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Okay, good morning. We're going to go ahead and get started and try to keep this as timely as possible for you all this morning. First, I want to thank everybody for joining us today. We do have a healthy crowd, so I first just want to mention our decor and policy. Leave with a caution and maintain professionalism. Be respectful to our panelists as I understand this is a passionate topic.

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for a lot of us, I will go ahead and say, you know, if you're not able to maintain decor

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and you will be asked to leave, we do have consoles in the audience today, I believe we

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have one that we have slated to show up to make sure everything stays under control.

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I don't expect there to be any issues at all, but I'd be remiss not to mention, especially

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with public comment and Q&A. So we do expect to have time for questions at the end. We

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ask that you sign in. That way, if you do have a question, once we've wrapped up, Tiffany,

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way is going to, in order to receive, have you line up and ask a question of peace, just one

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question to be respectful of those that also have questions and then you can always circle back

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and get to the end of the line time permitting. So again, this is, you know, not intended this event

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to be a time for grandstanding or making

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big statements to the district.

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We do have a space and opportunity to do that in our public meetings.

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But this is really meant to be a courtesy for you

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time to utilize our district consultants.

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And you know, use that time wisely to your benefits.

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So thank you to Advanced for your cooperation on that.

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We're really excited to be able to put this together for you today.

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It's an informational event to hopefully shed some light on some of the misconceptions that both

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I and our directors have received at other meetings, other public spaces when their language

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or statements about public water supplier wells and our district.

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I think that's led to fear-mongering misunderstanding.

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Whatever the case may be, I'm hoping that with our consultants here, they can use facts

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and their expertise help us all work better together.

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As we do our best to manage growth, state water level declines, challenges, et cetera.

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So with that said, I'm going to go ahead and introduce our consultants and then we can begin.

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So first I'll start with Miss Stacy Reese.

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Stacy Reese has our NBT law firm in Austin, where she represents individuals, businesses,

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governmental entities, and water law with a focus on groundwater law.

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Stacy's been practicing water law for almost 20 years before starting her own law firm.

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Stacey worked at a prominent Austin-based firm,

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McGinnis Lawcredge.

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Stacey's been recognized by Texas Super Lawyer since 2014.

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First, I was rising star early in her career,

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and as a super lawyer since 2020,

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in addition to practicing water laws.

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Stacey's also a litigator and served

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for many years on the board of directors

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for the litigation section of the Austin Bar.

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Very small resume, that Stacey has.

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And then we have Mr. James Beach, PG,

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As principal and co-founder at Advanced Groundwater Solutions LLC has every 35 years experience

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in quantitative groundwater hydrology and Texas, the United States and internationally,

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James Consults with GCDs, cities, river authorities, water suppliers, private landowners,

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developers, industry, water and power utilities, and other entities.

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Over the last 26 years, James has worked as groundwater consultant in 10 of the 16 regional water

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planning areas in Texas has worked in some capacity as groundwater consultant to GCDs and stakeholders

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in 12 of the 16 groundwater management areas in Texas.

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He focuses on water resource development and planning, well-filled design and development,

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groundwater modeling, permitting, brackish groundwater ASR, groundwater quality evaluations,

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and litigation support.

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Thanks for being here, James.

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Chris Drebeck is a professional geoscientist with 26 years of experience in groundwater resource

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consulting and large capacity water well projects.

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For most of his career, he's been based out of Houston with LBG Guyton Associates and

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he's currently a shareholder with advanced groundwater solutions.

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Experiencing the greater Houston area includes groundwater availability evaluations, well

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fighting studies, brackish groundwater, ASR assessments, regional water planning, and development

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of groundwater flow models. He is experienced with drilling, construction, testing of

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numerous waters, capacity water wells, and in addition to water well rehabilitation to extend

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the service life of wells and mitigate water quality issues. Throughout Texas, he has experience

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with brackish groundwater, exploratory drilling, testing, well construction, including the

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Jasper in the Katahula Aquifers. He continues to work with groundwater conservation districts

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Cross-Texus and he has provided technical consulting to Lowell and Start Groundwater Conservation District

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from 2003 through 2017 and again 2020 until the present.

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All right, and we've got Mike, Mike earned his bachelor's in philosophy 1996 from Oklahoma

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Baptist University and his master's in geology 2002 from Oklahoma State University.

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Mike began his career as a hydrogeologist in 2003 focusing on groundwater flow and determination

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of availability and at the beginning of 2024 he founded KT Groundwater. He is a recognized

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expert in hydrogeology, groundwater floor modeling, and aquifer compaction. He's been working

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with Len Star as part of our technical consulting team since 2020 to support our management

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at the local groundwater resources. Thank you all for being here today, taking the time to drive

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in from out of town and help us learn a little bit more about what it is we do and how we

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can serve preserve, protect, and plan for the future.

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So thanks again so much for being here.

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That said, I'm going to go ahead and get us started.

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I was going to kick it off with an icebreaker

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and ask them all to say something about themselves,

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but I got bulk from a couple of the team members.

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That was more pressure than teaching you all about

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hydrogology and the water here in Montgomery County.

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So we'll just go ahead and get moving in.

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So I want to start with Stacey, and we're going to do a summary of GCD regulatory authority.

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So if you would, just give us a high level overview of GCD's regulatory authority.

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Let's see, so GCD's are political subdivisions with very limited powers, and that's

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really important when you're thinking about what a GCD does and can do.

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And the courts have said that the powers of these districts are measured by the terms of the statutes,

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which authorized their creations.

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And even though the preferred method of groundwater management, courts say we must review the water

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carried to determine if the legislature has clearly authorized the action of the district.

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Because GCDs can exercise no authority that has not been clearly granted by the legislature.

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And GCDs have several different statues that pertain.

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There is the gcd enabling legislation, which is what created the gcd, and those that enabling legislation

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can vary between gcd's. Then we've got Chapter 36 of the Texas Water Code, which applies to all groundwater

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conservation districts that are governed by 36. Then you have statutes that are applicable to all governmental entities,

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like the Texas Open Meetings Act or the Public Information Act.

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And then some GCDs have other statutes that would apply to them,

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that are specific to them.

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Like the Bandera County River Authority and GCD,

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which is a GCD and a River Authority

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combined into one governmental entity.

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And so there are certain exceptions where some GCDs

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have additional powers beyond a GCD,

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and you might look to other statutory authority.

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For example, Chapter 49 of the water code would apply to you Bendira County River Authority in GCD.

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But loans are is a straight-up, pure Chapter 36 of District.

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And so what we're going to focus on today is Chapter 36 of the water code and not the Districts.

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And I've been in legislation or any other statutes that apply to all governmental entities in general.

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We're just going to hit 36.

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So when you look at chapter 36, there are many, many spec chapters of 36, and full purposes

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of this meeting, the ones that I think are the most applicable or key are the purpose,

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of a GCD, the ownership, rulemaking, coordinating inspections, and enforcement.

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At least now, we're going to put this PowerPoint online for everybody, correct?

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Okay, so don't feel like you have to take lots of notes or no pictures.

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you're welcome to you, but we're going to provide this to y'all on the website.

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This meeting is also being recorded, so it will also be online.

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So, starting with purpose, the legislature has said GCDs are the preferred method of crime

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modern management, and they were designed to protect property rights.

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That was one of the fundamental principles of why GCDs were created.

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And then they're supposed to manage the aquifer to meet the state's needs and use the best

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available science while they're doing that.

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GCDs may collect any information that the Board of Directors deems necessary, and they

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can set administrative fees that do not unreasonably exceed the cost of the function of the

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performing function.

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With respect to ownership, 36 clearly expressly acknowledges a landowner

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owns the groundwater as well property. That means when you own the groundwater, you can drill

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and produce it without causing waste, as long as you're not causing waste, malicious drainage

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or negligently causing subsidence.

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And also, when GCDs were created, you have these ownership rights and that means you can

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produce subject to not causing waste, malicious drainage, negligence subsidence, all and

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you have to be subject to the reasonable regulation of the groundwater district.

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When the groundwater district's regulation goes too far, and as unreasonable that's when

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might be what's referred to as a taking screen, but as long as the GCD's regulation is

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reasonable and within its own express authority delegated to it, then that is all, you

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know, that is all fine for a GCD to do and doesn't interfere with the property rights

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of the landowner. There are certain things that ownership does not entitle only in donor

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to. It doesn't entitle a landowner to capture a specific amount of water. It doesn't, and that

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a water marketer and you want to produce a certain amount of water, it doesn't mean you're

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entitled to do that. You're subject to the reasonable regulation of the district, that also

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mean in the rules of the district which might limit the amount that you can produce. It also means

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that if you drilled your wall at a certain period of time and you had a specific water level in

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your wallet that time, you're not entitled to your ownership rights, you're not entitled to you

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to maintain that specific water level in your wallet over time. The ownership allows you to

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use your water and in a way that you want to

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step into the regulation, but it doesn't give you the right just the civic amount.

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Or a specific water level in your well.

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So moving on to wheel making,

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in 36 there are certain things that GCDs must do,

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and then there are certain things that a GCD may do.

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And so through the next set of slides,

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I've outlined for you the things you have to do on the left

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and then the things that a GCD may do on the right.

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I tried to be really comprehensive in these slides for you because I felt like people were going to look at these later.

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I'm not going to cover everything on these slides, particularly the next few slides.

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But the just is that a GCD must have fair and impartial rules that consider ownership and rights and that also consider optimal for conditions.

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And then a GCD may regulate the production of your wells and may regulate spacing.

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Permitting a GCD has, you know, things that must do and then things that it may do.

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Most important I think for public water suppliers is that a GCD can ask for specific information

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in the permitting process.

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There are, there's a default set of things in 36 that a GCD must ask for on an application

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or may ask for.

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And then there's a catch all that says a GCD can ask for anything else besides with

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this list provided that it's reasonably there's a way about it and it's reasonably related

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to the GCD's authority and so you'll see a lot of GCD's asked for specific technical

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information like a hydrogeological report or other cities that demonstrate your right to

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construct and produce groundwater on the particular area where you're trying to do that.

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These that document your demonstrated demand for the groundwater and then scientific information.

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So there's a very standard things that GCDs are allowed to ask for in the application process

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and typically do.

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GCDs have a broad authority to conduct inspections.

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They can enter property.

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They can inspect wells at very points.

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They can come out before wells constructed to verify that the wells been constructed in the

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location that was requested.

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they can conduct full tests, they can ask you to verify that the information on your pump

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and may there are consistent with what you asked for, will request it on your application.

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And they need to abide by the rules of the property for example,

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but they do have the right to enter the property and they are required to ask for driver's logs,

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meaning that you owe required to produce the log that shows where you drilled the

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wall at what depth and the other information on that particular log.

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Enforcement powers the GCD has broad enforcement powers and the legislature

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just exceeded days in this last session.

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So GCDs, as we know, are required to protect the aqua-

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If a GCD cannot enforce those rules, then a GCD has no power to ensure that they're meeting their statutory duties, because they have to be able to ensure that people are following the rules.

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So they can enforce, they can assess penalties for violations of their rules, and they can enforce those penalties.

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And if necessary, they can seek enforcement through a court.

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And the legislature just increased the amount of penalties that a GCD may impose.

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It used to be up to $10,000 a day.

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Now up to $25,000 a day.

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And each violation is considered to be its own separate violations.

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And so if you over produce for 60 days out of the year, a GCD has the authority to find

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you look to $25,000 every day that you're in violation of the rules.

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Now, those start doesn't do that, but it has the authority to do that if it chose to.

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Okay, looks, I'm going to, you covered a lot on what we can and can't do, so I'm glad you

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have slides on this because I want to be more specific if you can, because not all GCDs

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are the same, right?

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They all have these authorities and we different boards to stop right differently, but can you say what we're doing specifically?

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Sure.

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So, LoneSports obviously doing all the things that it's required to do.

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And then the things that it has discretion to do, I made a list here for you of the things that LoneSports has chosen to implement.

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LoneSports has property lines facing, meaning all wells must be at least 50 feet from the property line.

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And that applies to exempt wells and non-exempt wells.

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Lonstar has well-to-well spacing based upon the maximum instantaneous rate in gallons per minute of proposed wells per aquifer and that will only applies to non-exempt wells.

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The spacing rules are really important because they help lessen interference between wells.

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You hear people talk about what I have, you know, I have been draw down in my wells.

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Well, if loans start didn't have spacing rules, particularly the GPM spacing rules, you would

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have potentially more drawdown in your wealth.

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So, loans start has developed those rules to help prevent less than interference between

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wells.

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It also minimizes the reduction of our teaching pressure and helps control subsidence.

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The spacing is really important.

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Lundstall also requires a hydro report for certain wells that, you know, the larger type of wells,

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and that allows for Lundstall to analyze impact analysis by the proposed project in the application,

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versus the existing wells around it, ones that are maybe even outside of the spacing analysis,

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meaning they're outside of that buffer that Lundstall put in place.

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And then, if there are wells that are inside this basing buffer, we can certainly look at those if someone's asking for an exception to spacing.

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Lonstar has well monitoring network across the district, GPS stations, Lonstar obviously is, you know, using its enforcement power and inspection power, and so many of y'all are familiar with that.

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And then it's managing the aquifer to achieve the DFCs and has roles in place to do that in a management plan.

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Thank you, Stacey.

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I'm going to ask, let's see in the viewers slide.

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I'm going to come to you.

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I want to touch more on summary of DFCs, regional long term aquifer management.

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So if you can give us a high level overview of GCDs and excuse me.

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I'm asking her on, but I'd like you to provide some insight on the joint planning process.

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How do you see how districts plan for regional and long-term offer management?

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Okay, thank you, sir.

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Back in 1997, Senator One was passed and that kicked off a process of state water planning.

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And then that first round of planning, the regional water planning groups, you are in Lone Star

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a part of Region H and Yolfe mostly have heard probably of Region H but there are 16 different

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regions around the state. And during that first round of planning, basically what happened was

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the state realized that there was confusion about who was determining how much water, how much

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round water there was to use for state planning. Some regional water planning groups calculated

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available groundwater one way and other groups did it another way and the

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GCDs were sitting there going, wait we're regulating groundwater what about us and

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so in 2005 they initiated the legislature initiated the process called

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joint groundwater planning it's in chapter 36 Stacey briefly mentioned that

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the district has to develop desired future conditions and model the

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of a groundwater, well that's what this process is all about, and so if you look at G&A-14 groundwater

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management area, 14 covers the northern Gulf Coast area, if you look at the Texas map, it's a

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little hard to see, but again there's 16 different regions are management areas across the

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state, you're in G&A-14, and so within G&A-14 there are five groundwater conservation districts,

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obviously loan-starred one of those, and there's two subsidence districts.

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And so together, those districts, you know, cover those 20 counties, and one thing you

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remember, it's very important is when the legislation was put in place, the Harris

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Galveston, the subsidence district, Fort Ben subsidence district, they were eliminated from

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joint planning.

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So they're not a voting member for GMA-14, and they're not subject to DFCs.

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They have their own regulatory authority and their own approach to managing groundwater.

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So when we talk about GMA-14 and how groundwater is managed in the area, there's collaboration

250
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with the subsidence of districts and sharing of science and data, but they don't vote

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on GMA-14.

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And so the five districts that you see on this map are essentially the dissiders, so to

253
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of how groundwater gets managed, and the reason that the state put in place the groundwater

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management areas was because aquifers, obviously, when you produce aquifers and you produce

255
00:21:44,700 --> 00:21:51,900
them heavily, then essentially they don't necessarily stop communicating and having impacts

256
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at county lines or district lines. And so the process basically is meant to pull all the districts

257
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together and say how are we affecting each other, how are we affecting each other, how is

258
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growth impacting each other and come together and have this joint planning process.

259
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And so that's what it looks like graphically and then when you look at it from a process

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standpoint, the GCDs, if you started the bottom, the GCDs within the GMA basically, get together,

261
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We had a meeting here yesterday at GMA 14, some of you may have been here.

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We discussed modeling, we discussed projections for demands and growth, and we look at region H, planning numbers and impacts for models, and the responsibility of the GCDs is to decide on a desired future condition.

263
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looking at long term, like ad in 2080, that's a requirement for the state by the state to basically say over that period of time,

264
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how much water, how much groundwater is available, the districts get together and say, okay, this is how we're affecting each other,

265
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this is how we're responding, this is how growth is happening, this is what state water plan says we need for groundwater surface water,

266
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consider all those things and come up with a goal for the aquifers in 2008 and in

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that's consistent with the state planning for regional water planning.

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So after those desired future conditions are developed and the in a course we're using

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the models, the same models that the water development board uses and so we give them those

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side future conditions, they officially make the calculations.

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It comes back as a model available groundwater, and so we'll talk about the factors that

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go into that shortly, but essentially that model available groundwater is very important because

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it flows into the regional water planning process over at region H, and those groundwater

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availability numbers are flowing into the regional water planning groups, and that's the

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available groundwater that is there for developing strategies in region H. And so in the other regions region I in the North

276
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part of the North Coast, before and before you move, I need to catch you out there that some of the public might not be familiar with these abbreviations.

277
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So if you want something about the water industry, thank you very much, sorry about the plethora of the acronyms here.

278
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So the mags are the model of the vagabel groundwater.

279
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The TWVV is Texas water development board.

280
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The VFCs are the desired future conditions.

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Those are the goals that we have long term for the aquifer.

282
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And so when the model of the vagabel groundwater is determined,

283
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then that flows into the district's management plan and all of the ways

284
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that they look at management.

285
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It also flows to the regional water planning groups and those regional water planning groups are

286
00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:20,680
our task with coming up with that same plan over the same time period for strategies to meet all the needs in the regions.

287
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And so those strategies are dependent on that model available groundwater.

288
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If it's, and you can develop strategies with groundwater, that is over and above the volume

289
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of the model available groundwater, but it's not necessarily appropriate for funding.

290
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And it won't get funding.

291
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It has to be a recommended strategy.

292
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It has to be in the mag.

293
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And so those models available groundwater volumes are important for developing strategies that

294
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are going to be fundable by the water development board in general.

295
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So there are some minor details there that I won't go into, but the water development board

296
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then can provide funding for those recommended groundwater strategies.

297
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And so that's why, and then the process basically continues, every five years, each one

298
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is a five-year cycle, they're continually going, and essentially it's an iterative process to continue to plan for and watch

299
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rev and watch the changes in the population demands, the needs, consider all the other surface water

300
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strategies and availability and conjunctively manage everything together. And so the overall goal and requirement of chapter

301
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36 is basically in a possible tax somehow to balance the highest practical level of groundwater

302
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production with conservation and preservation protection, recharging, prevention of waste,

303
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of groundwater and control of subsidence.

304
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And so I say impossible, but we continue to do it, it's a struggle because obviously those

305
00:27:04,540 --> 00:27:10,120
competing objectives and their people in this room and every room around the state basically

306
00:27:10,120 --> 00:27:15,420
going, I want more water we need to pump less water and so that's part of the balancing

307
00:27:15,420 --> 00:27:20,600
act that the legislature has given groundwater conservation districts and they also said

308
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here's the nine factors you must consider to make those really hard decisions and those

309
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depend on aquifer uses and conditions the state water plan and what the state says, the needs

310
00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:40,560
the demands are, the strategies, and those must be considered, obviously, the hydrogeology,

311
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the modeling that the district is funded, the subsided studies, subsided sets to be considered,

312
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one of nine factors, environmental impacts, socioeconomic impacts in private property rights.

313
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If you look around the state today, I would say that those two, those two factors come to the surface more than any

314
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When it comes to hard decisions that have to be made about DFCs and impacts in aquifers and then just the feasibility of the

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of the DFC can it be accomplished or can you measure that DFC and can you manage the aquifer such that you can meet that DFC

316
00:28:24,820 --> 00:28:38,560
any other factors. So some of the features that we're seeing and as we implement the process and as we watch this, we're in the fourth round of planning on the regional level and bringing that down to the local level.

317
00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:43,840
The games are the tools that are used, the groundwater availability models.

318
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The Lone Star District has worked with GMA-14 and funded the update of the most recent GMA-14 model.

319
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And that was based on the Harris Galveston subsided model that they did for their work for TWDV.

320
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And then GMA-14 and Lone Star basically funded the update of that model recently.

321
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Those games are good tools to look at the future, but they're not perfect.

322
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They're just tools.

323
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And that's why this is an iterative five-year process where we go through and continue to update the science, update the models, and calculate those mags.

324
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And so that's one thing that you should know about the modeling and how it flows into the management in the area.

325
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And then the other thing is, there's many different philosophies and approaches across the

326
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GCDs in GMIC 14 and across the state.

327
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Some people think, well, we should very carefully plan for growth and we shouldn't stress

328
00:29:51,340 --> 00:29:53,400
the aquifer in the oil than we have to.

329
00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:59,960
Some people take the philosophy of that highest practicable groundwater production requirement.

330
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:14,900
That means that we need to make everything available that we possibly can without, you know, and still keep in mind, you know, conservation, and so they take a more abundance approach, and then there's the approach of we can just use the bare minimum.

331
00:30:15,460 --> 00:30:27,380
And so you'll see those different philosophies play out in approaches even within groundwater conservation districts in the same GMA. And so, and obviously maybe in this room, those philosophies exist.

332
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And so that's part of the tension that is built into those competing objectives with managing groundwater.

333
00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:43,700
And so the GCDs are responsible for making those our decisions and coming up with the DFCs and the mags.

334
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In practice, generally, because the models have become such a central part of the planning exercise,

335
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The pumping that all the districts around the table are looking at and putting in the model and going we think we can live with that

336
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And that's what we need those essentially become the model available groundwater and that's what it flows into the regional water planning process and those philosophies again

337
00:31:07,860 --> 00:31:10,000
very different across GCDs

338
00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:17,080
There's no official waiting for any of the nine factor you have to shall consider those

339
00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:28,520
There's no official waiting, and I think it's inherent that most folks had different perspectives on what's most important in those nine factors.

