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Conversion to surface water predicted
By: Kassia Micek,
Courier staff
As people flood
to Montgomery County, their water resources are quickly drying up.
In search of new
water sources, the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District has decided using
treated surface water or wastewater would help provide future residents with the
necessary water.
"Without some conversion to surface water, groundwater resources could be
ultimately depleted, and severe water supply shortages would occur throughout
the county," LSGCD General Manager Kathy Jones stated in an e-mail.
Montgomery County uses groundwater from the Chicot, Evangeline and Jasper
aquifers, which are subdivisions of the Gulf Coast Aquifer.
"The LSGCD's management plan scientifically estimates Montgomery County's
available groundwater supplies to be approximately 64,000 acre-feet and
forecasts no major change to that supply," Jones said. "However, the demands on
our groundwater resources are growing dramatically, as Montgomery County is
among the fastest-growing counties in the entire state."
There could be a water shortage by 2010, when demand is expected to exceed
supply by 15 percent, according to LSGCD estimates.
"We're going to be using more water than is recharged," said Jim Adams, LSGCD
Focus Planning Committee chair and LSGCD board member representing the San
Jacinto River Authority.
The question now isn't whether the county will convert to surface water, but
how. The LSGCD hopes to convert by 2013.
The LSGCD Focus Planning Committee discussed ways to go about converting to an
alternative water source during a meeting Wednesday. Representatives from Turner
Collie and Branden, a Houston engineering company the district hired as a
consultant, provided several options. However, the plan is still in the
preliminary stages.
Not all county residents would switch to an alternative water source.
The LSGCD is studying how to divide the county into management zones - based on
population, water consumption or water availability. Three management zone
options were discussed Wednesday.
One option would be to have one management zone encompassing the entire county
that would require everyone to convert at the same rate and time.
A second option would include three management zones, splitting the county into
a southwest, southeast and north region. The different zones would convert at
different times and rates.
The third option would include four management zones - southwest, southeast,
Lake Conroe and Conroe, which would include Conroe and northeast county. Each
zone would convert at a different rate and time.
Although the Interstate 45 corridor is the main source of water usage, all areas
of the county would be affected by a water shortage.
"This problem does not get solved by converting only The Woodlands and Conroe,"
said Alan Potok, TCB senior vice president.
LSGCD board member Rigby Owen, Jr. agreed.
"I think it's ludicrous for people to think it's not their problem. It's a
countywide problem," Owen said. "It's everyone's problem whether they get
surface water or groundwater. We're all in the same boat. If we don't do
something in Conroe, there won't be water for other parts of the county."
The district promotes water conservation, and Adams said the district is there
to educate the public about how to conserve water. And although water
conservation will help ease water demand problems, it will not solve the
problem.
Eighty percent of water demand in Montgomery County comes from Porter, the Lake
Conroe area, Conroe, The Woodlands and southwest county. Jones said increased
water usage is due not only to population growth, but also water-use habits.
"Water supplies are not unlimited, so we should all recognize our personal
impact on the long-term future of the water resources of our area," she said.
"Be alert to where we use our water and where we might waste it."
Jones said more than half of all water used in Texas is devoted to residential
landscape purposes, and since Montgomery County is a large urban/suburban area,
the use is higher.
Even though the LSGCD is working to find a solution, the district will not be in
charge of implementing the conversion. The district will find the best solution
and then turn over management of the conversion to a separate agency.
"The implementing authority for the surface water will be responsible for
setting the cost of water," Jones said. "As expected, treated surface water will
be more costly than groundwater. Therefore, it can be assumed that an increase
in total cost of water will rise."
The Harris-Galveston Subsidence District and the Fort Bend Subsidence have
regulatory plans where groundwater users have been mandated to find alternative
sources of water.
Kassia Micek can be reached at kmicek@mail.hcnonline.net.
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