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