340
00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:40,800
It's seen both as planning and regulatory. There is, and at Stacey didn't go into the details, but there is a compliance requirement in chapter 36 for those DFCs.

341
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and the GCDs must have a system in place to monitor,

342
00:31:47,420 --> 00:31:52,400
measure, and report on their compliance with the DFCs through time.

343
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And so some people see it, well, it's a regulatory process,

344
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but then it's also a planning process,

345
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because we're going to do it every five years.

346
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:05,840
So it has both perspectives or both, I guess, characteristics there.

347
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And it has become pretty contentious around the state

348
00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:11,760
in some areas, especially where there's high growth,

349
00:32:12,020 --> 00:32:15,780
and where there's people are trying to get

350
00:32:15,780 --> 00:32:19,340
surface water supplies in, and they still need

351
00:32:19,340 --> 00:32:21,240
groundwater for development and growth.

352
00:32:21,860 --> 00:32:25,660
And so in a lot of places, just like GMA-14,

353
00:32:26,580 --> 00:32:29,220
it's become somewhat contentious about how much groundwater

354
00:32:29,220 --> 00:32:31,440
you use, it burns as much to conserve.

355
00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:36,100
And any other questions for me, sir?

356
00:32:36,780 --> 00:32:39,000
There's so many things I want to talk about within that,

357
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:44,900
You know, even just some of the, looking at the nine factors, that's been something really interesting too.

358
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:50,400
There's, there's, even different opinions on how you, what each factor means.

359
00:32:50,500 --> 00:33:00,420
So, see, you have economic impact, for instance, is more, more about the effect of not providing groundwater.

360
00:33:00,620 --> 00:33:08,400
And if we try to slow that down and what those impacts are financially, which, it just depends how you would look at.

361
00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:14,160
the economic impact says just add more layers to consider on that so we could sit and talk about

362
00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:18,660
just this particular piece all day long but thank you James you had a great job on that.

363
00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:26,580
We will move on to the next piece so that's Chris to provide some insight on, you know, the

364
00:33:26,580 --> 00:33:33,200
Cardview GCDs versus Public Water Suppliers, some misconceptions that we've heard recently

365
00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:39,320
and maybe to bring some specific examples for us that can help us move through this.

366
00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:42,280
I know pressure at all with this crowd, bring you to talk about this.

367
00:33:42,540 --> 00:33:42,840
Chris, thanks.

368
00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:43,760
Thank you very much.

369
00:33:44,060 --> 00:33:45,260
Good morning, everyone.

370
00:33:45,740 --> 00:33:46,420
Chris Dribba.

371
00:33:47,420 --> 00:33:50,800
Just want to start off talking about groundwater conservation and district roles.

372
00:33:51,260 --> 00:33:57,300
The groundwater conservation, you know, they're tasked with managing, preserving, and protecting groundwater resources within its jurisdiction.

373
00:33:57,300 --> 00:34:02,340
loan-star GCD is Montgomery County, you have the Bonnet GCD off to the west.

374
00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:05,940
They have four counties, you know, James, that I'm map showing that earlier.

375
00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:10,820
GCDs have certain tools to help achieve this objective, you know, they have their rules,

376
00:34:11,180 --> 00:34:14,920
their management plan, and they have permanent, the permitting process, you know,

377
00:34:15,020 --> 00:34:19,120
can include, you know, permitting your allocation, and then you also have to have your

378
00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:20,480
well registration.

379
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:25,020
Kind of look at the exempt wells with the majority of those exempt wells,

380
00:34:25,020 --> 00:34:30,240
serving domestic type uses, and then you could also look at the non-exemp wells, which is

381
00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:34,100
what a lot of the large capacity public supply wells fall into.

382
00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:39,940
You know, just in these, they're not really involved with the well pump design, well construction,

383
00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:47,920
rehabilitation, lowly of pump equipment, or even getting into the details of the well or well-field management.

384
00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:51,460
There's a lot of the districts interested in a lot of the parameters.

385
00:34:51,460 --> 00:34:57,320
You know, one of the, you know, permitting requirements is the maximum instantaneous pumping rate.

386
00:34:57,320 --> 00:34:59,040
I think, uh, spacing mentioned that earlier.

387
00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:03,680
Uh, and that's one of the districts like to kind of confirm before a pompous set to make sure,

388
00:35:03,820 --> 00:35:08,560
okay, that that well-pomp is honoring that permptate pumping amount there.

389
00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:11,440
No, I think that they do not do is the economic analysis.

390
00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:19,400
This is kind of looking at your, your welfare, the water levels and detail, uh, to kind of develop a good plan

391
00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:24,620
that would help ensure that you can provide reliable water to the customers of that, you know,

392
00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:30,240
public water supplier. This could also entail, you know, you're obviously looking at the wells,

393
00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:36,580
and any potential need for rehab or additional wells, or even if you're looking at the future,

394
00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:41,260
you may want to look at some alternative water resources, except you're going to find out if,

395
00:35:41,260 --> 00:35:45,240
you know, maybe surface water or even considering a brackish groundwater resource could be

396
00:35:45,240 --> 00:35:52,440
But official, you know, the TCTs is another regulatory entity, and they're being sure of a safe drinking water.

397
00:35:53,120 --> 00:36:00,460
Basically, they're their standards that's outlined in 30 TAC, Chapter 290, and TACs, the Texas Administrative Code,

398
00:36:00,980 --> 00:36:06,340
and they have recommendations on, like, well-construction materials or requirements for well-construction materials,

399
00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:17,140
operation of a water system, and they also do, you know, water quality monitoring to ensure that, you know,

400
00:36:17,140 --> 00:36:21,800
take a quick look here at some of the county level management versus the public

401
00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:27,680
whileer public water supply well management. GCDs, the responsibilities, that kind

402
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:32,780
of take a broad, wide approach to county-wide management, they're working to

403
00:36:32,780 --> 00:36:37,260
manage the aquifer conditions to the GFC, which is kind of what James was

404
00:36:37,260 --> 00:36:41,840
mentioning earlier. So they're looking at water levels across the district. They're

405
00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:45,740
looking at a county-wide and kind of how that all fits in to meeting the DFC,

406
00:36:45,740 --> 00:36:51,860
etc. Well, underage responsibility, it's more localized because you have specific wells and

407
00:36:51,860 --> 00:36:57,020
well-field areas. You're monitoring water levels and wells for operational purposes, trying

408
00:36:57,020 --> 00:37:03,480
to focus on specific levels, how that interacts with the pump level, your pump settings,

409
00:37:04,500 --> 00:37:11,100
how the seasonal fluctuations come into play. If you were going to see higher water level

410
00:37:11,100 --> 00:37:17,380
in the summer, whenever it's pumping water, compared to, you know, your lower static water levels

411
00:37:17,380 --> 00:37:19,580
that you can see in the winter time there.

412
00:37:20,300 --> 00:37:20,700
Let's see.

413
00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:25,880
Also, you know, kind of in mind, but that is kind of focusing on the need for well rehabilitation.

414
00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:29,480
I know, you know, several entities, monitor their well performance.

415
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:59,980
They check, you know, sand production and wells, etc. That's good to kind of check the health of the well. And, you know, you can check your production rate, your sand production. And, you know, when you start seeing a big drop in production, or if you see, you say, sand showing up in your, you're, uh, one of it's being produced, you know, there could be a structural issue with the well, or you could be having some, some urgent issues. And then also, you know, mentioned earlier kind of, you know, well, owners responsibility as to kind of perform studies to, uh,

416
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:06,940
projected demands, extend well service life, and, or, you know, any potential for alternative water resources.

417
00:38:11,180 --> 00:38:15,560
One tool that Stacey mentioned that the district uses is the Hydrogeological Report.

418
00:38:15,660 --> 00:38:25,140
You know, these are required by the LundStar rules. They basically provide the district with information addressing the impacts of the proposed pumping of the existing wells.

419
00:38:25,140 --> 00:38:33,860
This helps the district also gather data and, you know, have the best available information to help manage the aquers of the district.

420
00:38:34,060 --> 00:38:41,980
Oftentimes with these hydrogelological reports, your applicants, their consultants will submit the geophysical locks, if they have any close-by wells,

421
00:38:42,300 --> 00:38:47,100
that really helps the district understand a little bit better on a local level of the aquifer system in that area.

422
00:38:47,500 --> 00:38:51,700
Another useful tool is the pumping test and houses.

423
00:38:51,700 --> 00:38:56,880
You know, the data from the time of construction, you're during the long continuous test.

424
00:38:56,960 --> 00:39:00,780
That can be plotted, you know, help verify transmissivity, etc.

425
00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:07,860
And, you know, that's really useful information for whenever the district is participating in a groundwater flow model update.

426
00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:13,280
You get, it helps you kind of understand the site's specific conditions across the county better.

427
00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:20,760
hydrogeological reports are required for an increase in out annual allocation if there's any new

428
00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:26,960
wells or increase in well-production rate and then the third requirement could be if there's

429
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:31,760
an exception to the well-spacing requirements and a spacing kind of briefly outlined those.

430
00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:35,420
If you're going to load it previously but we'll move in here.

431
00:39:37,450 --> 00:39:42,290
When you're looking at the hydrogeological report basically the finished report should include

432
00:39:42,290 --> 00:39:47,370
not showing the site specific data where the wells located reference the property lines

433
00:39:47,370 --> 00:39:54,910
in the county level location of that map, or well, tables containing information on

434
00:39:54,910 --> 00:39:59,370
one-star permanent registered well information, you're also beneficial, they're also required

435
00:39:59,370 --> 00:40:03,990
by these hydrogeological report guidelines that are available on the one-star site.

436
00:40:04,350 --> 00:40:10,230
This is for wells within a half mile of these wells, or if, say, it's a large capacity

437
00:40:10,230 --> 00:40:17,990
well, and the production, well-spacing radius extends beyond a half-mile. It will be that

438
00:40:17,990 --> 00:40:22,130
particular radius there. But you're looking at, you know, with that information,

439
00:40:22,410 --> 00:40:27,290
you're going to perform a series of interference analysis. This is a typically

440
00:40:27,290 --> 00:40:32,190
analytical model, and like it's sold to around this model using calendars from the

441
00:40:32,790 --> 00:40:38,990
right now, it's the Hagham whenever the GMA-14 model gets adopted. We may consider moving up to that.

442
00:40:39,690 --> 00:40:44,990
But I'll tell you how it renders all over some sites specific data if they have pumping tests and transmissivity

443
00:40:44,990 --> 00:40:51,630
You know that could be used as well looking for you know whatever the applicant feels is the best available information at that time

444
00:40:52,870 --> 00:41:01,870
You know the impact analysis you'll look at the 24 hours of pumping the well and then you'll look at a maximum production scenario and the same process will be completed with every well. It's

445
00:41:01,870 --> 00:41:02,850
well-field

446
00:41:03,850 --> 00:41:07,130
basically after that there's a discussion of the pumping effects

447
00:41:08,130 --> 00:41:12,970
It's a part of what we look at, you know, it is a little rough, you're kind of showing

448
00:41:12,970 --> 00:41:17,570
this as an example for the city of Conro proposed well, 30-2 at the time.

449
00:41:18,230 --> 00:41:22,970
So we will look at the geology of the area, looking at, you know, the aquifer extents,

450
00:41:23,270 --> 00:41:26,670
we'll look at the proposed screen interval, the wealth, you can see if that fits with the local

451
00:41:26,670 --> 00:41:27,110
geology.

452
00:41:27,850 --> 00:41:33,470
We also look at static water level data, and this is the water level data that comes from

453
00:41:33,470 --> 00:41:37,670
the USGS, they are responsible for monitoring long-stars wells.

454
00:41:38,370 --> 00:41:43,670
One star has a between 150 and 200 wells in the number county.

455
00:41:44,170 --> 00:41:48,110
The USGS goes out and measures them during the off-peak

456
00:41:48,110 --> 00:41:52,790
companies season typically, you know, winter time would be the ideal time to do that.

457
00:41:54,170 --> 00:41:58,050
So it's a representation of the system that's not being asked stressed.

458
00:41:59,330 --> 00:42:03,630
And we basically compare that as just kind of looking at a general terrain to how that compares

459
00:42:04,970 --> 00:42:08,690
to the simulator, water level from the groundwater flow model.

460
00:42:08,890 --> 00:42:14,270
That's the green line, which is from the mad ground from the approved DFC cycle.

461
00:42:17,100 --> 00:42:21,680
Now, one important point to note to the third component of the hydrogeological report, this

462
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:23,740
is once the well has been drilled and constructed.

463
00:42:24,540 --> 00:42:29,560
It's very important that the world's kind of have a requirement that information from

464
00:42:29,560 --> 00:42:32,680
Well, intestinal will be provided to the district.

465
00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:38,960
You're looking for geophysical logs and water quality data, water level data, and then information

466
00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:44,760
of the well and pump material settings are beneficial, helps the district confirm and keep

467
00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:45,920
the database up to date.

468
00:42:46,060 --> 00:42:52,480
And then again, pump information is very important for the, for God confirming the boundary.

469
00:42:55,280 --> 00:43:01,100
Well, I take a look at a quick example here to some of the local geology and some of the

470
00:43:01,100 --> 00:43:03,120
levels in the Montgomery County.

471
00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:05,460
We're showing some information here from the Montgomery County

472
00:43:05,460 --> 00:43:07,600
mode 119 well too.

473
00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:10,860
And the center there, you're seeing a visual of a geophysical

474
00:43:10,860 --> 00:43:11,640
log.

475
00:43:12,820 --> 00:43:16,300
And on that log, you see a series of brown and yellow

476
00:43:16,300 --> 00:43:17,660
alternating sequences.

477
00:43:18,300 --> 00:43:22,740
Those brown members of that geophysical log there

478
00:43:22,740 --> 00:43:25,100
are showing clays or other low permutability

479
00:43:25,100 --> 00:43:25,560
summits.

480
00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:29,380
And the yellow section is the sand portions from the log.

481
00:43:29,380 --> 00:43:36,240
So, what you see is the Gulf Coast has a pretty complex of an alternating sequence of these sand and clay intervals.

482
00:43:36,640 --> 00:43:42,680
You know, historically you have the shallower Chico aquifer, and you know, that's above the Evangelonography.

483
00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:49,220
And in the upper portions of the Evangelon and Chico, there's been quite a bit of communication between the two.

484
00:43:49,380 --> 00:43:53,460
So, you know, there is water that kind of moves between the two formations there.

485
00:43:53,460 --> 00:43:55,100
When you get deeper in the advantage,

486
00:43:55,120 --> 00:43:57,160
lannacle for, you know, you can see that there's thicker

487
00:43:57,160 --> 00:44:00,600
clay sequences that help provide hydraulic separation

488
00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:02,380
between all these sand arrows.

489
00:44:03,180 --> 00:44:07,060
And so what we're seeing here on the left-hand side,

490
00:44:07,140 --> 00:44:09,080
is kind of a well schematic here.

491
00:44:09,580 --> 00:44:12,040
Basically, you show and well-tube.

492
00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:14,100
What you have here is you have your surface casing

493
00:44:14,100 --> 00:44:16,300
that's set down to about a thousand feet.

494
00:44:16,520 --> 00:44:19,440
And then you have a screen and blank liner that's installed,

495
00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:25,860
You know, from about roughly 900 down to about 1200 feet, this well-screens, sounds in the

496
00:44:25,860 --> 00:44:29,020
dump that are all about 10-20 to 1200 feet.

497
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:34,200
And so those things are letting the water eat through that well from those lower centers, if

498
00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:38,460
you see on the log, there's the little morning sections, those rivers of the screen.

499
00:44:38,700 --> 00:44:43,040
So what you have the water eat through the well and you can see that the water level is rising

500
00:44:43,040 --> 00:44:44,000
up in that well.

501
00:44:44,140 --> 00:44:48,840
So you have your pressure, which is, you know, the hydraulic pressure of that aquifer.

502
00:44:48,840 --> 00:44:55,580
so it's rising up. The static water level was about 488 feet, you know, and this was September

503
00:44:55,580 --> 00:44:59,960
of 2023. So that's about you.

504
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:10,840
It was quite a bit above the base of these sands. And if you go through the same aquifer, you can have different pressures depending on how much hydraulic separation is between all this.

505
00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:21,980
You know, you know, public complexity of the Gulf Coast, opt for system is as these formations are getting thicker, they increase in depth and thickness as you kind of come down towards the coast.

506
00:45:21,980 --> 00:45:24,600
And so it's not the same throughout the whole county.

507
00:45:24,740 --> 00:45:28,460
You're going to have different aquifers, different parameters, different water levels and

508
00:45:28,460 --> 00:45:29,080
different sections.

509
00:45:29,420 --> 00:45:33,960
And you and borrow levels can be, you know, related to, you know, the well construction, which

510
00:45:33,960 --> 00:45:38,120
Sandra's screening, the amount of growth and pumping and all sorts of factors that kind

511
00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:40,300
of combine into that.

512
00:45:40,760 --> 00:45:45,040
Looking at this chart here on the right, it's just kind of looking at some water levels versus

513
00:45:45,040 --> 00:45:52,020
This is the, one of us talked about the USGS and then water levels collected by an independent

514
00:45:52,020 --> 00:45:53,240
measuring firm.

515
00:45:54,100 --> 00:45:58,460
That's, you know, you see, it's pretty close to measure between all of it, you know, you're

516
00:45:58,460 --> 00:46:03,560
seeing, you know, basically a static water level there and this is, well, one was measured

517
00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:05,280
about 450 feet.

518
00:46:05,420 --> 00:46:12,240
This was again in February of 2025, you know, so that, well, you know, has quite a bit of available

519
00:46:12,240 --> 00:46:18,320
draw down when you're looking at an 18-inch liner, and then that goes down until your screen

520
00:46:18,320 --> 00:46:22,780
section there about, look, see here, it starts about 10, 10, 20 years ago.

521
00:46:23,720 --> 00:46:27,640
So that gives you a room if you have a pump in there, it can be lowered if the water level

522
00:46:27,640 --> 00:46:29,360
decline is becoming a bit concerning.

523
00:46:29,900 --> 00:46:33,480
You know there's a plenty of room to lower the pump, this is an evangelon well, depending on

524
00:46:33,480 --> 00:46:38,780
your production rate, you can get pumping levels that are maybe 50 to 100 feet deeper, kind

525
00:46:38,780 --> 00:46:40,580
at Pinnon's long seasonal fluctuation,

526
00:46:40,720 --> 00:46:41,800
and other weather, water levels.

527
00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:45,000
But, you know, so you have where you need

528
00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:46,520
to kind of lower the pump here.

529
00:46:48,140 --> 00:46:49,920
What I kind of bring up this well to you,

530
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:51,480
the actually one, the one,

531
00:46:51,580 --> 00:46:52,760
it was put out to the district

532
00:46:52,760 --> 00:46:54,700
that it was undergoing well rehabilitation.

533
00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:59,500
The district reached out to get the records from 119.

534
00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:02,120
The records indicate that they ended up

535
00:47:02,120 --> 00:47:05,240
setting the pump to the, basically the same depth

536
00:47:05,240 --> 00:47:06,560
and then the same pumping rate.

537
00:47:07,260 --> 00:47:13,860
So, in that situation, even talking about the wreckage request and providing information to the district,

538
00:47:14,180 --> 00:47:18,780
you know, district of the wires, the information provided when the characteristic is changed.

539
00:47:20,520 --> 00:47:26,080
So, you know, that full pop setting, similar popping rate, actually the same popping rate,

540
00:47:26,260 --> 00:47:30,420
you know, did not require mudwind-19 to provide that information to a district here.

541
00:47:30,940 --> 00:47:39,760
Another example, too, just kind of a well rehabilitation example, there was another well that the district was made aware of that was undergoing well rehab activities.

542
00:47:40,020 --> 00:47:43,620
They're installing a new screen a blank liner within the well.

543
00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:47,980
Typically, when you install those liners, your production rate will decrease.

544
00:47:49,460 --> 00:47:53,480
And so the importance there, you don't have to necessarily provide the updated data.

545
00:47:53,640 --> 00:47:59,660
It's not required by the rules, but it's good to reach out to the district and kind of inform them of rehabilitation activities.

546
00:47:59,660 --> 00:48:05,700
Because what will happen is you have your permanent production rate and then you know it's going to be lower

547
00:48:05,700 --> 00:48:09,100
Because of you know the liner and the ability to well-to-produce

548
00:48:09,520 --> 00:48:13,740
So you want to communicate with the district to ensure that you're preserving that initial

549
00:48:13,740 --> 00:48:21,140
Production rate and and make sure that if there's a replacement while in the future or something that that production rate can be honored

550
00:48:25,780 --> 00:48:28,320
well and in crisis I just want to

551
00:48:28,320 --> 00:48:33,320
touch on that a little bit more before we move on with my care and

552
00:48:33,320 --> 00:48:37,740
some of the reasons that we're bringing up some examples of well rehabilitation and what

553
00:48:37,740 --> 00:48:41,920
were some real-time data that we're receiving about those well rehabilitation.

554
00:48:42,680 --> 00:48:46,740
There is a lot of conversation in some public meetings that we've been in recently,

555
00:48:47,380 --> 00:48:51,400
where specific wells have been brought up and there's been some sensationalizing that,

556
00:48:51,540 --> 00:48:54,640
you know, there's well failure here, we're out of water, we're at the bottom of the aquifer,

557
00:48:55,780 --> 00:49:00,320
and so, you know, I asked Krista, you know, show us what we've received when we actually

558
00:49:00,320 --> 00:49:05,180
went to these mud districts and said to get the actual information, and when the paperwork

559
00:49:05,180 --> 00:49:10,980
was returned to us, we had the pump in the exact same place, you know, what he said

560
00:49:10,980 --> 00:49:14,600
it a lot better than I did, but basically no characteristics had changed.

