(The Center Square) – The leaders of rural counties in South Texas have begun passing resolutions supporting a regional water conservation effort, led by Goliad County Judge Mike Bennett.
Bennett and county commissioners unanimously signed the first resolution Monday night. On Tuesday morning, Refugio County Judge Jhiela “Gigi” Poynter and county commissioners were the second. Dozens more are expected to follow, including water conservation boards.
“Most of the judges in our area are on board and we expect the governor to act,” Bennett told The Center Square in an exclusive interview. “Passing the resolution shows there is consensus among Coastal Bend judges to take action before the water crisis becomes an absolute catastrophe. Those living in rural areas depend on wells and groundwater. You either have water in your well or you don’t.”
Bennett, who is retiring at the end of the year after years of serving his community, is continuing a legacy of fighting for freedom in Texas. One hundred and ninety years ago on April 21, one of his ancestors helped defeat the Mexican Army and win independence at the Battle of San Jacinto, The Center Square reported.
In April 2021, Bennett was the first of what would become 60 county judges to sign a disaster declaration citing the border crisis, The Center Square exclusively reported. No county judge in Texas history had taken such an action before. The county disaster declarations prompted a legal response from the governor who first issued a disaster declaration for dozens of counties citing the border crisis in June 2021, The Center Square reported. The disaster declarations enabled state resources to support law enforcement and other responses to help residents who feared for their lives, The Center Square exclusively reported.
By July 5, 2022, Bennett was among the first of what would become 55 judges to sign resolutions declaring an invasion and the need for the state to defend Texans from transnational criminal activity and migrant warfare, The Center Square exclusively reported. The resolutions are still in effect.
Bennett’s ongoing commitment to preserving the Texas legacy continues – now fighting for rural communities, including ranchers and farmers struggling to make ends meet with rising costs and a water crisis that could threaten their very existence.
Last Tuesday, at a townhall meeting in Goliad, Bennett and other South Texas judges sounded the alarm about a water crisis their communities are facing due to policies being enacted by Corpus Christi and other officials. They argue the legislature and governor must act immediately because no state laws exist to govern private property water rights and they find themselves in the “wild west,” The Center Square exclusively reported.
The resolution they are passing calls for a regional collaboration for water conservation. It states, “the counties and communities of South Texas are experiencing significant water supply challenges resulting from prolonged drought conditions, population growth, agricultural needs, aging infrastructure constraints, industrial expansion, and increasing demand on limited water resources.” It also notes that “water is a shared and essential resource necessary to protect public health, support economic development, sustain agriculture and industry, maintain ecological balance, and ensure the long-term viability and resilience of our communities.”
“The interconnected nature of surface water and groundwater systems across South Texas requires coordinated regional planning to avoid unintended consequences that cross jurisdictional boundaries and to promote equitable and sustainable management of water resources,” it says. The systems includes the Evangeline Aquifer, the entire Nueces River Basin and other regional groundwater sources. The aquifer serves as a primary groundwater source for rural communities, agricultural producers, and municipal systems in Coastal Bend counties. It’s part of the Gulf Coast Aquifer, which spans nearly 42,000 square miles in 54 counties.
“We have to preserve this aquifer,” Bennett said. Doing so is imperative to “preserve our way of life, to continue to have livestock, live where we live. Without water, property values will go to practically nothing. We’d have to sell our cattle. People would be forced to move. It would all go downhill from there.”
The resolution warns that significant new or accelerated withdrawals from these water sources “may have cumulative regional impacts, including potential declines in groundwater availability, reduced future supply reliability, risks of land subsidence, and long-term sustainability concerns affecting multiple jurisdictions.” It emphasizes that “short-term emergency measures should not create disproportionate or irreversible impacts to shared groundwater resources,” noting that rural communities have limited alternatives for water supply diversification.
It also states that counties, municipalities, groundwater conservation districts, river authorities and state and federal partners must work together “to ensure that short-term responses do not create unintended long-term regional consequences,” implement a regional plan and invest in diversified water supply options.
The resolution “expresses unity across political and geographic boundaries” to implement regional coordination, collaboration and monitoring of all proposed large-scale or accelerated withdrawals from the Evangeline Aquifer and other aquifer systems within the Nueces River Basin.
The judges and commissioners are requesting that water conservation be coordinated with the governor’s office, Texas Water Development Board and others to address emergency response measures and long-term water planning decisions in South Texas.
