(The Center Square) – Unless the legislature acts to protect Texans’ water rights, rural Texans will lose everything, their land, their cattle, their livelihoods, south Texas judges argued at a recent townhall meeting in Goliad, Texas.
Bee County Judge George Morrill said that no state authority is enforcing water rights. Water rights exist in the Texas Constitution but no one is enforcing and protecting them, he said.
The situation is difficult for county leaders because counties don’t provide water to residents, municipalities do, he said. Most in the region buy their water from Corpus Christi.
Some, not all, counties have groundwater conservation districts. The goal of the district and the purpose of law enacted by the legislature establishing them “is wildly different than what our current need actually is,” he said. “We need policemen to make sure that all of us get water when the faucets are turned on. And that’s not the purpose of the groundwater conservation districts. It’s permitting, restrictions, meaningful use, but when it comes to territorial issues, it’s the wild west. It’s only going to get worse.”
The city of Beeville is on the Corpus Christi system and pulls its water from the Nueces River. It used to get its water from Lake Corpus Christi but the lake last year was at 30% capacity. As of January, the combined capacity of Choke Canyon Reservoir and Lake Corpus Christi was 10%, the lowest level in history, according to Corpus Christi data.
Last fall, Beeville began operating under Stage 3 of its drought contingency plan, the most severe level, and imposed mandatory restrictions. It also began the process to switch from using surface water to groundwater. It began rehabilitating two capped wells, drilling two more and using reverse osmosis to make the brackish water usable, the Municipal Magazine reported.
“The city of Beeville has done a good job,” Morrill said. “They’ve got brackish water wells that they’re drilling right now.” But the best solution is rain, he said. Many residents are hoping El Niño will hit this year and reverse the drought.
This is unlikely, NOAA explains. “El Niño patterns can become drought busters for the Southern U.S. But “one good year won’t eliminate six years of water deficit,” even with significant flooding. Six years of drought has resulted in low reservoirs, low streamflow and low aquifers and it will take more than one wet year to refill them, the agency says.
“The lakes are a big issue. They’re very low and they’re not being replenished,” Morrill said. “Groundwater is for those of us that are landlocked, is the reasonable solution but it’s incredibly expensive.” The city of Beeville spent more than $32 million to build four wells, he said. “The economics are really tough for most of us in rural counties. Our economies are not as other counties when it comes to industrial development, when it comes to tax base, when it comes to users. This issue is going to continue to be an increasing concern.”
Morrill also said the costs to keep rural water development corporations running “is untenable for most communities.” The rates customers pay only cover operational costs, not maintenance, he explained. Over the last five or six years, Bee County has directed millions of dollars to water development entities to maintain systems and comply with state requirements “to be able to just simply get water coming out of the faucets.”
He said the responsibility to fix the water problem in Texas lies with the state legislature and governor. “All counties and all municipalities are subdivisions of the state. Our authority starts with the Texas Constitution and goes to the state legislature,” he said. The legislature and governor are responsible for establishing a level playing field, to say, ‘These are the rules that the counties are going to abide by,’” he said. “We don’t have that. Until we do, it’s going to continue to be a free for all.”
He and other judges are calling on the legislature to act but their state lawmakers, Republicans state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst and state Rep. AJ Lauderback, didn’t attend the meeting. When residents asked if their staff attended, the judges said they were invited but none addressed concerns raised by attendees.
Refugio County Judge Jhiela “Gigi” Poynter agreed with Morrill, saying, “We hope for the best, but we prepare for the worst. That’s why we’re all here because we recognize that help may not come.” Waiting for Corpus to approve a desalination plant project or “to do the right thing” and “being patient is what got us into this mess. They are the Goliath in the room,” she said.
To counter Goliath, “We don’t need 50 Davids running around. We are collectively a large voting block. We’re only going to get somewhere if we band together. Judge Morrill hit the nail on the head when he said water rights and water laws are the wild, wild west.”
If they do nothing others will keep taking their water, she said, which is why they are working on a solution and demanding the legislature and governor act.