561
00:49:16,100 --> 00:49:21,540
This was just a situation where we were doing well rehabilitation.

562
00:49:22,620 --> 00:49:30,300
So we've got to be careful with that kind of language and think things publicly or kind of

563
00:49:30,300 --> 00:49:35,920
you know, we're out of water. In some cases, we're either aging out or it is just your garden

564
00:49:35,920 --> 00:49:42,020
variety rehabilitation that has to be done. I mean, this isn't titanium. All of these wells

565
00:49:42,020 --> 00:49:46,860
have to be repaired. They're going to have to be replaced over time or you might have to go,

566
00:49:46,860 --> 00:49:51,000
you know, lower your pump or deal with water level decline. They're not all drilled in the same

567
00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:56,960
depth or level or, you know, your your preparations for the future might have to be reconsidered.

568
00:49:56,960 --> 00:49:59,780
I appreciate you bringing that up, Chris,

569
00:50:00,060 --> 00:50:02,560
and giving some real-time examples on that.

570
00:50:02,820 --> 00:50:05,800
All right, Mike, let's talk about water level declines.

571
00:50:06,120 --> 00:50:07,840
I've asked you put together some considerations

572
00:50:07,840 --> 00:50:11,580
related to future water level declines for the crowd here today.

573
00:50:12,060 --> 00:50:15,240
So, sure, in the days, it's laid out really well

574
00:50:15,240 --> 00:50:17,100
when we were talking about the DFC process,

575
00:50:17,400 --> 00:50:20,140
is our future conditions process, the joint planning,

576
00:50:21,840 --> 00:50:24,900
Chris has talked about well construction, well design,

577
00:50:24,900 --> 00:50:30,680
looking at some of the factors there with regard to the wells. Both of those tie-in to

578
00:50:30,680 --> 00:50:38,340
considerations that we or you need to make. Think about moving into the future and how

579
00:50:38,340 --> 00:50:46,620
water-level declines can affect a real practical and physical standpoint. When we're doing

580
00:50:46,620 --> 00:50:52,300
the joint planning process within GMA-14, part of that planning process is understanding what kind

581
00:50:52,300 --> 00:50:58,260
production may be occurring in the future regionally and when you produce ground water it's

582
00:50:58,260 --> 00:51:03,420
just a physical reality that you all know whenever you turn your pump on the water level

583
00:51:03,420 --> 00:51:10,040
in your well goes down regionally all of those when you look at long-term production as production

584
00:51:10,040 --> 00:51:14,980
continues to increase water levels due to decline that's something we've been monitoring we

585
00:51:14,980 --> 00:51:16,520
we know is occurring.

586
00:51:18,060 --> 00:51:20,920
We are looking very locally at a well itself.

587
00:51:21,620 --> 00:51:23,000
I wanted to start there by looking at,

588
00:51:23,280 --> 00:51:25,220
what does that look like as far as water,

589
00:51:25,520 --> 00:51:27,880
water all decline and what's one of those considerations?

590
00:51:29,820 --> 00:51:32,000
What we've seen up here is something

591
00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:33,820
probably most of you are very familiar with,

592
00:51:33,940 --> 00:51:35,280
and that is a pump curve.

593
00:51:36,900 --> 00:51:40,360
When we, if we were to not change any equipment at all,

594
00:51:40,480 --> 00:51:43,480
Chris was just talking about a well

595
00:51:43,480 --> 00:51:47,340
Well, where a pump was being replaced, set at the same level, same production rate.

596
00:51:48,060 --> 00:51:53,260
Well, if there is no change in equipment, or you're using the same pumping pump,

597
00:51:55,500 --> 00:51:57,300
essentially, if you increase head,

598
00:51:58,060 --> 00:52:03,340
or essentially that means decreasing your water level, you're increasing the amount of pressure on that pump.

599
00:52:04,200 --> 00:52:07,520
There's going to be a decrease in the amount of flow coming out of that pump.

600
00:52:07,900 --> 00:52:10,920
That's what the curves here that we're looking at.

601
00:52:10,920 --> 00:52:17,300
tiny little dot, but essentially you see as this curves go up towards the, towards the y-axis

602
00:52:17,300 --> 00:52:24,160
there, that's an increasing flow because the head on that up is going up. So that's a real

603
00:52:24,160 --> 00:52:28,520
practice of practical consideration that we're looking at with water level declines and we know

604
00:52:28,520 --> 00:52:29,900
you guys are aware of as well.

605
00:52:31,100 --> 00:52:37,480
What does that look like from the cost standpoint? Well, it's very linear. Here is a very simple example

606
00:52:37,480 --> 00:52:38,360
that we put together.

607
00:52:41,820 --> 00:52:45,480
When you increase when you're increasing your head, so decreasing water levels,

608
00:52:46,540 --> 00:52:52,760
the horsepower required goes up in order to maintain the same pumping rate. Just the way

609
00:52:52,760 --> 00:52:58,120
the physics work here. This is an example from a, for a, if we're looking at 1,000 gallon per minute

610
00:52:58,120 --> 00:53:03,200
well, trying to continue to pump that 1000 gallons per minute, if we were good to go from

611
00:53:03,200 --> 00:53:09,060
100 feet of head up to 1000 feet of head, we're going from about 50 horsepower up to about

612
00:53:09,060 --> 00:53:10,260
350 horsepower.

613
00:53:11,160 --> 00:53:11,740
That's required.

614
00:53:12,720 --> 00:53:16,020
Now, have we seen 900 feet of head increase anywhere in the county?

615
00:53:16,500 --> 00:53:16,800
No.

616
00:53:17,180 --> 00:53:18,200
That hasn't happened.

617
00:53:18,540 --> 00:53:21,660
This is kind of just a, it was great of example here.

618
00:53:22,040 --> 00:53:23,300
But we have seen head increases.

619
00:53:24,320 --> 00:53:26,760
What does that mean when we, as far as the change in cost,

620
00:53:26,760 --> 00:53:32,920
we can translate that horsepower directly to kilowatt hours. And so we see that those costs are

621
00:53:32,920 --> 00:53:38,780
directly, also that we see an increasing cost associated with, in this case we've got electrical

622
00:53:38,780 --> 00:53:44,640
requirements there. We've made some assumptions, very standard, very basic assumptions looking

623
00:53:44,640 --> 00:53:50,320
at, if this well was a thousand gallon of minute well operating 18 hours a day, so essentially

624
00:53:50,320 --> 00:53:56,160
at 75% operational rate. And if it was costing you a 10 cents per kilowatt hour, well you can

625
00:53:56,160 --> 00:54:03,000
See how those electrical costs on a yearly basis go from $20,000 to $20,000 a year at $100

626
00:54:03,420 --> 00:54:09,880
feet of head to $80,000 a year at $500 feet of head.

627
00:54:10,340 --> 00:54:16,220
It is still once again directly tied to the horsepower increase and directly tied to the increase

628
00:54:16,220 --> 00:54:18,400
in head on that well.

629
00:54:20,560 --> 00:54:25,720
What's another consideration when we're looking at changes in water level or future water level

630
00:54:25,720 --> 00:54:26,340
declines?

631
00:54:26,340 --> 00:54:31,960
One thing that we always want to think about as well is how can the water quality in the aquifer itself change?

632
00:54:32,880 --> 00:54:36,540
One way that it can change is based on low construction.

633
00:54:37,440 --> 00:54:42,440
If the screens are set at a level that's relatively close to the existing water level,

634
00:54:43,520 --> 00:54:47,200
then as this, if that water level starts to decline into the screen,

635
00:54:47,840 --> 00:54:51,940
you're introducing oxygen into the system, into the aquifer system, creates oxidation,

636
00:54:51,940 --> 00:54:56,080
can create some different types of chemical reactions that are occurring within your screens

637
00:54:56,080 --> 00:54:56,760
on there.

638
00:54:57,040 --> 00:55:01,820
So that can create some issues with water quality that are very more of a factor of

639
00:55:01,820 --> 00:55:04,240
well construction than the aquiferate itself.

640
00:55:05,420 --> 00:55:09,260
Something that's more related to the aquifers, if there's gas in the formations, dissolved

641
00:55:09,260 --> 00:55:16,800
gas, as you're increasing those rates, the pressure from the increase in the decreasing

642
00:55:16,800 --> 00:55:22,640
water levels can cause a decrease in pressure in the aquifer that allows more of that natural

643
00:55:22,640 --> 00:55:29,580
gas in the in the formations to start to escape coming into that water column very relatively

644
00:55:29,580 --> 00:55:35,180
easy to deal with and be removed from that water column but that is still can be a different

645
00:55:35,180 --> 00:55:40,260
factor to consider. And also that change in pressure that you're creating within the aquifer

646
00:55:40,260 --> 00:55:45,940
there it can start to induce flow from other parts of the aquifer where water quality is

647
00:55:45,940 --> 00:55:48,780
just higher total dissolved solids content.

648
00:55:49,340 --> 00:55:50,880
It just creates that differences in pressure

649
00:55:50,880 --> 00:55:53,540
and creates differences in flow throughout the system.

650
00:55:54,080 --> 00:55:55,740
So that's just another one of those considerations

651
00:55:56,320 --> 00:55:58,380
with regard to water level declines.

652
00:55:59,840 --> 00:56:01,120
And then I wanted to go back real quick

653
00:56:02,160 --> 00:56:04,940
to the image that Chris was just talking about there

654
00:56:04,940 --> 00:56:06,120
with regard to well construction.

655
00:56:06,640 --> 00:56:08,280
He already kind of addressed all of these

656
00:56:08,280 --> 00:56:10,640
in what he was talking about, but just wanted to reiterate

657
00:56:10,640 --> 00:56:13,220
that associated with water level declines.

658
00:56:13,220 --> 00:56:17,100
Some things that our considerations are one casing diameter.

659
00:56:19,340 --> 00:56:22,040
If there's a lot of level of appliance, you do need to get a bigger pump in there.

660
00:56:22,440 --> 00:56:24,200
Can you fit the bigger pump inside the casing?

661
00:56:25,040 --> 00:56:28,380
In order to get that, there's a larger bowl and really use that,

662
00:56:29,140 --> 00:56:31,200
that may have the most efficient, well possible.

663
00:56:32,600 --> 00:56:36,760
So if you have a casing diameter or if you tell a scope the weld down

664
00:56:36,760 --> 00:56:39,740
to from a larger casing diameter down to a smaller casing diameter,

665
00:56:41,220 --> 00:56:46,780
That's where Chris was talking a little bit about how the wells were completed and you mentioned

666
00:56:46,780 --> 00:56:48,750
kind of the area there.

667
00:56:49,700 --> 00:56:52,820
It's in gray on these diagrams there.

668
00:56:52,960 --> 00:56:57,080
We would call it pinch point or a place where that well gets smaller.

669
00:56:57,820 --> 00:57:01,560
So it's harder to get that pump down into that deeper depth at that point.

670
00:57:02,600 --> 00:57:04,800
And as I mentioned a moment ago about the screen intervals,

671
00:57:04,980 --> 00:57:08,420
if those screens are set relatively close to where existing water levels are,

672
00:57:08,420 --> 00:57:11,100
As that water level declines, it can induce

673
00:57:11,100 --> 00:57:12,660
some different types of chemical reactions

674
00:57:12,660 --> 00:57:15,440
that occur by introducing oxygen into the system.

675
00:57:15,980 --> 00:57:17,100
So that's gonna be another consideration

676
00:57:17,100 --> 00:57:18,260
that we're looking at.

677
00:57:18,380 --> 00:57:20,200
We regard the future water level declines.

678
00:57:24,100 --> 00:57:28,060
So there is a constant benefit associated with thinking

679
00:57:28,060 --> 00:57:29,340
of these water level declines,

680
00:57:29,600 --> 00:57:33,640
and then maybe switching over to alternative supplies.

681
00:57:34,280 --> 00:57:35,720
And we know that's definitely a consideration

682
00:57:35,720 --> 00:57:39,540
that you all have to think about as you're looking at your wells

683
00:57:39,540 --> 00:57:43,480
and continue to meet the public water system demands within your systems.

684
00:57:44,560 --> 00:57:46,260
So there's definitely an operational consideration.

685
00:57:47,340 --> 00:57:49,060
How would these wells continue to work?

686
00:57:50,300 --> 00:57:57,100
How can you bring in this other type of water or this alternative supply versus the groundwater you've been using?

687
00:57:58,060 --> 00:58:02,720
Can we still, being able to meet the same capacity requirements?

688
00:58:02,960 --> 00:58:06,760
We have to drill new wells, modify existing wells.

689
00:58:06,760 --> 00:58:12,080
the rehabilitation Chris was talking about a moment ago, bringing in a different quality

690
00:58:12,080 --> 00:58:15,420
of water from alternative supplies is always going to be a consideration as well.

691
00:58:16,440 --> 00:58:21,260
So what's the cost of that versus the benefit, what's the customer tolerance for this

692
00:58:21,260 --> 00:58:24,320
different type of water, this different quality of water being brought into the system?

693
00:58:26,160 --> 00:58:27,920
So definitely some questions to consider.

694
00:58:29,320 --> 00:58:30,660
Why, you know, is it needed?

695
00:58:30,920 --> 00:58:32,140
Why do you need the alternative supplies?

696
00:58:32,140 --> 00:58:38,020
that a well construction issue is a knock for issue is at a water level declines, however

697
00:58:38,020 --> 00:58:42,500
looking at it into the future. Is that alternative supply really going to be your most

698
00:58:42,500 --> 00:58:47,700
cost-effective option, with regard to dealing with relative to the water level declines?

699
00:58:50,500 --> 00:58:55,080
And, you know, which alternative supply is going to be the best option? There's surface

700
00:58:55,080 --> 00:59:01,060
waters, one option, brackish groundwater, developments, another option, reuse lots of

701
00:59:01,060 --> 00:59:06,860
different options to think about as far as alternative supplies and what we definitely understand

702
00:59:06,860 --> 00:59:10,720
it's going to be more of an engineering discussion as to what the cost versus the benefit

703
00:59:10,720 --> 00:59:14,700
of those different different alternative supplies are.

704
00:59:16,910 --> 00:59:22,030
Mike, before we move on from that I think because that's such a big topic of conversation

705
00:59:22,030 --> 00:59:27,870
in which we are about to move into hot topics which that's a hot topic also but I think

706
00:59:27,870 --> 00:59:53,270
It's important so there's been a lot of conversation and yesterday at GMA 14 we had a panel of attorneys that Stacey moderated for us yesterday, so if you weren't here or if you didn't get a chance to see that it will be online and it was highly insightful about what we can look forward to in the future as we do continue to grow especially as the Texas miracle or the governor is inviting

707
00:59:53,770 --> 00:59:59,890
as many businesses as possible to come to our state so we do have this competing effort for our resources versus

708
01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:27,960
This is what's coming our way, but to think about water in a different way, meaning, you know, our days of cheap water behind us are one way or the other, you're going to have to look at your cost benefit, whether it's alternative water resources or, you know, we had a different public meeting where they said every four years, I'm lowering my pump now because a water level decline, that doesn't necessarily mean that we've, you know,

709
01:00:27,960 --> 01:00:33,080
And desaturated the aquifer, but that's a different conversation.

710
01:00:33,320 --> 01:00:36,340
If you're looking at the storage, what you're looking at is your cost benefit analysis,

711
01:00:36,960 --> 01:00:41,820
is it a good planning tool for you to continue looking forward to the future to continue

712
01:00:41,820 --> 01:00:45,580
to lower your pump or to look to alternative water supplies?

713
01:00:46,100 --> 01:00:51,960
We're here at Montgomery County, and you have Lake Conro, which is at your disposal,

714
01:00:51,960 --> 01:00:57,060
or they're moving things around to make that possible for you.

715
01:00:57,060 --> 01:01:00,880
We just are saying, you're going to have to make that decision to look forward on what's

716
01:01:00,880 --> 01:01:03,100
best for you and your planning purposes moving forward.

717
01:01:03,340 --> 01:01:04,920
We're not forcing you into it.

718
01:01:04,920 --> 01:01:06,160
We're giving you the information.

719
01:01:06,380 --> 01:01:10,800
We're letting you know where we stand on desire future conditions, but you are going to have

720
01:01:10,800 --> 01:01:14,840
to make those decisions higher your hydrogeologist to figure out what's going to be your best

721
01:01:14,840 --> 01:01:16,540
move forward for you.

722
01:01:17,500 --> 01:01:20,280
And one way or the other, do you think it's fair to say, you're kind of kicking the

723
01:01:20,280 --> 01:01:21,320
can down the road?

724
01:01:21,620 --> 01:01:24,860
If you don't, you just wait till there's an issue and then you're lowering your pump

725
01:01:24,860 --> 01:01:29,380
you're dealing with well rehabilitation or, you know, I feel personally like that's when

726
01:01:29,380 --> 01:01:31,340
the frustration comes to the groundwater district.

727
01:01:32,260 --> 01:01:36,280
You know, we don't know what decisions you made or your predecessors made when they originally

728
01:01:36,280 --> 01:01:40,920
drilled your wells or set up for your public water supply and if you properly planned

729
01:01:40,920 --> 01:01:45,000
out for your growth or what your expectations were going to be or if you made a decision

730
01:01:45,000 --> 01:01:50,560
when you originally drilled because it was cheaper to the more shallow that you drilled so

731
01:01:50,560 --> 01:01:54,400
you stopped there, or only one a few hundred feet lower when maybe it would have been

732
01:01:54,400 --> 01:01:57,320
a better idea for you to go quite a bit lower than that.

733
01:01:57,320 --> 01:02:05,100
Either way, now you're facing those decisions, and I want to be clear that it's not in

734
01:02:05,100 --> 01:02:08,980
our regulatory authority, and you may touch on that at some point in the hot topics.

735
01:02:10,360 --> 01:02:14,780
For us to tell you, hey, we think it's a good plan for you to move towards surface water,

736
01:02:15,040 --> 01:02:20,160
or we think it's a good plan for you to keep going deeper, or only go your expectation

737
01:02:20,160 --> 01:02:24,000
and have three to four years deeper or to widen it

738
01:02:24,000 --> 01:02:26,260
or to tell you what you're up against.

739
01:02:26,660 --> 01:02:28,100
So anyway, I really appreciate that Mike.

740
01:02:28,280 --> 01:02:33,040
I think that's important information for this group.

741
01:02:34,820 --> 01:02:35,960
So who's historical pumping?

742
01:02:36,960 --> 01:02:38,500
Mike you're up again on that.

743
01:02:39,780 --> 01:02:41,040
And you know, I've asked that you put together

744
01:02:41,040 --> 01:02:42,940
some information on historical pumping.

745
01:02:43,280 --> 01:02:45,100
Give us some insight on that.

746
01:02:45,700 --> 01:02:46,800
And I love visuals.

747
01:02:47,580 --> 01:02:49,900
So I've asked them to really make some clear

748
01:02:49,900 --> 01:02:56,320
or lame-in-term type visuals for me and the public and the screen, so take it away, Mike.

749
01:02:57,680 --> 01:03:04,220
So, right, switching into the historical pumping there, really one of the things that we looked at here was,

750
01:03:04,340 --> 01:03:08,900
what we could consider from a hydrogeological perspective is some relatively recent historical pumping.

751
01:03:08,940 --> 01:03:17,520
This goes back a few decades, of course, from our perspective on looking at it, that was really looking at the growth of Montgomery County.

752
01:03:18,340 --> 01:03:26,480
As I mentioned and started off talking about the water level declines, you can't have any time

753
01:03:26,480 --> 01:03:30,840
you pump groundwater, water levels are going to decline, so understanding how that

754
01:03:30,840 --> 01:03:37,300
historical pumping has grown, looking at how it's grown at a time that helps to inform

755
01:03:37,300 --> 01:03:42,200
our understanding of why the water levels are changing like they are,

756
01:03:46,220 --> 01:03:47,500
and what's really

757
01:03:47,500 --> 01:03:53,900
Under here in Montgomery County, the growth has been quite a bit of development and growth

758
01:03:53,900 --> 01:03:55,540
within Montgomery County.

759
01:03:56,000 --> 01:03:58,160
I put together these two maps real quick.

760
01:03:58,620 --> 01:04:02,880
They just kind of give an illustration of the amount of growth that has occurred within

761
01:04:02,880 --> 01:04:08,540
Montgomery County and focus on in 2010.

762
01:04:09,000 --> 01:04:16,300
So these are some maps developed showing the change in development over the county from 2010 and

763
01:04:16,300 --> 01:04:17,980
another snapshot in 2024.

764
01:04:19,980 --> 01:04:24,980
Everything that's in kind of a reddish color, the darker the red means the more density

765
01:04:24,980 --> 01:04:30,760
or the higher developed areas and the lighter reds or the pinks are lower density development

766
01:04:30,760 --> 01:04:32,980
that still represent development that's occurred.

767
01:04:34,120 --> 01:04:40,300
The takeaway that really to just illustrate here is just how much more reddish color there

768
01:04:40,300 --> 01:04:43,740
is in the 2024 map relative to the 2010.

769
01:04:44,460 --> 01:04:49,400
And so that's just a really gives kind of a snapshot look at how much growth has occurred

770
01:04:49,400 --> 01:04:53,760
and to meet a lot of that, of course, that growth requires water.

771
01:04:54,320 --> 01:04:56,360
It requires water from some source.

772
01:04:57,000 --> 01:05:02,160
And most of that source here has been through the development of groundwater resources to meet

773
01:05:02,160 --> 01:05:03,800
those public water supply demands.

774
01:05:05,700 --> 01:05:07,540
We look at that growth over time.

775
01:05:08,400 --> 01:05:11,480
These are the pumping records from the groundwater conservation district.

