LCRA focuses on water shortages of rice industry

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas

April 25, 2002 -- Prior to the 77th Legislature, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) was prohibited from selling water outside of its water service area, unless mandated by the Legislature. This happened in '97 when LCRA was required to furnish water to Williamson County, and now, with water needs in San Antonio and irrigation needs in the Colorado Basin, a contract is in place to help provide for this water shortage.

"We don't go to the legislature; the legislature tells us what they want us to do for the interest of the State. In 1999, they asked us to provide water to San Antonio. In 1997, they asked, through House Bill (HB)1437, to require LCRA to provide water to Williamson County," said Dr. Jobaid Kabir, manager of water resources planning with the LCRA office in Austin.

During the last Legislative session, HB1625 amended the code to provide that agencies should identify projects and goals that would allow coordination between the agencies, thus saving time and money and adding to the conservation of natural resources of Texas.

"The purpose of this plan is not to help San Antonio. It's to protect our Colorado Basin area shortages. The purpose of this plan is to help to come up with strategies which will eliminate shortages for the rice industry. That's what this plan is about," said Kabir.

He said most (rice/cotton) farmers in the area can't afford to pay for more water, but if something isn't done, there may not be enough water for a second rice crop, somewhere in the near future, and LCRA considers that to be "... very, very significant."

On the other hand, the San Antonio area is expected to reach a population of 2 million in the not so distant future, and they need to have a plan in place which will provide the urban and business areas with an adequate water supply.

"If we can provide for the shortages for part of San Antonio, and if we can come up with our (LCRA's) shortages and let them pay for it, developing 330,000 acres of water, we can take care of LCRA business and we've helped them a little bit," said Kabir. (An acre foot of water is one acre covered by one-foot deep water.)

Texas is divided into 16 water regions, and Region K is the one which includes San Antonio, according to Kabir.

On Feb. 27 of this year, the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) entered into a contract with the LCRA which will, hopefully, insure both entities of enough water to serve their customers in the future.

According to recent news releases, SAWS has named Susan Butler, Ronald Graf and Scott Horn to the contract committee, and LCRA has named Paul Thornhill, Lisa Hatzenbuehler and Quentin Martin to head up their delegation.

Kabir said that the Region K Plan should develop 330 acre-feet of water per year by developing four new off-channel reservoirs, using groundwater and by conservation. The reservoirs are tentatively to be located in Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda counties, but as the study progresses, the locations may be changed to insure the best possible water flow.

The LCRA-SAWS water project should provide a rise in the levels of the Highland Lakes for tourism, up to 330 acre-feet of water in the Colorado Basin, including up to 180,000 acre feet for irrigation and up to 150 acre-feet for San Antonio.

The major contract elements include a study period up to seven years, an implementation period for water sales and construction projects, operation up to 80 years and contract administration procedures which will include termination provisions.

During the study period, SAWS will be paying $500,000 per year non-refundable option fee and a minimum of $500,00 per year for studies. If the contract should terminate before implementation, 50 percent of the study cost will be refunded to SAWS said Kabir. While SAWS will be financing the project, LCRA will have the control.

If all of the contract goes as planned, the earliest the water will be available is 2019. Once the plan is implemented, a pipeline, paid for by SAWS, will pipe the water from the edge of Matagorda County into the San Antonio service area. After the program is initiated and water is being provided, the numbers will go down each of the following 80 years, assuming that SAWS will have developed other sources of water for their customers.

Finally, the LCRA-SAWS Water Project is expected to furnish a regional solution, provide funding and protect and benefit the Colorado Basin area.

Kabir said it should be a "win-win" situation, and Joe Beal, LCRA general manager, said that LCRA would never have entered into the contract if they could not protect the environment.