomicroscopy for Communications majors  and participated professionally in many environmental and water resource hearings.  Her plankton identification skills (taxonomy)  are sought after internationally since they are of a very rare and high level of expertise gained from over thirty years of taxonomic work in various types of freshwater and marine ecological habitats.  Her photomicroscopy skills are much sought after for scientific research and for public outreach and as fine art.  She is an author for UK- microscopy Micscape Online Magazine. She examines the tiny species that leave paleo-records and finds indicator species that  influence environmental conditions and stresses.  In between environmental consulting jobs she has  worked as an engineering tech in an aerospace company and at a Texas Transportation Instititute where she investigated pedestrian safety and High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) travel time improvements. Frequently she travels, but when she is at home she likes following water resource policy hearings and meetings related to Comal Springs in her hometown of New Braunfels, Texas,  where she has lived over 20 years.  This is an interest she shares with her husband Lendon Gilpin assistant director for nearly twenty years at the Edwards Aquifer Research and Data Center at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.  Both Cheryl and her husband Lendon  did their masters thesis research on subjects related to the Edwards Aquifer and their son Mark Allen held  an intern  position as historian,  researching the drought of the 1950s in the Edwards aquifer region. If anyone wants to find Cheryl and talk to her they had better be prepared to get wet and become very excited along with her about  little slimy things and learn about all the ways they provide free ecosystem services that save taxpayers a lot of money.

Check Out Raffi's Evergreen Everblue!!
http://www.artistdirect.com/video/raffi-evergreen-everblue/50879#PyusO1m8Igd5xgUd.01

Herald Zietung Newspaper about Comal Spring 1 drying up with over 40 comments

Humans out of sync, out of harmony with nature

Posted: Friday, August 16, 2013 11:56 pm

http://herald-zeitung.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_648beb94-06f9-11e3-b2f2-0019bb2963f4.html?_dc=265441646566.6145

Tweeters note Comal Springs starting to go dry

Posted: Saturday, August 17, 2013 10:00 pm

By Greg Bowen New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung

http://herald-zeitung.com/news/local_news/article_70b6261e-07b2-11e3-8020-001a4bcf887a.html

Sing and Share ideas  about Comal  Springflows
From Cheryl Gilpin seacheyl@gmail.com

To  community of New Braunfels, Texas.

I wrote some Lyrics about Comal Springs to melodies sung by Arlo Guthrie and by Raffi. (http://www.artistdirect.com/video/raffi-evergreen-everblue/50879#PyusO1m8Igd5xgUd.01) These are for my community to rally love and stewardship for Comal Springflows.

Please pass on these lyrics to all your organizations and churches,  and to friends in other organizations. Sing this at your next gatherings, make a video recording  and send a link  to me for me to compile with others.  My email is  seacheyl at gmail dot com.

Also please email me your ideas and suggestions,  I really hope to get lots of positive suggestions to share about water conservation and improvements to land and water use practices (gardeners too) and large and small scale rainwater harvesting and systems of non sewage  water reuse .   I will make a website and share these.  Our Comal main spring doesn’t have to keep looking like it did in 1956, this is even worse for our aquifer today.  Edwards aquifer  levels are dropping at a unusually very extreme rate.  Massive take of endangered species are occurring but agencies are looking the other way as if this is what was planned and as if this is acceptable.  Still, inspite of state legislature mandate,  there is no aquifer agency level requirement by the aquifer critical period management for permitted pumpers to reduce pumping during the time of critical period.

Song 1

These Springs are your Springs

Lyrics copyright by Little Miss Biosphere, Cheryl Gilpin  

(melody:  “This land is your land”)

These springs are your springs,

these springs are my springs,

From the high plateau  (highland hills),

To the coastal wetlands.

From the Edwards Aquifer,

To the Aransas Refuge,

Comal Springs*  were made for you and me.   *(Other names of hill country springs and their features can be substituted)

On the Balcones Cliff,

I stood in wonder,

At the rush of water,

and the constant cooling.

And way down under,

I heard a whisper,

Comal Springs were made for you and me.

Springfish are darting,

Amphipods swim sideways,

Water Pennies hang  tightly,

In the riffle pools.

In a climate of drought

Cool water keeps flowing
When its healthy for springlife
its healthy for people.

Comal Springs were made for you and me.

When it comes to pumping

I tell you what (2 syllables) wha…at

It really sucks I tell you why (a tempo)

Laws protect pumpers

 that suck our springs dry

Comal Springs were made for you and me.

I f you wanna protect springs

Now you must speak up.

Before the water hogs

suck it all up

Cold flows make it healthy

For people and critters at the same time (a tempo)

Saving Comal Springflow is up to you and me.