776
01:05:11,480 --> 01:05:18,260
So, we're starting over here, looking at the starting in 1984, that's data from the water

777
01:05:18,260 --> 01:05:18,980
development board.

778
01:05:19,140 --> 01:05:27,080
So, before the district was in place, going through 2002, we're the water development board

779
01:05:27,080 --> 01:05:27,360
estimates.

780
01:05:27,980 --> 01:05:32,340
So, right about here is where the water development board is, where the groundwater district

781
01:05:32,340 --> 01:05:33,540
came into place.

782
01:05:34,560 --> 01:05:38,000
Groundwater conservation district has been monitoring groundwater development, groundwater

783
01:05:38,000 --> 01:05:41,880
production since that time, and we can see the growth that's occurred. We did see

784
01:05:41,880 --> 01:05:48,660
then kind of a spike in groundwater production in 2011. For those of you around,

785
01:05:49,220 --> 01:05:54,520
that was a very hot, very big drought here, record number of 100 degree days, all

786
01:05:54,520 --> 01:05:59,120
of that. And then we see a drop off in that in the amount of groundwater

787
01:05:59,120 --> 01:06:04,160
production as conditions and a drought lesson. We had another drop off around

788
01:06:04,160 --> 01:06:10,220
2015 when some surface water supplies became available, but the growth is continued and we've

789
01:06:10,220 --> 01:06:13,160
reached into another drop period there towards the end of that.

790
01:06:13,960 --> 01:06:17,340
Those last few bars there in 2022, starting in 2022.

791
01:06:18,180 --> 01:06:23,100
That's been another drop that's been ongoing and so we've seen some more groundwater production

792
01:06:23,100 --> 01:06:25,780
though it has been pretty stable the last three or four years there.

793
01:06:26,700 --> 01:06:34,080
This is just illustrating how as folks continue to move and the Texas miracle that

794
01:06:34,080 --> 01:06:41,020
So, I mentioned just a moment ago, that development and growth and more people, they do require water.

795
01:06:41,780 --> 01:06:47,340
And that's been reflected in the increasing groundwater use within Montgomery County.

796
01:06:48,480 --> 01:06:52,820
When we look also a little more regionally, we looked our neighbor to the south here.

797
01:06:53,100 --> 01:06:57,520
And we see what the groundwater production looks like as it's been continued to grow.

798
01:06:57,520 --> 01:07:01,240
They're also within the Harris Gallery's and Substance District.

799
01:07:01,560 --> 01:07:04,620
So looking at Northern Harris County there,

800
01:07:05,220 --> 01:07:08,060
this is just looking at the northern part of Harris County.

801
01:07:08,500 --> 01:07:12,440
So just looking at essentially what we have highlighted there

802
01:07:12,440 --> 01:07:14,360
as regulatory area three.

803
01:07:14,840 --> 01:07:19,160
Well, the groundwater production there has also been two to three times greater

804
01:07:19,160 --> 01:07:20,700
than what we're seeing in Montgomery County.

805
01:07:21,660 --> 01:07:26,360
So it's just an illustration of how groundwater and how the groundwater resources

806
01:07:26,360 --> 01:07:29,780
are being used within the region.

807
01:07:30,000 --> 01:07:36,360
To meet the growing demands and the growing needs of the populations in the area.

808
01:07:36,740 --> 01:07:46,420
Well, and I want to add why I asked Mike to bring that slide, because I think it's important to show, you know, we are boarder of Montgomery County specifically.

809
01:07:46,700 --> 01:07:53,920
We're just geographically challenged by having Harris County below us. That doesn't make them a villain. They had to grow on groundwater. They're just one of them more highly.

810
01:07:53,920 --> 01:07:57,160
I think I did a little bit of research on it.

811
01:07:57,240 --> 01:08:01,680
I mean, Harris County is the most populated county in the state of Texas, and it actually

812
01:08:01,680 --> 01:08:07,400
has more population in Harris County than it was something like, I don't want to give

813
01:08:07,400 --> 01:08:11,360
wrong number now, it was over nine states in the United States.

814
01:08:11,660 --> 01:08:15,700
So that's just right against your border, they have different governing laws on what they

815
01:08:15,700 --> 01:08:19,240
can and can't do with their groundwater, they don't have to answer to a desired future

816
01:08:19,240 --> 01:08:19,760
condition.

817
01:08:20,160 --> 01:08:22,680
That's the legislature made that decision, they have different mandates.

818
01:08:23,400 --> 01:08:29,020
It's specific to stopping subsidence, but as you can see, it's still a great deal of pumping.

819
01:08:29,600 --> 01:08:36,040
A great deal more than our regional mag allows for presently in GMA-14.

820
01:08:36,660 --> 01:08:42,640
And so that impact, we're going to feel that over county boundaries because clearly the aquifer

821
01:08:42,640 --> 01:08:45,980
and all this impact doesn't account for political lines.

822
01:08:46,300 --> 01:08:50,200
So I just think it's important to see the difference in numbers.

823
01:08:50,200 --> 01:08:55,440
If there's this fear, when you look at Montgomery County's pumping numbers, it's substantially

824
01:08:55,440 --> 01:08:58,440
lower than just a portion of Harris County.

825
01:08:58,560 --> 01:09:01,140
And that's not all the regulatory sections.

826
01:09:01,420 --> 01:09:05,460
I think their pumping is somewhere closer to 400,000 across Harris County.

827
01:09:05,600 --> 01:09:08,300
We're just looking at the region that borders us.

828
01:09:08,560 --> 01:09:14,400
But I think it's important for us to look at that and have a better understanding with

829
01:09:14,400 --> 01:09:19,180
those of you along the southern part of Montgomery County, some of your impacts are just

830
01:09:19,180 --> 01:09:19,840
to see the location.

831
01:09:21,640 --> 01:09:23,660
And by impact specifically,

832
01:09:23,800 --> 01:09:24,880
a lot of global decline.

833
01:09:25,140 --> 01:09:25,440
Yes.

834
01:09:26,080 --> 01:09:27,100
What sort of means there?

835
01:09:28,080 --> 01:09:29,120
And just something else even,

836
01:09:29,520 --> 01:09:30,540
noticing on the chart there,

837
01:09:30,540 --> 01:09:33,060
you can see the same patterns in production

838
01:09:33,600 --> 01:09:35,960
that are affected by the same climatic conditions

839
01:09:35,960 --> 01:09:37,540
that we are here in Montgomery County.

840
01:09:38,080 --> 01:09:39,820
Last three years there have been increases

841
01:09:39,820 --> 01:09:43,960
in pumping to the south of us just as we've seen

842
01:09:43,960 --> 01:09:45,420
and even to a greater extent there.

843
01:09:46,580 --> 01:09:47,440
Thanks, Mike.

844
01:09:48,760 --> 01:09:51,860
Okay. Are we done with your slides on the pump and?

845
01:09:51,980 --> 01:09:52,240
You're smart.

846
01:09:52,660 --> 01:09:54,360
Great. All right. I'm going to move on to Chris.

847
01:09:54,860 --> 01:09:57,280
We want to look at surface water.

848
01:09:58,700 --> 01:10:04,420
So I'd like for you to show good overview of current availability of surface water.

849
01:10:05,160 --> 01:10:08,640
And then I'm interested in the full potential build out of surface water

850
01:10:08,640 --> 01:10:10,900
as an alternative water resource.

851
01:10:11,500 --> 01:10:15,440
Again, I really like the visuals because I think this helps us

852
01:10:15,440 --> 01:10:20,980
Also, before I kick you off on that, another thing that I'm hearing publicly is that this

853
01:10:20,980 --> 01:10:23,380
is kind of the full-fledged solution.

854
01:10:23,700 --> 01:10:29,280
If we could just get everyone on the surface water and taking their maximum amount of yield

855
01:10:29,280 --> 01:10:33,060
from like Conrad, then we no longer have issues with groundwater moving forward.

856
01:10:33,300 --> 01:10:36,760
And I just think that we need to look at this and deepen that conversation.

857
01:10:38,520 --> 01:10:39,500
So, yeah, thank you very much.

858
01:10:40,340 --> 01:10:44,200
And real quick, you're just there before I want to clarify, I will sit along that higher number

859
01:10:44,200 --> 01:10:49,280
pumping your mission, you mentioned Harris County, that was actually Harris and Delston combined when you were like that total there.

860
01:10:49,540 --> 01:10:50,260
Thank you.

861
01:10:50,480 --> 01:10:50,980
Thank you.

862
01:10:51,100 --> 01:10:52,340
There's a 250,000 acre fee.

863
01:10:53,040 --> 01:10:53,620
There is.

864
01:10:54,060 --> 01:10:54,260
Correct.

865
01:10:56,700 --> 01:10:57,040
All right.

866
01:10:57,280 --> 01:11:01,140
Looking at the surface water, you know, this is a map basically showing the current supplies

867
01:11:01,140 --> 01:11:02,080
as it existed.

868
01:11:02,360 --> 01:11:06,640
This is the blue dots and blue pipeline coming through here.

869
01:11:07,160 --> 01:11:12,600
New estuary provided a map of future conditions, potential buildout, the fall, you know,

870
01:11:12,600 --> 01:11:16,320
with their planning potentially, back in August of 2025.

871
01:11:16,780 --> 01:11:22,560
So this expansion is showing by the red lines and the red squares on this map.

872
01:11:22,740 --> 01:11:24,760
That's kind of where you can see these pipelines.

873
01:11:25,600 --> 01:11:28,180
The built and the future are extended towards in the future.

874
01:11:28,440 --> 01:11:33,420
Currently there are six entities that are receiving surface water in the gunway county.

875
01:11:33,940 --> 01:11:38,140
Additional water providers have been interested in obtaining surface water.

876
01:11:38,140 --> 01:11:43,240
You know, as you can see, the 245 potential surface water transmission lines, they constantly

877
01:11:43,240 --> 01:11:47,740
have the availability of surface water, but they don't reach all areas of Montgomery County.

878
01:11:48,680 --> 01:11:52,900
And when you kind of look at the water, the man projections, you know, conjunctive needs

879
01:11:52,900 --> 01:11:57,140
some use in Montgomery County is going to be needed to meet these future demands, combine

880
01:11:57,140 --> 01:12:02,400
in the surface water and ground water. You know, you can see the areas here. You're kind

881
01:12:02,400 --> 01:12:07,420
of, you know, extending the pipelines a little bit to the south, a little bit more in the the

882
01:12:07,420 --> 01:12:11,140
a little bit off to the west, going out towards McMurray there.

883
01:12:11,900 --> 01:12:16,700
And so the word is not surface water, you're going to have, you have to continue growth

884
01:12:16,700 --> 01:12:21,140
and you're going to have to continue to provide that water with groundwater or alternative

885
01:12:21,140 --> 01:12:22,180
water resources.

886
01:12:23,520 --> 01:12:28,620
Kind of wanted to take a look, mentioning that, kind of looking at some of these area hydrographs

887
01:12:28,620 --> 01:12:36,500
to kind of show how some water levels are behaving or how they're acting here, historically,

888
01:12:37,320 --> 01:12:44,000
throughout the county here. This information is based on that of the USGS complex. For the

889
01:12:44,000 --> 01:12:48,560
Chico Aquifer, we have three maps, three zones, we have one in near Conorow, and the East

890
01:12:48,560 --> 01:12:52,560
part of the county, and then we also have the Southwest part of the county. And with the Chico

891
01:12:52,560 --> 01:12:58,060
Aquifer, you can see that these water levels have been relatively stable through time

892
01:12:58,060 --> 01:13:03,860
here. A lot of that is due to, you know, it's a lot of exempt pumping in the Chico or in the

893
01:13:03,860 --> 01:13:10,620
crop areas. You know, a lot of the public supply wells are constructed deeper. You can't have wells that are completed in the

894
01:13:10,620 --> 01:13:20,740
Chico. You can have some that are completed in the Chico and the Evangeline. But if you say if you were to have a Chico well, you would probably see some level of

895
01:13:20,740 --> 01:13:29,240
while a little fluctuation in a larger capacity well, I'm near that well. We're just don't have any of those that are currently being monitored at this point.

896
01:13:30,460 --> 01:13:35,660
Moving on to the evangelium, here's four maps showing the West, North, East, and the South

897
01:13:35,660 --> 01:13:36,620
parts of the county.

898
01:13:37,160 --> 01:13:39,980
And you can kind of see the fluctuations with time as well.

899
01:13:40,700 --> 01:13:44,800
We are seeing, you know, as Mike had the graph there on pumping, last few years, between

900
01:13:44,800 --> 01:13:49,720
the growth and the drought conditions, you know, you are seeing some model over the climbs.

901
01:13:50,500 --> 01:13:54,880
So, you know, the data has been trimming, showing some declines in these areas.

902
01:13:54,880 --> 01:14:01,980
If you notice in the soft portion here, the data there for the Evangelion is showing, you

903
01:14:01,980 --> 01:14:09,040
know, since the clients there in about 2023, 2022, when you have the dryers, 2024, it

904
01:14:09,040 --> 01:14:11,240
started seeing a little bit more recovery.

905
01:14:12,160 --> 01:14:20,000
Do you do, you know, increasing precipitation and less pumping in that area?

906
01:14:22,530 --> 01:14:27,810
On the slide here basically show the Jasper hydrographs, we're going to again,

907
01:14:30,080 --> 01:14:30,220
you know,

908
01:14:30,360 --> 01:14:31,100
four areas again.

909
01:14:31,200 --> 01:14:35,720
You have your west, your central north, that's the Conver area, you have the East area

910
01:14:35,720 --> 01:14:39,560
and then you have the south central and we're also seeing the clients and the Jasper

911
01:14:39,560 --> 01:14:43,820
particularly in the Conver area, we're seeing it to continue to climb, we're starting to

912
01:14:43,820 --> 01:14:49,280
see a little more decline in the East area here and then in the south central, you know,

913
01:14:49,360 --> 01:14:52,180
we're seeing the continued decline and then some of this for recovery.

914
01:14:52,180 --> 01:14:59,840
You know, a little bit of history, you know, you can kind of tell the growth and the production and everything else with how easily slopes do change.

915
01:15:00,000 --> 01:15:29,980
You know, kind of looking from 1990 to about 2000 and that soft part of the county, you know, you're seeing, see, you grow everything out 45 corridor, so you have, you know, while all over the county, but then from about 2010, that line gets a little steeper, and, you know, that indicates, you know, additional growth during that time, and around that time in the Jasper, that's when Harris County started producing modern from the Jasper as well, and, you know, I think they had one well up until about, you know,

916
01:15:30,000 --> 01:15:35,700
2000 to you that was constructed in the Jasper, it may be a couple of years plus or minus, but

917
01:15:35,700 --> 01:15:41,980
you know, this is an increasing production as well. From 2010, going forward to about 2015,

918
01:15:42,700 --> 01:15:47,860
you know, Griff was continuing, there was more well being drove in the Jasper and Montgomery

919
01:15:47,860 --> 01:15:53,140
Anne Harris County. So you're also seeing, at that same time, you have the surface of water

920
01:15:53,140 --> 01:15:58,320
lines are being built out and projects come in on. And so, and both you know, in Paris County,

921
01:15:58,320 --> 01:16:01,740
North Air is going to reach a water authority, so I'm surprised I'm going to deliver it out.

922
01:16:01,980 --> 01:16:04,520
You know, Australia is working to build their pipelines.

923
01:16:04,880 --> 01:16:09,460
So about 15, I believe the surface water started being provided to Australia, then you

924
01:16:09,460 --> 01:16:12,240
started seeing some other entities in this area to get the surface water.

925
01:16:13,360 --> 01:16:16,440
So you also see this recovery in the water levels.

926
01:16:17,600 --> 01:16:21,780
And you know, they came up, looking like everything was coming up in that area to roughly

927
01:16:21,780 --> 01:16:27,820
about 2018, 2019, and then we started seeing some declines in that area with increased pumping

928
01:16:27,820 --> 01:16:34,520
and growth. And you know the dryer here is combined with that growth in 2023. You see a little

929
01:16:34,520 --> 01:16:40,220
steeper decline there and then you know there are some the company points coming up from 24 to 25.

930
01:16:41,260 --> 01:16:45,940
The interesting to see with a little bit of you know what are you here this year with water levels

931
01:16:45,940 --> 01:16:53,200
and look like here in early 26. Chris, before you move on from that because that left side

932
01:16:53,200 --> 01:16:58,620
the bottom left side of that, the central cell, you know, you just explain it well kind

933
01:16:58,620 --> 01:17:04,500
of the timeline there, but because it's such a shocking visual to look at, I mean, there

934
01:17:04,500 --> 01:17:09,580
are some gasps in the audience or whatever, about that central cell chart there, can you,

935
01:17:10,180 --> 01:17:13,740
because I asked these two questions, and I originally saw that, and so I want you to kind

936
01:17:13,740 --> 01:17:19,440
of drive that home a little bit more if you can, and the development, there's a portion,

937
01:17:19,440 --> 01:17:26,660
And I don't know if you have your red line or their kind of shell it, and maybe just help us better understand the timeline.

938
01:17:27,200 --> 01:17:29,940
So maybe, because that was my question originally, too.

939
01:17:29,940 --> 01:17:35,060
So I feel like the public might want a better explanation if you can have more full explanation of what we're looking at there.

940
01:17:35,080 --> 01:17:41,880
If that's concerning or if you all, if this was expected with the kind of growth that we saw.

941
01:17:42,400 --> 01:17:49,320
Yeah, so basically to start off, you know, as Mike said, you know, I mean, you're going to see a decrease in water levels.

942
01:17:49,960 --> 01:17:54,620
and so that kind of highlights the growth. First part, let's see.

943
01:17:54,840 --> 01:17:56,440
And it'll hard to get it from behind you, I'm sorry.

944
01:17:56,620 --> 01:17:57,780
We should probably have a microphone.

945
01:17:58,580 --> 01:18:03,620
First part of the area, kind of looking between the, you know, 1990 and 2000.

946
01:18:05,260 --> 01:18:07,120
And then the

947
01:18:09,390 --> 01:18:11,930
next area of birth, we talked about there.

948
01:18:12,070 --> 01:18:13,030
And then when,

949
01:18:16,270 --> 01:18:17,590
you know, that's kind of the incident,

950
01:18:18,110 --> 01:18:20,590
period when you're seeing these steeper water level declines.

951
01:18:20,830 --> 01:18:21,590
And then 2015.

952
01:18:21,590 --> 01:18:24,590
What was built out then, Chris, that dropped that?

953
01:18:25,650 --> 01:18:30,850
Well, you're seeing high levels of growth in South Montgomery County, I-45 corridor area,

954
01:18:31,110 --> 01:18:33,530
and you're also seeing growth in North Harris County.

955
01:18:33,670 --> 01:18:38,270
There's development occurring in Montgomery and Harris County at that point.

956
01:18:38,750 --> 01:18:44,150
You're seeing a lot of growth, and we're also constructing the surface water lines at that time.

957
01:18:44,450 --> 01:18:47,530
And then, you know, the 2015 is when the surface water came online.

958
01:18:55,320 --> 01:18:56,180
Thanks, Tiffany.

959
01:18:59,920 --> 01:19:01,540
And then you can see the recovery here.

960
01:19:01,740 --> 01:19:04,300
Yep, we'll never, you know, surface bar is being utilized.

961
01:19:04,540 --> 01:19:06,800
You know, the production, ground reproduction is left.

962
01:19:07,220 --> 01:19:08,620
So the water levels did increase.

963
01:19:09,080 --> 01:19:12,020
And then, you know, they kind of, kind of help study here.

964
01:19:12,200 --> 01:19:14,400
For a little bit, you know, we've had some slight decline.

965
01:19:14,720 --> 01:19:19,700
And then when you're looking at this recent year here with, you know, increased drag conditions,

966
01:19:20,180 --> 01:19:21,860
increased pumping, continued growth.

967
01:19:22,040 --> 01:19:24,040
You can see it's definitely a steeper decline.

968
01:19:24,760 --> 01:19:27,080
And then, you know, between 24 and 25,

969
01:19:27,080 --> 01:19:34,280
you have that indication of recovery in most of these. I believe there's one point here. That's

970
01:19:34,580 --> 01:19:41,480
Estuary, Well, 13. They're showing a little bit more decline between about 2024 and 2025.

971
01:19:43,060 --> 01:19:46,000
So, then it's your question, ma'am.

972
01:19:46,400 --> 01:19:52,060
I think so. I just, from a, I don't just perspective, a state perspective, you're looking at this

973
01:19:52,060 --> 01:19:57,040
all over the state. Is this, do you gas when you see this decline?

974
01:19:57,480 --> 01:20:00,280
Well, when you hear your mic change, if you're.

975
01:20:01,600 --> 01:20:03,660
You need to see if I can get a green light.

976
01:20:04,320 --> 01:20:07,680
Okay, so any time you have a growth in pumping,

977
01:20:07,960 --> 01:20:10,160
it's just like putting a bigger kid on a crampoline.

978
01:20:10,280 --> 01:20:12,060
The water levels are going to continue to drop.

979
01:20:12,580 --> 01:20:14,800
You solve the graph of the pumping increasing.

980
01:20:15,360 --> 01:20:20,620
It's the same process that has happened in Galveston in Harris County

981
01:20:20,620 --> 01:20:22,520
and now it's happening in Montgomery County,

982
01:20:22,960 --> 01:20:26,280
those pumping levels increase with population and demand.

983
01:20:26,900 --> 01:20:28,560
And so the water levels are going to drop.

984
01:20:29,220 --> 01:20:31,720
And they continue to drop and don't stabilize

985
01:20:31,720 --> 01:20:33,380
as that growth is occurring.

986
01:20:33,880 --> 01:20:35,900
And so it's a adult gas.

987
01:20:36,360 --> 01:20:41,240
It's a normal process when you pump a combined aquifer.

988
01:20:41,560 --> 01:20:43,980
The aquifer is still fully full of water.

