May 25, 2006 - The regional water plans filed by the East Texas and Lower Colorado planning groups were among the five plans approved May 16 by the Texas Water Development Board, clearing the way for TWDB to prepare the State Water Plan.

The state’s 16 regional groups were formed to develop plans for ensuring adequate water supply needs through 2060. The State Water Plan, to be developed by TWDB from the approved regional plans, will be provided to state leaders in about six months.

The 15 regional water plans issued to the TWDB by the Jan. 3 deadline have now all been approved by the board. Region L’s plan, involving South Central Texas, was not approved and filed by the deadline. “Without an approved regional water plan for Region L, the TWDB becomes responsible for planning for the region in the 2007 State Water Plan,” cited Carla Daws, TWDB communications officer. Also, since Region L did not adopt their plan by the Jan. 3 deadline, “the only way that the TWDB can fund a project in Region L is to issue a waiver to the consistency test.”

Region L did, however, adopt their plan and submitted it to the TWDB in February. This plan will be used by TWDB when developing the State Water Plan.

The East Texas (Region I) Regional Water Planning Area includes all or part of 20 counties, stretching from the Golden Triangle of Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange in the south to Tyler in the piney woods of Smith County in the north, and from the Texas-Louisiana border in the east to the Trinity River basin boundary in the west. The region has a large amount of surface water available, from the Sabine and Neches rivers and their tributaries. Eleven major reservoirs with storage capacity over 5,000-acre feet, and two major aquifers (the Gulf Coast and the Carrizo-Wilcox) currently exist in the region.

The Lower Colorado (Region K) Water Planning Area includes all or parts of 14 counties, stretching from Mills County in the Hill Country southeast to Matagorda County on the Gulf Coast. Most of the region lies in the Colorado River Basin. The Highland Lakes System, managed by the Lower Colorado River Authority, is the predominant surface water feature in the region.

The South Central Texas (Region L) Regional Water Planning Area includes 20 counties and a portion of Hays County. The counties are located in whole or in part in the Rio Grande, Nueces, San Antonio, Guadalupe, Lavaca, and Colorado River basins; and the San Antonio-Nueces, Lavaca-Guadalupe, and Colorado-Lavaca Coastal basins.

Other regional water plans approved May 16 were for the Panhandle (Region A), the Plateau (Region J), and the Northeast Texas (Region D). Each regional water planning group’s approved plan can be viewed online at www.twdb.state.tx.us/rwpg/main-docs/2006RWPindex.asp.