___________________________________________________________________________-

Comal Springs were made for you and me.

ONE MORE TIME:

Comal Springflow is up to you and me

__________________________________________________________________________

These springs are your springs

These springs are my springs

From the highland hills

To the coastal wetlands

From the Edwards Aquifer

To the Aransas refuge

Comal springs were made for you and me.

(AND the Whooping Cranes too!!)  

Song 2

Comal Springflows are up to me and up to you.Lyrics copyright 2013 by Little Miss Biosphere Cheryl Gilpin  Melody from Raffi song “Evergreen Everblue.”

               Chorus:  From  our heart,  Planet Earth

Comal Springs are  speaking,  Chorus

Reduce   pumping during drought time, Chorus

The Aquifer must not be ruined, Chorus

Extinctions must be avoided, Chorus

Forevergreen, Foreverblue, Comal Springs have flowed eternal,  We have to let them continue.

Forevergreen, foreverblue, Comal Springflows are up to me and up to you.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Water is for life, Chorus

Water is for living, Chorus

Water is not for profit, Chorus

We can not drink money, Chorus

Forevergreen, Foreverblue, Comal Springs have flowed eternal, We have to see them continue

Forevergreen, foreverblue, Comal Springflows are up to me and up to you.

The Edwards Aquifer is sacred, Chorus

Comal Springs are  Holy, Chorus

We are interconnected, Chorus

We must partner with nature, Chorus

Forevergreen, Foreverblue, Comal Springs have flowed eternal, We have to see them continue

Forevergreen, foreverblue, Comal Springflows are up to me and up to you.

We must catch the rainfall, Chorus

Don’t wait just do it, Chorus

Make your own place for skywater, Chorus

Make your own place for water reuse, Chorus

Reduce pumping during drought time, Chorus

Just do things with less water, Chorus

Forevergreen, Foreverblue, Comal Springs have flowed eternal, We have to see them continue

Forevergreen, foreverblue, Comal Springflows are up to me and up to you. 

If you can help our students shine like this, please run for school board!!

Manor ISD has their Priorities straight.

"Manor New Tech High School has been developing partnerships with local colleges and businesses with internships for students in fields relevant for their future and use technology effectively to help students learn.   Each student gives around 200 presentations before they graduate. The majority of students are minorities and  lower income and they are go getters.   They are using STEM teaching and learning

Champion Robotics Team.  Students DOING not just listening. Integration of subjects and projects.

99% students stay in school and graduate, score higher than state avg

everyone in last graduating class went  to college and most are the first in their families to do so."

 from President Obama's Speech as he recognizes this model school. see video

Why we need to minimize impervious cover and oppose federal funding cuts and state criminalization of remote and aerial imaging

In the last weeks of this session of the Texas Legislature there are at least two bills still being considered that threaten our ability to manage practices that impact flooding.  HB 3088 enables developers to sue if not grandfathered from regulation and  HB 912  that passed the house and now May 17 passed for  Senate consideration favorably by  the Senate Agriculture, Rural affairs and Homeland security committee.    HB 912  makes it a criminal  illegal offense to take or use aerial or satellite space imagining of any  land without the owners consent which is vital to relate peak flows to impervious cover and other great expenses on the public caused by poor land management.
This is an attack on technologies that enable the protection of the public and prevention of great costs to the public that are not otherwise detectable.   Photo below from Scientific American shows why  US federal funding for remote sensing is worthwhile to save the public from the expense and loss by both natural and man-made crisis so we can better manage human practices to minimize costs and risks to the public.  Man-made impacts on flooding and water shortage often can not be determined without satellite images.   Without satellite images, they keep costing the public tremendous costs to lives and economies.

Where the Eagle Ford lights the night sky there are no city lights only fracking operations.  This entire cresent normally is pitch black.  Above this cresent shaped Eagle Ford Shale formation is the Carrizo  Wilcox Sand Aquifer that is being injected with water to store for San Antonio to reuse later, That is the  only alternate water strategy for the Edwards Aquifer San Antonio region which is declared by EPA AS A SOLE SOURCE WATER SUPPLY FOR over 2 million people.  But now that Carrizzo water is being used and abused for all this fracking.  We need NON Aquifer water supply alternatives especially lots more storage tanks for rain capture and water reuse on large and small scales.  Artificial injection of water into  aquifers does not increase aquifer yield in karst aquifers and in both sand and Karst artificial water diversions during storms contaminate aquifers.  The people who want the water later may find the water is no longer there when they need it.  We have no control of private groundwater marketing to industry and developers and mining.  And we need best timing practices so their punctuated withdrawals don’t take place during times of water shortage.