989
01:20:44,360 --> 01:20:46,460
The pressures are dropping in the aquifer.

990
01:20:46,580 --> 01:20:48,140
And so that's a normal process.

991
01:20:48,140 --> 01:20:50,880
as we see it in every confined aquifer across the state.

992
01:20:51,380 --> 01:20:56,500
We got almost a 1,000 feet of ground down in the Dallas area, and that's why they've started

993
01:20:56,500 --> 01:21:00,280
converting to surface water years and years and decades ago, right?

994
01:21:00,300 --> 01:21:01,260
And they're still converting.

995
01:21:01,400 --> 01:21:03,160
And they're still growing on pumping also.

996
01:21:03,340 --> 01:21:04,720
It's a dynamic process.

997
01:21:05,000 --> 01:21:11,000
And so I think what's really interesting about the graphs here in, you know, an I-45 quarter

998
01:21:11,000 --> 01:21:18,120
or in high growth areas is the impact of that surface water coming in and relaxing the system

999
01:21:18,120 --> 01:21:24,600
a little bit and then the growth picks up again and the water level start to decline again.

1000
01:21:24,740 --> 01:21:29,080
And so I think you've said it very clearly, Sarah, you're all for more surface water.

1001
01:21:30,300 --> 01:21:37,480
And when we look at more conservation and conservation and when we look at the surface water

1002
01:21:37,480 --> 01:21:44,060
availability and the county, I think the district's made it clear that they're very much

1003
01:21:44,060 --> 01:21:46,400
a proponent of more surface water.

1004
01:21:46,400 --> 01:21:52,460
So that we can minimize water-level declines and decrease the impacts.

1005
01:21:52,900 --> 01:21:55,600
Well, I'm going to extend the life of your wells, too.

1006
01:21:55,900 --> 01:21:58,360
When I said earlier, kicking the can down the road,

1007
01:21:58,840 --> 01:22:01,400
if you're not practicing conservation, which I've even heard

1008
01:22:02,000 --> 01:22:05,580
in other public meetings that conservation can only do so much.

1009
01:22:05,800 --> 01:22:07,260
What can do a lot in the aggregate?

1010
01:22:08,480 --> 01:22:12,680
We're moving on quite a few initiatives here in the district

1011
01:22:12,680 --> 01:22:15,720
to try to help incentivize that and you'll hear a lot more about it.

1012
01:22:15,720 --> 01:22:20,740
But, you know, culturally, we're only kind of, I feel like across the state.

1013
01:22:21,040 --> 01:22:23,040
In some areas, they're well ahead of us.

1014
01:22:23,460 --> 01:22:28,160
You know, they have different issues with maybe they have different saturation levels in their aquifers,

1015
01:22:28,300 --> 01:22:29,840
or they were dealing with storage issues.

1016
01:22:30,000 --> 01:22:34,420
We're not dealing with here, but they've done an excellent job getting in fun of that, whereas

1017
01:22:34,420 --> 01:22:38,680
you look at those water level declines. You as public water suppliers know better than everyone

1018
01:22:38,680 --> 01:22:43,640
that your constituent had green grass and the middle of all that. And the legislature is trying

1019
01:22:43,640 --> 01:22:49,060
to figure out some ways to help assist with that, but I think we can assist with that, too, a lot more

1020
01:22:49,060 --> 01:22:59,980
and help extend the life of your well or give you more time on figuring out your options. But, you know,

1021
01:22:59,980 --> 01:23:09,960
But seeing water level decline doesn't, you know, it's the fear, this is the sky's falling and it's happening right now.

1022
01:23:10,240 --> 01:23:17,200
That's not actually the case. We are very blessed with a prolific aquifer and we are in the Gulf Coast off from Montgomery County's very blessed.

1023
01:23:18,460 --> 01:23:23,460
But that doesn't mean, as you're dealing with it now and you're having to make your decisions,

1024
01:23:23,460 --> 01:23:28,940
I can honestly, you don't need to look forward and pay attention and figure out what your best

1025
01:23:28,940 --> 01:23:29,720
step forward is.

1026
01:23:30,060 --> 01:23:36,280
But yes, thank you, that helps me answer that question and kind of draw, because the naked

1027
01:23:36,280 --> 01:23:43,120
eye to that, it's hard to process what it is exactly that you're looking at and where we stand

1028
01:23:43,120 --> 01:23:43,700
as a county.

1029
01:23:44,780 --> 01:23:52,140
Did you have more on that or on to the next, okay, James, no light subject at all, can you bring

1030
01:23:52,140 --> 01:23:57,880
And, you know, it's a hot topic during our last joint planning cycle.

1031
01:23:58,380 --> 01:24:01,600
When the subsidence districts had a great deal of influence over GMA-14

1032
01:24:01,600 --> 01:24:04,320
and our joint planning here in Montgomery County,

1033
01:24:05,000 --> 01:24:09,140
but I've asked that you help us better understand the history of subsidence

1034
01:24:09,660 --> 01:24:15,520
a fuller picture surrounding the conversation of subsidence in Montgomery County

1035
01:24:15,520 --> 01:24:17,540
and GMA-14 as a whole.

1036
01:24:17,540 --> 01:24:21,240
So we've shown this in other meetings at GMA 14,

1037
01:24:21,520 --> 01:24:23,060
but I asked you to bring it back out

1038
01:24:23,060 --> 01:24:26,020
and help us, help us re-look at this, thank you James.

1039
01:24:26,980 --> 01:24:28,840
Yeah, obviously some guidance.

1040
01:24:29,520 --> 01:24:31,960
One of those math factors that must be considered

1041
01:24:31,960 --> 01:24:36,060
when the GCDs are planning for their groundwater management.

1042
01:24:36,860 --> 01:24:41,120
And so for this area, the greater heat scenario

1043
01:24:41,120 --> 01:24:45,740
is seen quite a bit of subsidence over in past decades.

1044
01:24:45,740 --> 01:24:52,020
And so it can be a very substantial consideration, especially when you're close to the coast.

1045
01:24:52,860 --> 01:24:56,980
And what we wanted to go through was a little bit as Sarah said.

1046
01:24:57,020 --> 01:25:03,440
Some of the history of the development of subsidence, the recognition of the impact of subsidence,

1047
01:25:04,340 --> 01:25:13,960
the implementation of the subsidence districts to control that and to give them the ability to move people to surface water

1048
01:25:13,960 --> 01:25:16,200
to decrease groundwater pumping.

1049
01:25:16,460 --> 01:25:20,520
And so if we start just by the measured subsidence

1050
01:25:20,520 --> 01:25:24,740
from 1906 to 1943, you can see that there's

1051
01:25:24,740 --> 01:25:28,660
very little subsidence in Gauberston County areas,

1052
01:25:29,260 --> 01:25:33,340
mainly just kind of downtown area and to the southeast there.

1053
01:25:33,700 --> 01:25:36,760
And then by 1978, and again,

1054
01:25:36,760 --> 01:25:39,860
this is a cumulative subsidence over time

1055
01:25:39,860 --> 01:25:41,220
in the greater Houston area.

1056
01:25:41,220 --> 01:25:49,380
And what you see is by 1978, you're seeing eight, nine feet of water level decline.

1057
01:25:49,480 --> 01:25:50,980
Let me see if I can get the pointer here.

1058
01:25:51,400 --> 01:25:58,420
You've got nine feet of water level, I'm sorry, subsided in the Harris and Galveston County area.

1059
01:25:59,480 --> 01:26:06,920
Up until 1975, I think the district came in a place in 75, Curris, the subsided into district.

1060
01:26:06,920 --> 01:26:11,820
And this was the picture of subsidence when the district came into play.

1061
01:26:12,260 --> 01:26:14,140
And the legislature said, we've got to do something.

1062
01:26:14,840 --> 01:26:20,000
And so this is what the subsidence looks like.

1063
01:26:20,040 --> 01:26:25,400
If you note, up here on southern Montgomery County, you've already got a foot of subsidence.

1064
01:26:26,000 --> 01:26:30,940
What we've placed, we've placed the public water supply wells on this map as well.

1065
01:26:30,980 --> 01:26:34,380
They're a little hard to see, but there's a little red dots.

1066
01:26:34,380 --> 01:26:40,040
then you can see that by 1978 you've got, you've got public order supply wells, a 45,

1067
01:26:40,400 --> 01:26:45,840
you've got them over here in the western part of the county, you know, and a 45 got four,

1068
01:26:46,220 --> 01:26:50,700
four and five feet of water level decline, when the subsidence district came into play.

1069
01:26:51,200 --> 01:27:01,760
By the time you get to 1995, you've got six, you've got different zones here that were highlighting

1070
01:27:01,760 --> 01:27:06,080
as far as the subsidence, districts, management zones.

1071
01:27:07,180 --> 01:27:17,680
If you look that one foot contour has started to extend up into Montgomery County and you've got a lot more public water supply wells there.

1072
01:27:17,760 --> 01:27:22,220
You've got a higher density of water supply wells as a growth occurs.

1073
01:27:22,620 --> 01:27:30,440
And as Sarah has said clearly, you know, Harris County grew on groundwater and then started transitioning to surface water.

1074
01:27:30,440 --> 01:27:39,060
The same thing is happening in Montgomery County now as growth occurs and so even though the supplied

1075
01:27:39,060 --> 01:27:43,960
is district was converting to surface water, it started in the south and it kind of moves

1076
01:27:43,960 --> 01:28:00,420
up to the north and west. There were still a lot of growth on groundwater. You saw that in the

1077
01:28:04,840 --> 01:28:16,840
In the western part of the county, Harris County, you've got two or three feet of subsidence and then by 1995, you've got six or seven, six feet of subsidence and so they've

1078
01:28:16,840 --> 01:28:24,600
the subsidence is increased quite a bit as they grew on groundwater and continue to convert to surface water.

1079
01:28:24,600 --> 01:28:34,040
Now, in Zone 3, that pumping numbers you saw earlier here in the blue, that's what was established, the Zone 3 and in about 2000.

1080
01:28:34,960 --> 01:28:40,200
And so, you see now you've got 7 feet of subsidence in Western Harris County.

1081
01:28:41,340 --> 01:28:49,040
And by this time, a lot of conversion has happened in the South Park in Galveston County, Southeast Harris County.

1082
01:28:49,040 --> 01:28:52,260
and subsided just starting to slow down.

1083
01:28:52,400 --> 01:28:55,300
You don't see 10 feet here, but nine feet,

1084
01:28:55,300 --> 01:28:57,120
everything is kind of slowed down,

1085
01:28:57,620 --> 01:29:00,180
and Harris Galveston has a lot of maps on their site

1086
01:29:00,180 --> 01:29:03,820
to basically document how good they're doing

1087
01:29:04,320 --> 01:29:06,680
with slowing subsidence there.

1088
01:29:06,960 --> 01:29:09,760
But it has continued up in the northwest part of the county

1089
01:29:09,760 --> 01:29:11,700
as growth continued in groundwater,

1090
01:29:12,720 --> 01:29:14,160
production continued to increase.

1091
01:29:14,760 --> 01:29:18,420
And then by 2016, you can see that seven foot

1092
01:29:19,240 --> 01:29:30,780
Now we've got three foot of subsidence on the southern end of Montgomery County and the one foot contour is moved that a little further into

1093
01:29:30,780 --> 01:29:42,500
in the Montgomery County and you see that continued subsidence moving to the west. You see a few more public water supply wells all the way around the greater Houston area.

1094
01:29:42,500 --> 01:29:51,300
And so I think that history is pretty important to understand, and obviously the pumping

1095
01:29:51,300 --> 01:29:59,960
in Montgomery County is causing some subsided and the pumping in Harris County is causing

1096
01:30:00,000 --> 01:30:08,260
50, everybody is one big system. And the bottom line is it's slowly emanating out. And one of the difficult decisions that

1097
01:30:08,260 --> 01:30:15,980
long-star has to make is they look at roll on management. The future is, as I mentioned earlier,

1098
01:30:16,260 --> 01:30:22,820
subsidence is one of the nine factors that has to be considered. There's no waiting on those nine factors,

1099
01:30:23,120 --> 01:30:29,440
and it has to be put in the thought process with all those other eight factors and looking at growth.

1100
01:30:29,440 --> 01:30:35,520
and making those hard decisions just like everyone else in other districts.

1101
01:30:36,060 --> 01:30:42,720
And so, one of the things that we do want to point out, you know, if you're sitting at

1102
01:30:42,720 --> 01:30:47,960
5 feet above sea level or 10 feet above sea level and you have 10 footups of patents,

1103
01:30:48,520 --> 01:30:49,680
that's a serious issue.

1104
01:30:50,160 --> 01:30:56,860
And when you come up to the north side of Montgomery County, the elevations almost 400 feet

1105
01:30:56,860 --> 01:30:57,860
above sea level.

1106
01:30:57,860 --> 01:31:22,800
Obviously, it drops your 150 feet by the time you get to spring creek, and then you can see the surface elevation dropping, dropping, dropping, dropping as you go southeast along this red line through downtown Houston all the way to the coast, and obviously, if you're over here, and you've got the same amount of subsidence that you are above sea level, that's a huge issue.

1107
01:31:22,800 --> 01:31:35,540
And so, don't want to downplay the subsidence, but it is different when you're sitting at 400 feet above sea level and a different consideration and possibly a different waiting.

1108
01:31:36,080 --> 01:31:51,200
And so we understand that the subsidence has occurred in the southern part of the county, but we feel like in the board has decided that these facts also should be considered when they make their decisions.

1109
01:31:51,200 --> 01:31:59,340
And so, this is just the graph, as you get closer to the coastline and you can see that

1110
01:31:59,340 --> 01:32:04,600
nine foot of subsidence here, you know, very close to the bottom of what's said division

1111
01:32:04,600 --> 01:32:12,200
in that general area, which is sort of the poster child for, you know, bad impacts for

1112
01:32:12,200 --> 01:32:14,300
subsidence when you're close to the coast.

1113
01:32:14,900 --> 01:32:20,560
And so, we just wanted to share that and I think we're moving on to other things now.

1114
01:32:20,560 --> 01:32:27,260
Can we go back just one more slide at this not that one this one which takes you one

1115
01:32:27,260 --> 01:32:32,220
I'll let you say you're going to say and then I'll say what yeah actually I want to go back one more to the contour map

1116
01:32:33,100 --> 01:32:40,380
This one so what I wanted to point out here is that the subsidence districts are not chapter 36 districts

1117
01:32:40,380 --> 01:32:46,480
Okay, they asked to be out of 36 and 2005 because they said oh y'all are going to do DFCs

1118
01:32:46,480 --> 01:32:50,260
And we're going to have to manage to take a particular aquifer condition, we're out.

1119
01:32:50,500 --> 01:32:51,600
We're not doing that.

1120
01:32:51,800 --> 01:32:52,100
Get it.

1121
01:32:52,160 --> 01:32:53,000
We want to be out.

1122
01:32:54,400 --> 01:32:58,640
And so they don't have to do what groundwater districts do.

1123
01:32:59,440 --> 01:33:05,620
And even though they have full statutory authority and mandate in fact to end subsidence,

1124
01:33:05,940 --> 01:33:08,340
there are still allowing the sidelines to occur.

1125
01:33:09,060 --> 01:33:13,680
They are as they grow on groundwater in areas of high demand until surface water

1126
01:33:13,680 --> 01:33:15,600
at the alternative supplies can come online.

1127
01:33:15,960 --> 01:33:18,600
And you can see this illustrated very nicely

1128
01:33:18,600 --> 01:33:19,980
on this contour map.

1129
01:33:20,460 --> 01:33:21,780
In this exciting statistics,

1130
01:33:22,140 --> 01:33:24,620
do not even know they have the main take to end subsidence.

1131
01:33:24,700 --> 01:33:27,340
They don't manage to a subsidence metric at all.

1132
01:33:27,380 --> 01:33:30,920
They don't manage to a aquifer condition at all.

1133
01:33:31,240 --> 01:33:34,920
They say, we want you to try to convert to surface water.

1134
01:33:35,380 --> 01:33:38,020
And we are going to allow you to do that over a certain amount

1135
01:33:38,020 --> 01:33:38,480
of time.

1136
01:33:38,520 --> 01:33:40,740
And you have to decrease your groundwater production,

1137
01:33:41,240 --> 01:33:43,300
based upon your total water demand.

1138
01:33:43,300 --> 01:33:45,780
which is allowed to increase every year.

1139
01:33:46,320 --> 01:33:48,620
And I tell you all of this not to criticize

1140
01:33:48,620 --> 01:33:50,380
what the subsatins districts are doing,

1141
01:33:50,860 --> 01:33:53,440
but you need to understand what they're doing

1142
01:33:53,440 --> 01:33:54,880
and why they're doing it

1143
01:33:54,880 --> 01:33:57,620
and they're not even doing what some people are expecting

1144
01:33:57,620 --> 01:34:00,140
one start to do, which is any subsatins.

1145
01:34:00,240 --> 01:34:01,440
They're not ending subsatins.

1146
01:34:01,560 --> 01:34:03,180
They're slowly curving it.

1147
01:34:03,400 --> 01:34:04,820
And they don't have a subsatins metric

1148
01:34:04,820 --> 01:34:06,700
and they don't have an opera for condition

1149
01:34:06,700 --> 01:34:08,380
that they're managing too.

1150
01:34:08,380 --> 01:34:14,460
So that's, and when you look at what got launched or in trouble,

1151
01:34:14,600 --> 01:34:19,580
what we'll talk about in a minute, with their statutory mandates or lack of the

1152
01:34:19,580 --> 01:34:24,100
subsidence district have all the authority in the world to do whatever it is

1153
01:34:24,100 --> 01:34:27,500
is necessary to insubciidence but they're growing on groundwater as needed.

1154
01:34:29,600 --> 01:34:30,080
Thanks, Casey.

1155
01:34:30,360 --> 01:34:33,860
I wanted to just look at the next slide.

1156
01:34:34,080 --> 01:34:38,100
This one was really helpful for me, so hopefully it will be helpful for you as well

1157
01:34:38,100 --> 01:35:05,140
because for me, you know, when I saw the poster tall photo of what the Brownwood subdivision and it's now a nature preserve and that we need to have these same concerns and Montgomery County to really have a visual of the difference, you know, we're looking at if you see there at the 55 downtown Houston is roughly 55 feet above sea level and they grew and they're great.

1158
01:35:05,140 --> 01:35:08,860
we're talking about downtown Houston. So if we're looking at

1159
01:35:08,860 --> 01:35:12,880
subsidence as a reason to not move forward on growth in Montgomery County,

1160
01:35:13,000 --> 01:35:17,240
I think we need to be reasonable about that. Look at the history of the

1161
01:35:17,240 --> 01:35:22,520
only district that we have that is comparable and extraordinary growth, much

1162
01:35:22,520 --> 01:35:26,840
more extraordinary than we're facing now. And just be reasonable with how we

1163
01:35:26,840 --> 01:35:34,380
are looking at that factor. And you know, I look at on located right there in

1164
01:35:34,380 --> 01:35:38,560
feet above sea level. We're not going to manage subsidence the same as we did in downtown

1165
01:35:38,560 --> 01:35:44,900
Houston in Willis. That's not reasonable to manage it. And then to recognize, you

1166
01:35:44,900 --> 01:35:49,620
showed that seven foot contour line or that growth. I mean, I think that was Jersey Village.

1167
01:35:49,940 --> 01:35:55,780
That was allowed to grow out, post the origination of a U must stop subsidence district.

1168
01:35:57,540 --> 01:36:01,840
And so I just, I think that's all really good information for us to process as we're looking

1169
01:36:01,840 --> 01:36:07,440
to join planning and all questions to that and you can like, I see the hands coming up.

1170
01:36:07,900 --> 01:36:15,120
But so I appreciate that visual, a lot, that was very helpful for me, and then we're

1171
01:36:15,120 --> 01:36:20,540
on to the last topic that we're going to talk about, and then we will have that space for Q&A.

1172
01:36:21,360 --> 01:36:28,760
So this is Recharge, Stacy, like you to close out with Recharge and then touch on property

1173
01:36:28,760 --> 01:36:30,020
rights for us too.

1174
01:36:30,020 --> 01:36:36,540
Sure, so the definition of recharge in 36 is the amount of water that infiltrates to the water

1175
01:36:36,540 --> 01:36:43,780
table of an aquifer. And GCDs are supposed to consider recharge. They're supposed to do that

1176
01:36:43,780 --> 01:36:49,740
in their management plan. It's baked into the models that James and Chris and Mike talked about

1177
01:36:49,740 --> 01:36:56,540
that are used to develop the DSC. But there is no authority in chapter 36 to manage the aquifer

1178
01:36:56,540 --> 01:37:05,580
to recharge. And if you recall, Lone Star had a reduction rule in place that purported to

1179
01:37:05,580 --> 01:37:09,760
manage the aquifer to what it said was the recharge rate. And Lone Star got suit over

1180
01:37:09,760 --> 01:37:14,340
that. And the court said, you have exceeded your authority. Lone Star, you cannot, that

1181
01:37:14,340 --> 01:37:19,920
rule is invalid. And it's like it was never there from the beginning. And I told you all

1182
01:37:19,920 --> 01:37:24,400
about the, at the beginning we talked about how GCDs have these limited authorities. And

1183
01:37:24,400 --> 01:37:25,720
can only do what's expressly.

1184
01:37:30,000 --> 01:37:36,980
36, for the evening legislation. And when the court looked at that, recharged pumping cap effectively said,

1185
01:37:37,120 --> 01:37:43,760
hey, you don't have authority to do that. And so I've been asked a lot, and these consultants have.

1186
01:37:43,880 --> 01:37:50,980
And so his Sarah, why are we not managing to recharge? And that's the answer why is because the court said you don't have

1187
01:37:50,980 --> 01:37:59,000
have accessibility to do it. And when you search for recharged in chapter 36, it's in there, but it's not in a way that says that you can

1188
01:37:59,000 --> 01:38:01,380
manage the aquifer to that type of condition.

1189
01:38:02,280 --> 01:38:05,040
It says that you need to consider it and address it in your

1190
01:38:05,040 --> 01:38:09,420
management plan, but there's no express authority to do that.

1191
01:38:10,540 --> 01:38:14,000
And sustainability, likewise, is not a management standard in

1192
01:38:14,000 --> 01:38:18,220
Chapter 36. The word sustainability is found nowhere in

1193
01:38:18,220 --> 01:38:22,020
Chapter 36. The legislature has tried or considered,

1194
01:38:22,980 --> 01:38:26,640
people have tried to get the legislature to put

1195
01:38:26,640 --> 01:38:32,400
sustainability into chapter 36, but it is that this efforts have been unsuccessful for several

1196
01:38:32,400 --> 01:38:38,220
legislative sessions now. And I personally think that's because the legislature has said,

1197
01:38:38,700 --> 01:38:43,400
you have to manage the aquifer and have this desired future condition that is the balance

1198
01:38:43,400 --> 01:38:50,400
between the highest practical level of production and these other factors. And so by default,

1199
01:38:50,680 --> 01:38:55,640
you cannot manage to what some people consider sustainability or recharge because you have to have

1200
01:38:55,640 --> 01:39:00,880
balance of making sure that you have the highest practical level with these other factors.

1201
01:39:01,160 --> 01:39:04,620
And if you only look at recharge or you only look at sustainability, you're completely

1202
01:39:04,620 --> 01:39:06,100
on the other end of the spectrum.

1203
01:39:06,940 --> 01:39:13,220
Likewise, we don't manage to towers, which is the amount of water in storage that is the

1204
01:39:13,220 --> 01:39:14,460
other end of the spectrum.

1205
01:39:15,200 --> 01:39:20,940
We've got recharge sustainability only produce what comes into the offer to make sure that

1206
01:39:20,940 --> 01:39:24,300
it stays in the status quo condition that we want it to be in.

1207
01:39:24,300 --> 01:39:27,400
Or, let's, you know, manage to toast.

1208
01:39:27,880 --> 01:39:31,660
We've got a 100 million, 80, 100 million, 180 million.

1209
01:39:31,680 --> 01:39:32,660
No, thank you.

1210
01:39:32,840 --> 01:39:34,960
Take your feet in Montgomery County in the Gulf Coast

1211
01:39:34,960 --> 01:39:36,620
office, or we're not managing to that.

1212
01:39:37,180 --> 01:39:39,980
Although you should know that 36 does allow a GCD

1213
01:39:39,980 --> 01:39:41,300
to manage to depletion.

1214
01:39:42,500 --> 01:39:44,320
And if you go back and look on my slides,

1215
01:39:44,440 --> 01:39:48,100
you'll see that listed there as an appropriate management

1216
01:39:48,100 --> 01:39:50,200
strad or management method.

1217
01:39:51,400 --> 01:39:53,320
And that loans start doesn't do that, but it's authorized.

1218
01:39:53,320 --> 01:40:00,380
And there are GCDs that do that in that Oga Allah, that manage that and they say we're going to manage

1219
01:40:00,380 --> 01:40:01,780
to 50% storage.

1220
01:40:02,600 --> 01:40:05,140
They're depleting the saturated thickness of that aquifer.

1221
01:40:05,560 --> 01:40:07,280
That is not what Moonstar is doing.

1222
01:40:07,720 --> 01:40:13,860
With their DFC, they are managing to the remaining available drawdown in a well.

1223
01:40:14,280 --> 01:40:20,760
That relates to the water level in a well, not to the saturated thickness or storage of water in aquifer.

1224
01:40:20,760 --> 01:40:26,400
So there runs dog could go all the way to Depletion, but it's not doing that, and looking

1225
01:40:26,400 --> 01:40:32,320
at storage is taking approach looking at a water level, which takes into consideration

1226
01:40:33,120 --> 01:40:36,940
socioeconomic impacts, and that factor, because if you have water level declines, you're

1227
01:40:36,940 --> 01:40:41,340
going to have to spend more money rehabilitating your well, perhaps, drilling a new well.

1228
01:40:42,760 --> 01:40:45,900
So, and that's a region only, can we clarify that?

1229
01:40:45,900 --> 01:40:48,520
It's not just Montgomery County, that's across GMA-14.

1230
01:40:48,520 --> 01:40:50,060
across the state.

1231
01:40:51,180 --> 01:40:59,140
Yeah, well, GCDs have different metrics, but in terms of having when there's water level decline and you have to

1232
01:40:59,140 --> 01:41:02,080
rehab your well or drill a new well that is across the state.

1233
01:41:03,580 --> 01:41:08,560
So we don't manage to recharge for a number of reasons, but we do consider it.

1234
01:41:10,760 --> 01:41:11,560
I'm pretty right.

1235
01:41:12,320 --> 01:41:13,420
Are you done with?

1236
01:41:13,420 --> 01:41:14,000
Yes, I do.

1237
01:41:14,460 --> 01:41:16,100
Have anything else to talk about recharge?

1238
01:41:17,660 --> 01:41:24,720
I mean, I think that you covered it, that's again, there's a lot of conversation that I am being approached pretty regularly.

1239
01:41:25,300 --> 01:41:31,060
Well, if you are, you know, what we're taking out has to match what's coming in, or we're going to have a problem,

1240
01:41:31,680 --> 01:41:39,540
which that does make sense if that's all you say, but if you're not looking at storage, that's you're not really giving a full clear picture.

1241
01:41:40,620 --> 01:41:45,040
I love my analogies, I give analogies all the time, I don't know that they love that but I do

1242
01:41:45,040 --> 01:41:50,980
it helps me understand it's like saying you know you have a job at this much money and so I can't spend more than that much money

1243
01:41:50,980 --> 01:41:56,960
I make let's say 60,000 a year I can't I can't spend more than 60,000 a year that makes perfect sense and so people are

1244
01:41:56,960 --> 01:41:59,100
equating water and recharge to that

1245
01:41:59,100 --> 01:42:05,620
Except you have $180 million in the bank so you're not you don't want to manage to a hundred and eighty million

1246
01:42:05,620 --> 01:42:07,560
but you're not gonna manage to 60,000

1247
01:42:07,560 --> 01:42:11,660
are going to find a balance in there that's more reasonable for your groundwater.

1248
01:42:13,000 --> 01:42:16,640
And there's conversation about that 180 million, we don't bring that up often or

1249
01:42:16,640 --> 01:42:22,060
tours because there's such a fluctuation in that even if it's up to 25% of that,

1250
01:42:22,220 --> 01:42:26,120
which 40 million I think is what 25% is.

1251
01:42:26,300 --> 01:42:31,280
That's still to manage to recharge at 64,000 acre fee would be extraordinarily

1252
01:42:31,280 --> 01:42:34,880
restrictive for your groundwater resource, not reasonable.

1253
01:42:34,880 --> 01:42:36,460
that is not a reasonable expectation.

1254
01:42:37,860 --> 01:42:39,920
That's all I have to say about that.

1255
01:42:39,920 --> 01:42:41,040
Private property rights.

1256
01:42:42,100 --> 01:42:44,240
OK, so this is, I think, our last slide

1257
01:42:44,240 --> 01:42:45,540
before we get into questions.

1258
01:42:46,840 --> 01:42:49,880
So property right that is protected and regulated

1259
01:42:49,880 --> 01:42:51,840
under Chapter 36 is groundwater.

1260
01:42:52,760 --> 01:42:54,580
It's not any other property right.

1261
01:42:55,420 --> 01:42:58,980
I've heard people say or ask questions about,

1262
01:42:59,080 --> 01:43:02,560
well, I want you to manage the aquifer

1263
01:43:02,560 --> 01:43:07,660
so that there is zero subsidence because when subsidence happens my house shifts and you have

1264
01:43:07,660 --> 01:43:09,360
to protect my property rights.

1265
01:43:09,720 --> 01:43:16,520
It's like, okay, well, the groundwater district has no ability to protect your real estate or

1266
01:43:16,520 --> 01:43:17,080
your home.

1267
01:43:17,580 --> 01:43:21,060
They only have the ability to protect groundwater in the aquifer.

1268
01:43:22,340 --> 01:43:26,720
And in the woodlands, in particular, the residents of the woodlands, you know,

1269
01:43:27,000 --> 01:43:31,460
know exactly the dividing boundary but those landowners do not have any groundwater

1270
01:43:31,460 --> 01:43:37,140
rights at all. Because when the developer developed the woodlands, he severed the groundwater

1271
01:43:37,140 --> 01:43:41,100
rights from the land, from the surface of state. And he retained those as a developer.

1272
01:43:41,980 --> 01:43:46,420
And so all the people in the woodlands bought their land without groundwater attached to it.

1273
01:43:46,800 --> 01:43:51,260
So there are no rights in the wood property rights in the woodlands of any of those residents

1274
01:43:51,260 --> 01:43:55,620
that the groundwater district can protect because they don't own them.

1275
01:43:55,620 --> 01:44:03,520
Esther A has all the rights to the water in the woodlands and Esther A has 38 wells that it owns and operates in the woodlands.

1276
01:44:04,340 --> 01:44:10,180
And it is the entity that provides all the groundwater to everybody in the woodlands.

1277
01:44:10,920 --> 01:44:19,520
And so when we're talking about protecting property rights for the groundwater in the woodlands, it relates to Esther A and the one who has 38 wells.

1278
01:44:19,520 --> 01:44:28,080
And the landowners who are affected by that pumping in the woodlands who want there to be zero subsidence,

1279
01:44:29,500 --> 01:44:32,460
they have a course of action under the law.

1280
01:44:32,580 --> 01:44:39,740
Chapter 36 specifically says that if you have a right to sue your neighbor or the pumper,

1281
01:44:40,020 --> 01:44:42,080
if they're negligently causing subsidence.

1282
01:44:42,880 --> 01:44:47,280
And so that's in the under the common law and that's been codified in Chapter 36.

1283
01:44:47,280 --> 01:44:58,240
So if people want zero level of subsidence, which I don't think is something that this cloud motor district is targeting to manage to, but if you want that, then one.

1284
01:45:00,000 --> 01:45:29,980
Groundwater in the woodlands. And then you also have recourse against the pumper, who is estuary. And so it's this tension, and push back and forth between, I want this level of subsidence, and I want you groundwater district to do something about that. When there isn't full support in the law to do that. And then there is recourse for the particular landowner if they don't like that. Now subsidence is James said is something that the groundwater district has been

1285
01:45:29,980 --> 01:45:34,960
districts are required to consider, absolutely, and that's been taken into account, but you've

1286
01:45:34,960 --> 01:45:40,220
also seen what the subsidence districts who are supposed to be ending subsidence, which

1287
01:45:40,220 --> 01:45:45,720
is a different mandate than you should consider at DCD, that what they've had to do to deal

1288
01:45:45,720 --> 01:45:52,460
with their growth that's unprecedented and while they're waiting for supplies to come online.

1289
01:45:52,880 --> 01:45:58,060
And they have the legal authority to force groundwater users to convert to service water, which

1290
01:45:58,060 --> 01:46:04,160
something that Longstar does not have, Longstar tried to exercise the ability to do that when

1291
01:46:04,160 --> 01:46:09,600
it put the recharge rule in place and it was invalidated by a court because they recharges

1292
01:46:09,600 --> 01:46:14,940
not an authorized method of management under 36 and groundwater districts do not have the

1293
01:46:14,940 --> 01:46:21,360
authority to force you to convert to alternative supplies. The site and districts do have

1294
01:46:21,360 --> 01:46:25,820
that authority specifically and expressly and they're doing that but they're doing it in a

1295
01:46:25,820 --> 01:46:30,900
different way than groundwater districts or addressing subsidence.

1296
01:46:31,980 --> 01:46:36,780
So we just have to really make sure that we understand what that property right is that

1297
01:46:36,780 --> 01:46:45,100
groundwater districts have the responsibility to protect and who has it and that there's

1298
01:46:45,100 --> 01:46:48,020
not a constitutional right in a certain water level and a well.

1299
01:46:48,240 --> 01:46:53,540
We talked about that 36 makes it clear that you're not entitled to a specific amount of water.

1300
01:46:53,540 --> 01:47:00,880
You have this right that the groundwater district will protect and they're protecting your right and the aggregate with everybody's rights.

1301
01:47:01,500 --> 01:47:09,100
They have to manage the aquifer as a whole. Sometimes they can look at management of the aquifer and subparts or subdivisions of an aquifer,

1302
01:47:09,600 --> 01:47:14,380
but they are not managing the aquifer on a well-to-well basis through the DFC.

1303
01:47:14,900 --> 01:47:19,820
The way that impacts on an individual, well, locally or addressed, are through permitting.

1304
01:47:19,820 --> 01:47:26,400
and we have well-spacing rules in place that help minimize impacts and then you have the

1305
01:47:26,400 --> 01:47:30,120
ability to oppose someone's permit application.

1306
01:47:30,460 --> 01:47:35,400
If you think that that particular well is going to, you know, unreasonably affect your

1307
01:47:35,400 --> 01:47:37,340
well or your water level and your well.

1308
01:47:37,660 --> 01:47:42,000
That's your recourse when you don't want when you're having local effects in your well by

1309
01:47:42,000 --> 01:47:42,980
someone else.

1310
01:47:43,920 --> 01:47:48,740
Through the groundwater district, you have recourse if they're, you know, causing waves

1311
01:47:48,740 --> 01:47:55,180
or malicious drainage or negligent causing subsidence, but the recourse with the district is

1312
01:47:55,180 --> 01:47:58,500
if they're causing unreasonable impacts through that proposed application, you can come

1313
01:47:58,500 --> 01:48:05,680
and protest that application. And then they'll be a whole process to evaluate that. But I think

1314
01:48:05,680 --> 01:48:10,440
there needs to be an understanding of what the GCD can do, aquifer-wide when it's managing the

1315
01:48:10,440 --> 01:48:15,860
whole aquifer for the, you know, according to its mandate versus local impacts on an individual

1316
01:48:15,860 --> 01:48:18,380
well and what the district can do about that.

1317
01:48:18,640 --> 01:48:22,880
Those are two separate things that have, there's interplay between them too, but they have

1318
01:48:22,880 --> 01:48:27,860
separate statutory authority and ability with respect to those separate things.

1319
01:48:29,120 --> 01:48:31,820
And I'll end with regulatory taking's claims.

1320
01:48:32,920 --> 01:48:40,700
So those are, those are things that, that occurs when regulation goes too far, where if a

1321
01:48:40,700 --> 01:48:48,140
mental entity imposes restrictions that are too unreasonable. Then, the person's whose property

1322
01:48:48,140 --> 01:48:53,920
right is being unnecessarily restricted has the ability to sue the groundwater district

1323
01:48:53,920 --> 01:48:59,160
for a regulatory taking. First, you have to be someone that has the property right that is

1324
01:48:59,160 --> 01:49:05,720
being affected by the regulation. So if you don't own groundwater, that is not the regulation

1325
01:49:05,720 --> 01:49:09,160
is not unrestricting your property right because you don't have the property right of groundwater.

1326
01:49:10,700 --> 01:49:16,580
And then it's not something that the taking claim does not occur from the lack of regulation.

1327
01:49:17,340 --> 01:49:26,720
It has to be that overreaching by the government that unnecessarily restricts your property right that can give rise to this taking's claim.

1328
01:49:28,660 --> 01:49:29,700
Let's see.

1329
01:49:30,140 --> 01:49:31,880
I think those are all my notes on that.

1330
01:49:32,080 --> 01:49:33,160
Okay. I appreciate that.

1331
01:49:33,440 --> 01:49:37,660
And I'll wrap it up pretty quickly so that there's time for Q&A.

1332
01:49:37,660 --> 01:49:42,560
We want to respect that for you all, but I also just wanted to say, you know, kind of

1333
01:49:42,560 --> 01:49:52,220
been closing for us and for me on the way that we're looking at this moving forward is there

1334
01:49:52,220 --> 01:49:56,000
is an assumption that you have to have a regulation to choose surface water.

1335
01:49:56,240 --> 01:50:03,600
And I think the SGRA is doing a lot to navigate whatever the situation was previously

1336
01:50:04,160 --> 01:50:08,900
perspective of that, they've said publicly, if you want to choose surface water come to

1337
01:50:08,900 --> 01:50:14,980
them. And so I think we should know that there are other areas of the state that did not rely

1338
01:50:14,980 --> 01:50:18,920
on a regulation from a groundwater district to force them into surface water. You can make

1339
01:50:18,920 --> 01:50:23,940
a decision as a public water supplier and economic decision or you're lowering your pumps

1340
01:50:23,940 --> 01:50:28,440
in your wells or you're having to make rehabilitation or deal with water level decline to

1341
01:50:28,440 --> 01:50:32,800
go toward alternative water resources. Not to kick the can down the road, we understand that

1342
01:50:32,800 --> 01:50:39,220
expenses are going to be quite a bit different, if you move towards an alternative water resource,

1343
01:50:39,780 --> 01:50:43,340
but no, that that is the way of the future, no matter how you look at it.

1344
01:50:43,700 --> 01:50:48,140
And that's something that I had heard at one point as well, you know, we don't want to pay for it.

1345
01:50:48,140 --> 01:50:51,340
When they have the problem later down the road, then they can pay for it.

1346
01:50:51,580 --> 01:50:57,040
Well, you know, the dams were created, we benefit from them, somebody paid for it at some point.

1347
01:50:57,040 --> 01:51:03,180
It was, you know, we have to expect that as we want to use this resource, it's going to be more expensive.

1348
01:51:03,440 --> 01:51:06,480
We do have a lot more people coming and population grows businesses grow.

1349
01:51:06,580 --> 01:51:11,100
They want the same rights to be able to grow in ground, or that we have, that our ancestors have.

1350
01:51:11,880 --> 01:51:13,840
So, I want to grant the same much longer on that.

1351
01:51:14,300 --> 01:51:18,840
But all to say, it will be more expensive to utilize alternative water resources.

1352
01:51:19,260 --> 01:51:22,320
But it is a way of the future and you're going to have to consider it.

1353
01:51:22,620 --> 01:51:27,020
And while the yield is still available, you can make your decisions without coming to us.

1354
01:51:27,020 --> 01:51:30,500
asking you to make it for you, asking us to make it for you.

1355
01:51:30,640 --> 01:51:32,280
I think I said what I'm trying to say there.

1356
01:51:32,660 --> 01:51:38,400
So all right Tiffany, she's got you written down in order or signed up, is how we'll

1357
01:51:38,400 --> 01:51:39,100
operate this.

1358
01:51:39,880 --> 01:51:44,140
So I'd ask maybe three, I don't know how many people have signed up to ask questions, Tiffany,

1359
01:51:50,980 --> 01:51:55,440
but well, she can still give you the chance too, but we've asked that you come to the podium

1360
01:51:55,440 --> 01:51:56,420
use the mic.

1361
01:51:56,740 --> 01:52:00,640
So Tiffany, if you want to maybe ask the first three people to stand at and then you can

1362
01:52:00,640 --> 01:52:02,960
some more sign up while they're asking their question.

1363
01:52:24,060 --> 01:52:25,320
If we have anybody else signed up.

1364
01:52:30,740 --> 01:52:39,680
Okay, I don't know your name. I apologize if you would go to the podium. That way you can use the mic and it's on the recording. Thank you.

1365
01:53:00,540 --> 01:53:06,300
Director at mud 67, I'm also a father and grandfather of my family living here in Montgomery County,

1366
01:53:06,660 --> 01:53:09,800
so the future of our water resources are very important to me.

1367
01:53:10,140 --> 01:53:11,700
I have one comment and one question.

1368
01:53:12,400 --> 01:53:15,460
The comment is simply on the subsidence.

1369
01:53:16,400 --> 01:53:19,540
It's a little disingenuous to worry about elevation above sea level.

1370
01:53:20,640 --> 01:53:23,940
Most flooding, flooding events are local.

1371
01:53:23,940 --> 01:53:30,340
And my one concern about subsidence in the Montgomery County is the reactivation of faulting.

1372
01:53:30,500 --> 01:53:35,920
We have significant faults, especially in the woodlands, and there are sagues, and the subsidence continues.

1373
01:53:36,200 --> 01:53:41,080
We get flooding, so relative height above sea level is not important, it's a local event.

1374
01:53:41,640 --> 01:53:45,020
The second thing I thought of you guys were, I want to thank you, the presentation was really good.

1375
01:53:45,160 --> 01:53:47,060
I'm still learning, and I found it very informative.

1376
01:53:47,880 --> 01:53:53,620
My one interesting note there was that, I noticed that there was a definite non-use of the word

1377
01:53:53,620 --> 01:53:57,620
depletion of the reservoir, very careful everything was water levels.

1378
01:53:58,460 --> 01:54:02,080
Pretty sure from looking at your slides and the conversation of water level droppings, we

1379
01:54:02,080 --> 01:54:07,440
have depletion of these aquifers, I don't want to emphasize that, I appreciate the balance

1380
01:54:07,440 --> 01:54:13,080
you're trying to achieve between depletion and the resources that we need to use economically.

1381
01:54:13,660 --> 01:54:20,160
However, my question then is, given that the reservoir is depleting, do you have this

1382
01:54:20,160 --> 01:54:20,660
mag thing?

1383
01:54:20,940 --> 01:54:22,920
Was it a model of the topogram?

1384
01:54:23,100 --> 01:54:28,380
Yes, is there a, is there a, when you build bad model, do you have an expected rate of

1385
01:54:28,380 --> 01:54:30,560
depletion that we're going to live with over time?

1386
01:54:31,200 --> 01:54:31,640
And that's it.