The remote sensing satellite images of how impervious cover increases peak flooding in hilly areas indicates paving over such areas can be costly in terms of flood damages and fatalities and require alot more highway construction and bridges designed for even higher water levels.


International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation vol 16 June 2012 p 54-65                   Journal of Hydorlogy, 2011  vol 405(1-2) pg 69-82,
INcreased risk of great floods in a changing climate Nature 415(6871):514-517

With lots of cliffs over 200 ft high in the hill country our flooding disaster and stormwater pollution problems increase ten times with every 10% of the land we pave.  Our highways and bridges we just recently spent a lot of state money on will all have to be redone for ten times higher water levels during floods.

Below is a map of Comal Springs Invertebrate Species on federal Endangered species list. The quality and quantity of stream flows and springflows and water temperature are priorities for their critical habitat.

However, the proposed critical habitat reveision Spring 2013 does not include Blieders creek drainange a major source of stormwaterflow. 

Below is an unmonitored watershed in the BLieders Creek riparian zone that  may potentially quickly drown tens of thousand  elderly and poor and minority citizens.  In addition to introducing stormwater pollutants which at low springfflows will remain stuck inside the bottom of the Bowl, in other words in the Comal River and also at low flows be drawn underground into the Edwards Aquifer and into people's drinking water wells.

Canyon LAke Dam is a 220 ft high earthen dam that WILL fail if more land is paved upstream.
  In 2010,  the lake rose to 1 or 2 feet short of going over the high earthen dam.  Now The Texas legislators want to make it hard for local levels to restrict impervious cover in order to prevent flooding and to protect recharge areas..
The water sheds coming out ot Canyon lake shoot down canyon cliffs, circle under city of NB and crash at a 90 angle into a 150 ft Balcones cliff on Comal River in NB. That why already with bi flood even without Dam breaking we get 40 feet rises in water here in Urban New Braunfels When that dam goes because of of all the pavement in this hilly watershed all the land below this cliff in New Braunfels which is the minority voter precincts 301,302 and 303 will perish like happened in the similar situation with the Johnstown flood which had a similar earthen dam and also involved poor land management.

We need to limit paving of this area until we really study the drainage and we need more Federal Agency support for
FEMA emergency, USGS geological ,USACE engineering,USDA ag and drainage,USFWS wildlife, EPA environmental
None are locally enabled (even though federally mandated) to monitor in Blieders Creek drainage.There is a great deal of interference and  influence by a man who owns most of this drainage including an old quarry and he  is not looking after the interest of our citizens Is this man intimidating City COuncil?  And part of lack of monitoring by any agency is due to having two names on the same river and due to steering comte decisions to control modeling for TCEQ Dam safety  and  ESA aquifer protection.

We need remedies and safe guards against  Texas Leaders who neglect to use available funds for that and who make decisions counter to flood control .   like these 2013 Texas bills or any late add-ons like them need to be stopped.  SB 1918, SB1919 HB 890, HB912, HB 2640, HB 3087, HB 3088, HB3234.


Citizens and leaders need to  take action to request for federal changes in EPA to take control of Blieders creek Drainage and development decisions (We should protest that drainage becoming Dean Word's own water/flood control district in May 2013). Ask for federal appropriation to support FEMA,  USGS, USACE, USDA, USFWS and EPA monitoring of flood flows, levels and contamination, and flood control in the Blieders Creek Drainage and Canyon Lake drainage areas.  Right now None of these agencies are monitoring this drainage and the only one with the capacity to do this now is USFWS but the stakeholder implementation  committee incharge of strategies to protect Comal Springs species will not allow it.  Aslo the newly proposed USFWS critical habitat designation still leaves this drainage and its impacts out of critical habitat designation.(the public hearing is May 17 5pm San Marcos Activity Center).

(No state or federal agency has been doing that in Blieders Creek Drainage which for last few decades and only a few times in last 5 decades.  This area has become heavily platted for extensive development with little data for flood impact studies  but from previous disasters  are  already in international flood and climate disaster journals).
We  need to change federal laws that require or allow stakeholders and special interest to control monitoring and data collection and assumptions the scientists can use in advising  decisions makers about minimum flows for public safety and for Endangered species  and flood control and dam safety. There is an amendment about thirteen years old  in the Endangered species Act that requires stakeholder steering committees not a scientist panel to determine the  types of data, assumptions and model designs to be used to develop minimum flow strategies.  Very Dangerous.  Please have that amendment recalled or exempt the Texas Hill country from that dangerous amendment in the federal Endangered Species Act.