1387
01:54:31,880 --> 01:54:32,700
Thank you.

1388
01:54:35,210 --> 01:54:43,330
I'll jump in first, the model does predict a draw them on, you know, we can do it on my

1389
01:54:43,330 --> 01:54:45,550
on my basis, we can do it at any level.

1390
01:54:46,090 --> 01:54:48,710
The DFC is generally presented as an average

1391
01:54:48,710 --> 01:54:49,870
across the district.

1392
01:54:50,570 --> 01:54:55,070
And so in 20, 80, the goal of the district currently

1393
01:54:55,070 --> 01:54:59,590
is to have 70% of remaining available drawdown.

1394
01:54:59,890 --> 01:55:03,050
And when we consider all the wells in the county

1395
01:55:03,050 --> 01:55:06,290
and across GMA-14, and so that is the metric,

1396
01:55:06,590 --> 01:55:09,210
and that is the rate of decline.

1397
01:55:09,210 --> 01:55:17,630
that is projected now on an annual basis. I'm not sure if I know the number of water

1398
01:55:17,630 --> 01:55:22,830
of feet of water level decline that that equates to, I don't know if you guys do.

1399
01:55:23,490 --> 01:55:30,050
Now, as far as the modeling right now, I don't recall what that rate looks like, but

1400
01:55:30,050 --> 01:55:39,190
to James's point, that is something that we do during joint planning and that we do

1401
01:55:39,190 --> 01:55:45,230
So we were able to look at as part of this current round of joint planning more so than looking

1402
01:55:45,230 --> 01:55:48,710
retroactively to the last round of joint planning.

1403
01:55:49,610 --> 01:55:53,550
When you all did your tracking achievement report, the most recent one that you did,

1404
01:55:54,030 --> 01:55:59,370
the goal was no less than 70% remaining available drawdown and what was the district at currently?

1405
01:55:59,610 --> 01:56:01,050
It was high 90s, I can't recall.

1406
01:56:01,050 --> 01:56:02,550
Like 97 or something?

1407
01:56:02,930 --> 01:56:05,590
It rounded up to 97%.

1408
01:56:06,690 --> 01:56:29,770
Yeah, one quick comment on those water levels too, all that historical water level data goes into these models, so it's important, you know, that's, that's, we got GMA 14 update, so, you know, the, I think that model is based on the Gulf 23, which went through 2018, so all the historical patterns were used to, you know, help with the model calibration period, so that information is being considered.

1409
01:56:31,070 --> 01:56:35,050
And you didn't technically ask a question about the fault that it was more of a statement,

1410
01:56:35,450 --> 01:56:39,770
but I ask a lot of questions about that when I came into the district because it was brought

1411
01:56:39,770 --> 01:56:40,350
to my attention.

1412
01:56:41,070 --> 01:56:47,170
So I do think it's, you know, on the legal side, what our regulatory authority is on that

1413
01:56:47,170 --> 01:56:54,890
and Stacey can help speak to that, but subsignants and faults are two totally different things.

1414
01:56:54,990 --> 01:56:59,570
You might have one exacerbating the other, but faults existed before the origination of whatever

1415
01:56:59,570 --> 01:57:03,630
properties for bill, and I worked in land development as well.

1416
01:57:04,970 --> 01:57:09,970
So some of my questions were surrounding what does groundwater, what is our responsibility

1417
01:57:10,710 --> 01:57:17,190
on handling a natural fault where construction or homes were built as awful as it is

1418
01:57:17,190 --> 01:57:22,690
that those homes were built kind of like homes built in a flood zone, to limit your ability

1419
01:57:22,690 --> 01:57:26,390
to utilize the groundwater or your neighbor's ability to utilize the groundwater because

1420
01:57:26,390 --> 01:57:33,090
homes were built on a natural fault, I think that you run a fine line and saying, you know,

1421
01:57:33,090 --> 01:57:39,230
that would actually be asking us to manage groundwater to a subdivision or to a street or

1422
01:57:39,230 --> 01:57:45,350
to a certain homes, which is in my experience so far with groundwater management, very reasonable

1423
01:57:45,350 --> 01:57:52,070
expectation, like managing to a well or to a specific house or street. On something that was

1424
01:57:52,070 --> 01:57:55,350
naturally and existence before the homes were built.

1425
01:57:55,690 --> 01:57:58,230
I don't know if there's anything legally that you want to add to that

1426
01:57:58,230 --> 01:57:59,990
Stacey or not, your mic's not on a fewer.

1427
01:58:01,130 --> 01:58:01,310
Yeah.

1428
01:58:01,590 --> 01:58:02,710
I think you covered it.

1429
01:58:02,710 --> 01:58:03,850
Can I get a kind of occasion?

1430
01:58:04,070 --> 01:58:06,570
How could the work of the patients were ready for them?

1431
01:58:06,730 --> 01:58:07,550
We're not all in here.

1432
01:58:07,650 --> 01:58:08,390
We need a microphone.

1433
01:58:08,830 --> 01:58:09,750
I don't know water.

1434
01:58:14,020 --> 01:58:14,580
And that's right.

1435
01:58:15,640 --> 01:58:16,340
Can I get your microphone?

1436
01:58:16,560 --> 01:58:17,240
Thanks, James.

1437
01:58:20,430 --> 01:58:21,490
You've got a clarification.

1438
01:58:21,870 --> 01:58:25,710
Did you mean actual depletion of the water in the aquifer?

1439
01:58:26,290 --> 01:58:30,970
It's not a level reduction, but if you actually made a decision of what I'm just trying

1440
01:58:30,970 --> 01:58:31,870
to get clear.

1441
01:58:37,690 --> 01:58:41,850
So he's talking about the watering of the reservoir versus pressure.

1442
01:58:44,920 --> 01:58:46,800
The district's not managing to depletion.

1443
01:58:48,200 --> 01:58:52,660
That's a standard that is authorized under 36, like I said they're doing not in the Ola,

1444
01:58:53,100 --> 01:58:56,720
and that actually is they are doing, they're intentionally saying we're managing this

1445
01:58:56,720 --> 01:59:01,400
refer to 50% of the water that is in the storage of the aquifer at the end.

1446
01:59:02,320 --> 01:59:06,540
And they're aggressively looking for other supplies and that is not what Lone Star is doing.

1447
01:59:06,720 --> 01:59:11,220
I don't know any other areas of Texas where they manage to depletion like they do with

1448
01:59:11,220 --> 01:59:11,600
the oligoyle.

1449
01:59:11,860 --> 01:59:12,960
Do you guys know?

1450
01:59:13,720 --> 01:59:14,200
No.

1451
01:59:14,620 --> 01:59:14,780
They don't.

1452
01:59:16,580 --> 01:59:23,020
So I think that the difference that John wanted to point out was that water levels are above

1453
01:59:27,410 --> 01:59:28,970
So James, thank you for using the mic.

1454
01:59:29,650 --> 01:59:29,810
Okay, sorry.

1455
01:59:30,810 --> 01:59:33,550
So our water levels are above the top of the aquifer.

1456
01:59:34,230 --> 01:59:38,810
And so we are reducing pressure out to 2080,

1457
01:59:39,150 --> 01:59:41,750
but the aquifer, where the wells are screened,

1458
01:59:42,810 --> 01:59:45,450
the advantage of the japs per here, in this case,

1459
01:59:45,710 --> 01:59:47,470
is going to be completely full.

1460
01:59:47,750 --> 01:59:50,490
And so it may be a subtle nomenclature difference,

1461
01:59:50,610 --> 01:59:52,170
but it's a decrease in pressure,

1462
01:59:52,710 --> 01:59:54,210
not a depletion of the aquifer,

1463
01:59:54,210 --> 01:59:58,350
like we see in the Oguala where water levels are.

1464
02:00:00,000 --> 02:00:05,660
The question is draining, so I think that's a subtle difference, but an important difference that we're that Jim was trying to make.

1465
02:00:06,180 --> 02:00:07,120
Thank you, James.

1466
02:00:07,220 --> 02:00:09,660
I ask why the water pressure is lacking in that.

1467
02:00:10,760 --> 02:00:14,420
We're going to have to use the mics or it won't show up on the recording.

1468
02:00:14,840 --> 02:00:20,340
I know that makes it difficult and conversation, but if you want to remain up there, you've got the mic.

1469
02:00:20,560 --> 02:00:21,740
That might be helpful.

1470
02:00:25,780 --> 02:00:29,040
Can you explain to me then just so myself that I can understand?

1471
02:00:29,040 --> 02:00:35,220
And to me, the question is, why is the water pressure dropping if it's not through

1472
02:00:35,220 --> 02:00:35,740
depletion?

1473
02:00:37,620 --> 02:00:42,820
I think if you wanted to call it a pressure depletion that would be appropriate or a pressure

1474
02:00:42,820 --> 02:00:47,840
reduction, but the volume in the aquifer is staying the same.

1475
02:00:48,640 --> 02:00:49,300
No, it's not.

1476
02:00:49,680 --> 02:00:50,320
It's impossible.

1477
02:00:51,240 --> 02:00:56,640
You have a container, and as you understand why you don't want to manage to recharge, I don't

1478
02:00:56,640 --> 02:00:57,760
disagree with that.

1479
02:00:57,760 --> 02:01:05,580
But we all, that those graphs tell us, clearly, that you're drawing everybody's drawing out more water than going into that reservoir.

1480
02:01:06,120 --> 02:01:07,320
It's a simple physics.

1481
02:01:07,980 --> 02:01:13,680
And so, that would explain the pressure drop. You want to call it a water level drop. That's fine. It's the same thing.

1482
02:01:13,940 --> 02:01:21,380
But we're depleting it. I'm not against depleting it. My question for me was managing the depletion or the water level drop.

1483
02:01:21,380 --> 02:01:25,620
So that I know what we have to look forward, not just tomorrow, but we have many more

1484
02:01:25,620 --> 02:01:29,480
years ahead of us, and as you're saying, seeing what we have to develop, that's okay.

1485
02:01:29,980 --> 02:01:34,940
I just want to understand what's happening to this reservoir or this water aquifer over time.

1486
02:01:35,340 --> 02:01:35,580
Thank you.

1487
02:01:37,990 --> 02:01:44,930
Have you guys done an estimate of the depletion of storage that production has caused in Montgomery County?

1488
02:01:45,250 --> 02:01:49,970
Do you have any point of reference from which you've done that and looked at that?

1489
02:01:51,540 --> 02:01:56,760
But has there been any depletion of the actual storage, and if so, to what degree?

1490
02:02:00,420 --> 02:02:04,180
I would say that I know that there's something that we did look at as far as the water balance.

1491
02:02:04,460 --> 02:02:06,680
When looking at the GMA-14 model,

1492
02:02:08,820 --> 02:02:15,240
I don't recall an exact number, but as far as a percentage-wise, it's less than a tenth of a percent.

1493
02:02:16,660 --> 02:02:18,400
Of the storage of the water and the aquifer.

1494
02:02:18,700 --> 02:02:19,160
That's correct.

1495
02:02:19,160 --> 02:02:24,160
of that 180 million acre-feated, less than one percent.

1496
02:02:43,100 --> 02:02:47,220
My name is Kent Niagara, and I'm from mud 46, our 36 in the woodlands.

1497
02:02:48,640 --> 02:02:51,480
And my background is only gas reservoir engineering.

1498
02:02:52,140 --> 02:02:58,520
And people are confused about water in place and recover the water.

1499
02:02:59,380 --> 02:03:04,040
And it's John pointed out, in this gentleman, he's absolutely correct,

1500
02:03:04,040 --> 02:03:11,920
when that water pressure, that reservoir goes to zero, if still got 100 and whatever number

1501
02:03:11,920 --> 02:03:19,900
of which is wrong. But anyway, they end up in recalibular water or recalibular, and all

1502
02:03:19,900 --> 02:03:21,600
in place are two different numbers.

1503
02:03:24,600 --> 02:03:30,760
So you're not being realistic and saying that, well,

1504
02:03:30,760 --> 02:03:36,480
I don't know, I'd deplete, well, it isn't because it's going to be full of alerts.

1505
02:03:36,680 --> 02:03:37,860
It's not going to have any pressure.

1506
02:03:40,040 --> 02:03:44,320
But I got a question about your Jasper modeling.

1507
02:03:44,980 --> 02:03:51,700
As you know, the USGS classifies the Jasper as a combined reservoir, right?

1508
02:03:52,100 --> 02:03:54,480
Has no minimal outcome.

1509
02:03:55,420 --> 02:03:57,140
So what's there is there?

1510
02:03:57,540 --> 02:03:59,520
And it's not going to recharge.

1511
02:04:00,980 --> 02:04:16,420
The yes, the U.S. Yes. So my question is, if you've done any history match modeling of just the Jasper at Lone Star, that's fairly common modeling technique.

1512
02:04:16,420 --> 02:04:27,800
You've got 30 or 40 or 50 years history. You've got a lot of production data and you should be able to do history match modeling and tell us

1513
02:04:27,800 --> 02:04:36,080
because we use mostly the Jasper and the Woodlands how much capacity or how much preserve we have left.

1514
02:04:38,840 --> 02:04:42,220
Have you ever done any history-match modeling just of the Jasper?

1515
02:04:42,780 --> 02:04:48,040
So with regard to your question, the Jasper is included as part of the GMA.

1516
02:04:48,060 --> 02:04:49,060
How was my question?

1517
02:04:49,600 --> 02:04:55,280
Have you done any history-match modeling with Jasper as a separate entity?

1518
02:04:55,280 --> 02:05:02,680
Well, what it is, as I was responding to you, it is included in the GMA 14 model.

1519
02:05:02,920 --> 02:05:08,800
And it is specific matching to the Jasper, as well as to the Evangelon and the Chico.

1520
02:05:09,540 --> 02:05:19,920
So it is included because this is a complex aquifer system where leakage occurs between the units, both the Bursal and the GMS.

1521
02:05:19,920 --> 02:05:22,160
Yes, as it says, it's a combined reservoir.

1522
02:05:22,880 --> 02:05:25,300
What's the shale section between the Jasper?

1523
02:05:26,040 --> 02:05:32,480
Yeah, but anyway, you've got a confining shale geologically

1524
02:05:32,480 --> 02:05:34,880
that says there's no communication.

1525
02:05:36,180 --> 02:05:38,680
Now, getting back to these models.

1526
02:05:39,040 --> 02:05:41,000
I mean, well, I guess, rather than we're

1527
02:05:41,000 --> 02:05:45,600
engineering, they would just combine all these aquifers

1528
02:05:45,600 --> 02:05:49,420
And the one model is questionable at best.

1529
02:05:50,200 --> 02:05:53,480
But anyway, the answer is, I assume no,

1530
02:05:53,500 --> 02:05:56,520
because we would really like to know in the Willands,

1531
02:05:57,740 --> 02:06:02,620
because we are primarily using the Jasper as our water source.

1532
02:06:03,620 --> 02:06:09,060
And if somebody could tell us what the long term potential

1533
02:06:09,060 --> 02:06:11,260
of the Jasper is, we'd appreciate it.

1534
02:06:11,260 --> 02:06:13,520
So if it wasn't clear in Mike's answer,

1535
02:06:13,520 --> 02:06:18,040
We have history matching on the JASP, where it was required by the water development board.

1536
02:06:18,540 --> 02:06:27,200
The USGS built the model that you say should be separated, they decided to put those together.

1537
02:06:27,580 --> 02:06:36,500
That's been a historical, you know, modeling approach by the USGS with Harris Galveston's approval for the last 30 years.

1538
02:06:36,500 --> 02:06:43,000
And so we took that model in GMA4Tune, continued and improved the history matching in the

1539
02:06:43,000 --> 02:06:48,720
Jasper, and this plot right here, is this an updated or is this a haggone data?

1540
02:06:48,960 --> 02:06:54,860
This is a 21 data, so this is a haggone, this is what the haggone, this is what the haggone,

1541
02:06:55,020 --> 02:07:01,060
the heirs, Houston area, groundwater model from the last round of planning, what the

1542
02:07:01,060 --> 02:07:07,500
the Harris Galveston district that had developed with USDS. Time and time again predicted

1543
02:07:07,500 --> 02:07:15,660
out to 2080. I think the projection from the new GMA-14 model, which is based on the Harris

1544
02:07:15,660 --> 02:07:22,120
Galveston Society model, in large part, has a similar projection for the Jasper. Now,

1545
02:07:22,120 --> 02:07:26,020
If you come to GMA working in New York City, you'll see in the future, how...

1546
02:07:30,210 --> 02:07:46,390
Any different scenarios to look at projections? In the Jasper Evangelion Chico, and so all of that will be available and you can come to those meetings and see the results of different scenarios over the next, you know, through May.

1547
02:07:46,390 --> 02:07:50,670
Okay. I want to make one of the comment about this 180 million

1548
02:07:50,670 --> 02:07:57,170
haker feet that has been floating around. Do you know how much water that is?

1549
02:07:57,410 --> 02:08:02,390
That's a lake 250 feet deep covering Montgomery County.

1550
02:08:03,790 --> 02:08:07,550
At least one I calculated, of course I used the internet. So, you know, the internet is like,

1551
02:08:07,590 --> 02:08:15,510
for all my square miles of Montgomery County. So, to say that there's 180

1552
02:08:15,510 --> 02:08:22,510
the main and acre fee is completely, I have no idea where that number comes. I mean, if

1553
02:08:22,510 --> 02:08:28,750
you just clithered in the rock, what do you use 25% porosity for sandstone? Just to answer

1554
02:08:28,750 --> 02:08:32,990
your question, the water development board calculated that, no, I understand where it came from,

1555
02:08:33,430 --> 02:08:39,730
but I'm just calculating, I said, geez, that's a lake, 250 feet deep covering all of my

1556
02:08:39,730 --> 02:08:46,190
we're counting. So I have no idea where they come up with that number. I mean, it makes no sense.

1557
02:08:48,690 --> 02:08:55,950
So recoverable water versus water in place is just like oil and oil and recoverable oil.

1558
02:08:57,070 --> 02:09:03,750
So the point is that hopefully people will quit using that 180 million acre feed because

1559
02:09:03,750 --> 02:09:09,670
there's not anything close, the recovery will maybe, you know,

1560
02:09:09,750 --> 02:09:11,530
can't the 1% of that number.

1561
02:09:11,870 --> 02:09:16,190
Well, what I go with that, I agree with you, 100%.

1562
02:09:16,190 --> 02:09:21,010
That water, that aquifer will, it'll be completely full,

1563
02:09:21,670 --> 02:09:23,730
but there will be no pressure to produce it.

1564
02:09:23,950 --> 02:09:25,650
Steve, I'll let you respond to that,

1565
02:09:25,650 --> 02:09:27,190
but I think we have answered the question,

1566
02:09:27,250 --> 02:09:29,550
I want to make more room for additional questions.

1567
02:09:30,130 --> 02:09:32,750
Yeah, you made a comment that I wish people would stop talking

1568
02:09:32,750 --> 02:09:36,330
about terms, well, chapter 36 requires the districts to consider

1569
02:09:36,330 --> 02:09:40,150
hers, the total estimated recoverable storage from the aquifer

1570
02:09:40,150 --> 02:09:43,650
when they're developing DFCs so you're always going to continue to hear

1571
02:09:43,650 --> 02:09:46,850
that at least the reference to that because the GCDs are required to

1572
02:09:46,850 --> 02:09:51,270
consider it. Also the water development board calculated what they consider

1573
02:09:51,270 --> 02:09:58,530
to be the recoverable range, which is 25% to 75%. So while you may disagree

1574
02:09:58,530 --> 02:10:04,490
with that science, the water development board, is the state agency in Texas who is required

1575
02:10:04,490 --> 02:10:05,610
to calculate that.

1576
02:10:05,730 --> 02:10:09,230
And so perhaps maybe you disagree with their science, but that's a science that we're required

1577
02:10:09,230 --> 02:10:09,790
to consider.

1578
02:10:11,290 --> 02:10:13,350
Do we have any additional questions?

1579
02:10:13,910 --> 02:10:15,370
Were there any hints in the audience?

1580
02:10:17,610 --> 02:10:18,410
I've got one here.

1581
02:10:21,950 --> 02:10:25,070
I don't have anything prepared, but pre-flow.

1582
02:10:25,350 --> 02:10:28,410
My name is Laura Norton, and I'm from Mud 47.

1583
02:10:29,930 --> 02:10:43,350
One of the comments I almost felt was directed at me was, you know, the, the fall thing in the woodlands is not the fault of lone star and it most certainly is not.

1584
02:10:44,090 --> 02:10:50,870
I definitely blame the Woodland's land development company for building homes on

1585
02:10:51,930 --> 02:10:58,770
a seismic faults, which become more on the spectrum of seismic when subsidencing

1586
02:10:58,770 --> 02:11:05,010
creases because of the assets and most of the homes that are on fault lines in the

1587
02:11:05,010 --> 02:11:08,670
Woodlands are north of a million dollars or they're at least in a million dollar

1588
02:11:08,670 --> 02:11:12,950
neighborhoods and now they've been valued at maybe just $100,000.

1589
02:11:13,890 --> 02:11:17,690
Because of that, though, they haven't installed, they being

1590
02:11:17,690 --> 02:11:21,250
University of Houston has installed core stations,

1591
02:11:21,650 --> 02:11:24,310
stands for continuously operating reference stations.

1592
02:11:25,070 --> 02:11:28,710
So there is a line of core stations through the woodlands

1593
02:11:28,710 --> 02:11:33,470
that show evidence that we have an area,

1594
02:11:33,470 --> 02:11:39,010
a grob and a bowl that is sinking faster than the area around it.

1595
02:11:39,370 --> 02:11:44,990
So they are the panther branch fault and basically the Jones fault and we are indeed experiencing

1596
02:11:44,990 --> 02:11:48,370
flooding during heavy rain events in the woodlands.

1597
02:11:49,010 --> 02:11:55,730
So the woodlands turns around and spends $15 million on a flood mitigation project in that area.

1598
02:11:55,730 --> 02:12:05,470
What I heard here this morning is then the woodlands should sue SJRA for using ground water.

1599
02:12:06,610 --> 02:12:14,370
And I also hear from scientists that groundwater extraction south of us is causing our subsides.

1600
02:12:14,370 --> 02:12:18,530
Well, S.J.R.R.A. is an in-here-risk county pumping groundwater.

1601
02:12:19,610 --> 02:12:23,650
To my knowledge, maybe they are for the creek side, but they're on 100% groundwater.

1602
02:12:24,210 --> 02:12:27,610
Anyway, I don't have any questions.

1603
02:12:29,790 --> 02:12:36,410
I've just learned that residents in Montgomery County are really S.O.L.

1604
02:12:36,490 --> 02:12:41,550
And we've had a lot of acronyms, but I think we all learned that one before we got involved in groundwater.

1605
02:12:41,990 --> 02:12:42,650
Thank you.

1606
02:12:43,470 --> 02:12:47,250
Did you want to clarify anything on the side?

1607
02:12:48,670 --> 02:12:50,970
There are things that can be done.

1608
02:12:51,590 --> 02:12:55,930
What you'll point that you were talking about the faults is really parallel to the point

1609
02:12:55,930 --> 02:13:01,270
that I was talking about about why GCDs don't manage the entire aquifer based on an individual

1610
02:13:01,270 --> 02:13:06,630
or an individual situation because we all know that all properties are not created equally.

1611
02:13:07,730 --> 02:13:10,790
You should watch the property rights presentation yesterday.

1612
02:13:10,790 --> 02:13:14,310
were all the lawyers unanimously agreed that the aquifer should not be managed to

1613
02:13:14,310 --> 02:13:15,510
to the shallow as well.

1614
02:13:16,170 --> 02:13:20,770
There are other things that can be done from a permitting perspective to address that.

1615
02:13:21,790 --> 02:13:28,410
There are things that can be done, but I think what people are asking is we want to start

1616
02:13:28,410 --> 02:13:33,030
put a reduction in place to prevent this stuff from happening to my property that is happened

1617
02:13:33,030 --> 02:13:34,210
to be built on a fault.

1618
02:13:35,850 --> 02:13:39,650
And that a reduction in groundwater can occur in the absence of a mandate by the groundwater

1619
02:13:39,650 --> 02:13:44,170
district. No one is asking or forcing people to produce groundwater in the

1620
02:13:44,170 --> 02:13:49,710
women's. And my understanding when the meds in the women's water agency

1621
02:13:49,710 --> 02:13:54,210
were, you know, faced with, do we want to take more surface water or more or

1622
02:13:54,550 --> 02:13:58,590
maintain at the current level of groundwater, there's muds all voted to maintain

1623
02:13:58,590 --> 02:14:01,930
at the current level of groundwater and not take more surface water. So these

1624
02:14:01,930 --> 02:14:05,370
were decisions that are made by the people who are providing you public water and

1625
02:14:05,370 --> 02:14:07,370
people who are providing new ground water.

1626
02:14:08,530 --> 02:14:13,490
And so there are things that can be done that one star has a limit to the ability to

1627
02:14:13,490 --> 02:14:16,770
accomplish, you know, zero subsidence in the woodlands.

1628
02:14:17,470 --> 02:14:19,590
I'm not saying there weren't things that other things that can be done though.

1629
02:14:19,930 --> 02:14:27,210
Well, I think it's also important to this touches on the culture within the county for conservation.

1630
02:14:27,210 --> 02:14:31,730
I don't know the stats on the public water suppliers and the woodlands are a much

1631
02:14:31,730 --> 02:14:38,530
type is being utilized. If any, I know there are a couple that deserve that recognition that

1632
02:14:38,530 --> 02:14:44,870
are conservation forward and I don't know about your particular public bar suppliers or higher

1633
02:14:44,870 --> 02:14:49,650
handling, rainwater harvesting barrels or systems or purple pipe or if you're taking advantage

1634
02:14:49,650 --> 02:14:57,930
of any of that low-hanging fruit to help mitigate effects of continued groundwater use or like

1635
02:15:00,000 --> 02:15:05,320
Head of Water Supplies are convincing the constituents within your region and your area to consider

1636
02:15:05,320 --> 02:15:09,720
alternative water supplies and understand that that's going to be more expensive and make that

1637
02:15:09,720 --> 02:15:16,420
decision to help lessen the really unfortunate situation of those homes that have been built

1638
02:15:16,420 --> 02:15:21,360
on a fault that I think those are good conversations to bring up and I think they are local within

1639
02:15:21,360 --> 02:15:26,880
your public water supplier to really bring those to the forefront, which I imagine you're doing, but

1640
02:15:26,880 --> 02:15:31,320
We hope to be helping as well in the conservation front, so hopefully we'll see on the aggregate

1641
02:15:31,320 --> 02:15:34,240
some assistance even on a small scale with that.

1642
02:15:34,660 --> 02:15:41,760
And I do think that conservation is powerful and probably under appreciated, you know,

1643
02:15:41,940 --> 02:15:48,340
I'm not a big fan of the first or the GOP that, I'm not a fan of the rule that required

1644
02:15:48,340 --> 02:15:53,580
people to join a GOP because it was invalidated by a court, I think that's my position

1645
02:15:53,580 --> 02:15:58,720
on that is clear that one thing that did come out of all of that is that, you know, there

1646
02:15:58,720 --> 02:16:05,040
were, I can't remember how many 42 different GOPs or 36 different GOPs that were created

1647
02:16:05,740 --> 02:16:15,480
and not just the S.J. or A.J. or P and that many of those single or double GOP participants

1648
02:16:15,480 --> 02:16:22,320
were able to achieve the 30% reduction by sheer conservation. Like some golf courses got together

1649
02:16:22,320 --> 02:16:27,620
and said we're going to make a two-person GOP and we're going to meet the 30% reduction because we're

1650
02:16:27,620 --> 02:16:34,460
going to put in better irrigation. And so it can be accomplished, it's expensive, but they decided

1651
02:16:34,460 --> 02:16:38,780
that it was cheaper to do that than to join another GOP that was going to make and pay GOP pumping

1652
02:16:38,780 --> 02:16:45,280
fees for groundwater. So I can't remember how many of the original GOPs that were created

1653
02:16:45,280 --> 02:16:49,540
accomplished the reduction by share conservation, but it was more than one.

1654
02:16:52,870 --> 02:16:53,350
Mr. Baron?

1655
02:16:53,350 --> 02:17:00,840
Good morning, thanks for the presentation, Phil Barren, my summary resident.

1656
02:17:01,960 --> 02:17:17,020
I had a term that you folks are fighting the negligible or negligent subsidence, and that implies

1657
02:17:17,020 --> 02:17:24,280
that there is a responsible subsidence, and I just wondered if you could draw a distinction

1658
02:17:24,280 --> 02:17:28,040
or do you have a definition of one over the other?

1659
02:17:28,980 --> 02:17:31,340
Good question and the law doesn't define

1660
02:17:31,340 --> 02:17:35,020
negligently causing subsidence, but what we do have

1661
02:17:35,020 --> 02:17:36,860
and this is why we continually compare

1662
02:17:36,860 --> 02:17:38,080
to the society's districts.

1663
02:17:38,700 --> 02:17:41,720
What we do have is the history of the society's districts,

1664
02:17:42,220 --> 02:17:44,040
and we certainly don't think that they've been negligently

1665
02:17:44,040 --> 02:17:45,480
allowing subsidence to occur.

1666
02:17:46,380 --> 02:17:49,260
And so that's really a good benchmark from our perspective

1667
02:17:49,260 --> 02:17:51,480
because there isn't any law on what that is,

1668
02:17:51,740 --> 02:17:53,940
but what we do know is that there required

1669
02:17:53,940 --> 02:17:58,480
and mandated by law to end subsidence, and they've done that in a way that they

1670
02:17:58,480 --> 02:18:01,140
think complies with the law and then we've seen the contour maps.

1671
02:18:02,240 --> 02:18:11,320
I think that also, Mr. Baron, as there, chapter 36, I think at Leaves Room, in my opinion

1672
02:18:11,320 --> 02:18:16,240
on some terms, there's a lot of conversations surrounding waste as well, and what's wasteful,

1673
02:18:16,260 --> 02:18:21,720
and what's beneficial use. And this is my first legislative session to participate

1674
02:18:21,720 --> 02:18:26,680
But I can tell you there's a lot of contention on that word as well, which some consider

1675
02:18:26,680 --> 02:18:31,400
low-hanging fruit, some things that could be considered waste and then some, I mean, a great deal

1676
02:18:31,400 --> 02:18:32,280
of battle on that.

1677
02:18:32,640 --> 02:18:38,600
So there's some holes in the definition that makes it in multiple words across this that we're

1678
02:18:38,600 --> 02:18:43,840
supposed to understand and manage by, that make it really complicated for us to navigate.

1679
02:18:44,680 --> 02:18:47,980
There's a great area in a lot of those terms.

1680
02:18:47,980 --> 02:18:53,380
And that's I agree, right, or what's negligible subsidence, I don't know of any GCD that's

1681
02:18:53,380 --> 02:18:59,160
allowing anyone to maliciously cause subsidence, but what does that look like, what does

1682
02:18:59,160 --> 02:18:59,540
that mean?

1683
02:18:59,640 --> 02:19:02,060
I think that's a fair question, similarly to waste.

1684
02:19:02,560 --> 02:19:08,040
Well, the negligence standard is defined under the law like in other contexts like in

1685
02:19:08,040 --> 02:19:13,260
in tort law, and the reasonable person's standard is what that is.

1686
02:19:13,260 --> 02:19:18,740
So if you're doing something different, then what the ordinary person would do under the same

1687
02:19:18,740 --> 02:19:21,740
or similar circumstances, then you're considered to be negligent.

1688
02:19:22,740 --> 02:19:30,260
So that's really the only guidance we have on what negligence means, and that's a definition

1689
02:19:30,260 --> 02:19:31,840
that's borrowed from tort law.

1690
02:19:34,020 --> 02:19:38,960
So it's would, you know, in same or similar circumstances, and that's when we get to what

1691
02:19:38,960 --> 02:19:43,000
is Harris Galveston doing, when they have tremendous growth, and they're supposed to be

1692
02:19:43,000 --> 02:19:47,640
sending subsidence and GCDs are supposed to consider subsidence but not end it.

1693
02:19:48,800 --> 02:19:53,960
So I look at them as what would a similar similar person do under the circumstances?

1694
02:19:57,220 --> 02:19:57,500
I do.

1695
02:19:57,520 --> 02:19:58,440
I do just want to drive home.

1696
02:19:58,540 --> 02:20:03,260
I know we're talking about here as county a lot, simply because it is a benchmark for us

1697
02:20:03,260 --> 02:20:04,580
to look at.

1698
02:20:04,620 --> 02:20:11,000
It's a big history lesson for us, so I want to be clear that there's no intention to pick

1699
02:20:11,000 --> 02:20:11,740
on them in any way.

1700
02:20:11,740 --> 02:20:17,880
They've grown tremendously and they've had to grow on groundwater as the rest of the state is having to do so.

1701
02:20:18,220 --> 02:20:20,640
It's just, it is directly blows and packs us.

1702
02:20:20,840 --> 02:20:23,240
We impact them and it's our history lesson.

1703
02:20:24,140 --> 02:20:26,160
So I don't know where we are on time.

1704
02:20:26,260 --> 02:20:29,300
I think we're a little bit over but I want to give if there's any more questions.

1705
02:20:29,540 --> 02:20:34,940
I want to give you an opportunity to ask while we have the consultants and the specialists here.

1706
02:20:35,840 --> 02:20:36,810
We did bring them here for you.

1707
02:20:43,600 --> 02:20:51,380
But seven down the woodlands, what does I thank so much to on the start, pulling this meeting together,

1708
02:20:51,980 --> 02:20:55,660
and being very transparent, I think you've all been very direct.

1709
02:20:56,180 --> 02:21:05,460
But I just would like you guys to confirm your direction and make sure there's no misunderstanding on what's important to you and where you're going.

1710
02:21:06,580 --> 02:21:12,700
So I don't know whether you'd like to provide a summary, you'd like me to do Q&A and test what I heard.

1711
02:21:12,700 --> 02:21:21,040
Well, I think I would be the one to answer that question for the district and I want to be easy with it because I'm speaking for the board.

1712
02:21:21,920 --> 02:21:30,720
My understanding of where this board wants to go is to follow the best available science to really work within our budget to make sure that we increase our science.

1713
02:21:31,760 --> 02:21:42,200
There are initiatives for aggressive conservation efforts and dollars to be spent on that as well as more GPS stations and a software potentially that we could within district utilize.

1714
02:21:42,200 --> 02:22:01,720
to have real-time data on subsidence to continue to work with our technical consultants and make sure they have the information that they need to help us understand a lot of level decline and our well-monitoring network and to really the direction I've been given as to follow the science.

1715
02:22:01,720 --> 02:22:06,680
Whatever we need to do from Montgomery County is what we will need to do, but we're going to follow the science.

1716
02:22:07,440 --> 02:22:14,180
So you have a great board of directors that's then, you know, they're very open in conversation with me.

1717
02:22:14,300 --> 02:22:18,920
They don't leave me in any particular direction. They ask more than they tell.

1718
02:22:19,740 --> 02:22:25,680
And so, you know, my goals and initiatives for the District in 2026 is A.

1719
02:22:30,830 --> 02:22:40,090
Aggressively move into conservation action and grab the low-hanging fruit and mitigate what we can and create a better culture of conservation in Montgomery County.

1720
02:22:40,710 --> 02:22:50,890
Even though we have a prolific aquifer, again, that's why we don't talk about storage often because it can lead to a misconception that you don't need to conserve and that's false.

1721
02:22:51,610 --> 02:22:57,470
We want to keep having more public conversations with you being out, more transparent, allowing

1722
02:22:57,470 --> 02:23:03,890
more spaces like this to answer these questions and just keep improving the science.

1723
02:23:05,370 --> 02:23:09,130
I think that would, I feel confident saying that's the direction that the board wants

1724
02:23:09,130 --> 02:23:10,090
to go.

1725
02:23:10,350 --> 02:23:14,910
We're not slowing down the growth of Montgomery County if that's the question.

1726
02:23:15,170 --> 02:23:18,510
If that's part of what you're asking there.

1727
02:23:18,510 --> 02:23:20,390
I don't know, that's not in our regulatory authority.

1728
02:23:21,230 --> 02:23:27,050
We don't offer, or operate offer off of groundwater availability certificates in this county

1729
02:23:27,050 --> 02:23:31,090
and that's a legislative decision that was made in some areas.

1730
02:23:31,970 --> 02:23:36,970
They have to go through the resources first and Montgomery County, the Commissioner's Court

1731
02:23:36,970 --> 02:23:41,810
is going to approve development before an application ever hits my desk, which is a route

1732
02:23:41,810 --> 02:23:43,710
of the problem in my opinion.

1733
02:23:44,750 --> 02:23:45,150
But

1734
02:23:50,180 --> 02:23:55,240
I'm not sure you mean by that, I'm not trying to be, I have no, I'm here.

1735
02:23:55,300 --> 02:24:01,840
Did you want to give her a microphone so that it can be on, can't we have Ms. Norton,

1736
02:24:02,020 --> 02:24:04,760
we don't know anything. I'm sorry, speak over me.

1737
02:24:05,760 --> 02:24:12,700
I was just recognizing if we could go through a recording of what just transpired is you

1738
02:24:12,700 --> 02:24:19,880
We're starting to anticipate what he was going to say and I think we could just let him say it.

1739
02:24:20,360 --> 02:24:20,760
I'm sorry.

1740
02:24:21,080 --> 02:24:26,900
I did not really mean to interrupt, I just, I've been sitting here, I'm really cold and

1741
02:24:26,900 --> 02:24:31,460
I forgot my salt pills and I just wanted to move it along and it has been sorry.

1742
02:24:31,560 --> 02:24:35,540
I can get chat in, I apologize for that, that's true, and that's the only one I should

1743
02:24:35,540 --> 02:24:48,540
As far as what I think I've heard, the movement of science, the amendment to conservation is conservation part of your legislative priority, or preview, are you able to dictate conservation?

1744
02:24:49,940 --> 02:24:51,300
I can't force you into it now.

1745
02:24:51,600 --> 02:24:51,660
Right.

1746
02:24:51,660 --> 02:24:52,940
It's not something you're going to implement.

1747
02:24:54,500 --> 02:24:55,300
No, that's not true.

1748
02:24:55,580 --> 02:24:56,940
We are going to implement it.

1749
02:24:56,960 --> 02:24:57,860
It's not forced.

1750
02:24:58,260 --> 02:24:59,020
You mean by regulation?

1751
02:24:59,380 --> 02:24:59,400
No.

1752
02:24:59,400 --> 02:25:03,260
I will not be coming to the public water suppliers and saying you must institute for a pipe.

1753
02:25:03,260 --> 02:25:07,860
So let's talk about what you do implement, which is the desire of the future condition.

1754
02:25:08,800 --> 02:25:13,180
So everything I heard today, applied or was pretty transparent,

1755
02:25:13,960 --> 02:25:17,400
but you expect to have unknown the pump thing going forward in the government County.

1756
02:25:17,580 --> 02:25:18,060
Is that true?

1757
02:25:20,390 --> 02:25:23,710
Unlimited pumping is not, I know.

1758
02:25:24,990 --> 02:25:30,790
We have hydrogeologic impact analysis and we have spacing restrictions.

1759
02:25:31,190 --> 02:25:33,590
You expect the VCF to come down the future?

1760
02:25:37,340 --> 02:25:40,900
I didn't understand the question, do I expect the pumping to slow down?

1761
02:25:41,160 --> 02:25:42,480
No, the DCF become down.

1762
02:25:43,200 --> 02:25:43,260
Yes.

1763
02:25:43,260 --> 02:25:44,400
The FMVF, sorry.

1764
02:25:45,800 --> 02:25:51,460
No, I imagine population will continue to grow and we're gonna have to continue to look

1765
02:25:51,460 --> 02:25:52,300
at the state.

1766
02:25:52,480 --> 02:25:56,540
Just as the state is doing, we follow similar patterns and GMAs.

1767
02:25:56,740 --> 02:26:03,140
The state water plan, they are constantly looking forward, I think, between 20 and 25 years

1768
02:26:03,140 --> 02:26:05,780
and it's always with an expectancy of growth.

1769
02:26:05,780 --> 02:26:10,020
and finding strategies to manage more and more water usage.

1770
02:26:10,800 --> 02:26:15,740
As far as I know, the state is not anticipating any slow-down and population growth in the state,

1771
02:26:16,080 --> 02:26:18,120
and we are not either in this county.

1772
02:26:18,700 --> 02:26:19,920
I think that answers you.

1773
02:26:20,400 --> 02:26:25,460
Well, you mix overall water growth with groundwater growth,

1774
02:26:25,880 --> 02:26:29,120
which is what your responsibility is, groundwater only.

1775
02:26:29,460 --> 02:26:33,760
To expect groundwater usage to continue to grow in Montgomery County,

1776
02:26:33,760 --> 02:26:35,660
Unlimited for the foreseeable future.

1777
02:26:36,220 --> 02:26:41,320
I do expect to grow on groundwater in the foreseeable future in Montgomery County. Yes.

1778
02:26:43,140 --> 02:26:48,320
Both yesterday and today there was a lot of talk about managing to the shallow as well.

1779
02:26:50,160 --> 02:26:57,560
I would like to say, I think within Montgomery County, you need to realize it's not a matter of a single shallow well.

1780
02:26:57,560 --> 02:27:03,480
It's a matter of widespread wells that have significant drop in the sheet and level.

1781
02:27:05,800 --> 02:27:10,500
So, you know, feedback right here for me guys is, if you're well-levels dropping, that's

1782
02:27:10,500 --> 02:27:11,120
not a problem.

1783
02:27:11,640 --> 02:27:13,680
If you have some guidance, that's not a problem.

1784
02:27:14,260 --> 02:27:21,100
Our primary goal is to boost every gallon of groundwater that's requested of us.

1785
02:27:21,540 --> 02:27:25,400
And I appreciate you being transparent and understand that.

1786
02:27:25,400 --> 02:27:27,240
So, thanks so much.

1787
02:27:27,880 --> 02:27:28,860
Thank you.

1788
02:27:30,360 --> 02:27:30,520
Okay.

1789
02:27:30,700 --> 02:27:35,400
We're wrapping up on time here, but I don't want to limit anyone if you have any additional questions.

1790
02:27:38,550 --> 02:27:39,890
Does it look like there's any more hands?

1791
02:27:40,630 --> 02:27:47,830
First, I just really want to say thank you to our technical consultants and our legal consultant who do not have to do this by the way.

1792
02:27:48,370 --> 02:27:57,910
And they have been very gracious to offer their time and hopefully answer some questions and provide some clarity on

1793
02:27:58,430 --> 02:28:03,130
the direction of the district and how we evaluate DFCs and all kinds of other things.

1794
02:28:03,530 --> 02:28:07,570
So thank you so much for taking the time and being here today for this county.

1795
02:28:07,730 --> 02:28:09,670
Again, this will be recorded online.

1796
02:28:10,730 --> 02:28:15,170
So if you want to go back and look at this presentation or these conversations.

1797
02:28:15,590 --> 02:28:19,190
And thank you again for taking time out of your day to join us and attend.

1798
02:28:19,530 --> 02:28:20,710
And we really appreciate it.

1799
02:28:20,790 --> 02:28:22,970
We hope that this was beneficial to you in some way.

1800
02:28:23,890 --> 02:28:24,310
Thank you.