Table of Contents

Errata  

Cover Pages  

Search for any word in text files

Figures in Executive Summary and Sections 1 to 7 in this page

Tables in Executive Summary and Sections 1 to 7 in this page

Figures Links only

Tables Links only

Text Links only, with access to Figures and Tables in Sections 1 to 7

Table of Contents by Section: Text, Figures and Tables Links

Overview | Counties | Aquifers | Rivers | Entities | About the Plan | Keywords | Files | For Users

 

Section                                                                                                                                      Page

Executive Summary - text linked to Figures and Tables.....................................................          ES-1

     1                 Description of South Central Texas Region  (with Section 1.1 to 1.6) Text linked to Figures and Tables..................................................................................................... 1-1

1.1       Background............................................................................................             1-1

1.2       Physical Description of the South Central Texas Region..................             1-2

1.2.1....... Climate...................................................................................             1-2

1.2.2....... General Geology...................................................................             1-5

1.2.3....... Vegetational Areas...............................................................             1-5

1.2.4....... Natural Resources.................................................................             1-9

1.2.5....... Major Water Demand Centers..........................................           1-11

1.3       Population and Demography..............................................................           1-13

1.3.1....... Historical and Recent Trends in Population.....................           1-13

1.3.2....... Demographic Characteristics...........................................           1-15

1.4       Economy – Major Sectors and Industries.........................................           1-18

1.4.1....... Summary of the South Central Texas Regional
Economy..............................................................................           1-18

1.4.2....... Agricultural Production.......................................................           1-18

1.4.3....... Livestock Production..........................................................           1-20

1.4.4....... Mining...................................................................................           1-22

1.4.5....... Manufacturing......................................................................           1-22

1.4.6....... Trades and Services..........................................................           1-24

1.5       Water Uses...........................................................................................           1-24

1.6       Major Municipal and Manufacturing Water Providers......................           1-27

1.6.1....... San Antonio Water System................................................           1-27

1.6.2....... Bexar Metropolitan Water District.....................................           1-28

1.6.3....... Canyon Regional Water Authority.....................................           1-28

1.6.4....... Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority....................................           1-28

1.6.5....... New Braunfels Utilities........................................................           1-29

1.6.6....... City of San Marcos.............................................................           1-29

1.7       Water Supplies (with Section 1.8).....................................................           1-29

1.7.1....... Groundwater........................................................................           1-29

1.7.2....... Surface Water.....................................................................           1-38

1.7.3....... Existing Surface Water Resources, Including
Major Springs......................................................................           1-41

1.8       Water Quality........................................................................................           1-47

1.8.1....... Groundwater Quality...........................................................           1-47

1.8.2....... Surface Water Quality.........................................................           1-50

1.9       Threats to Agricultural and Natural Resources (with Section 1.10.3) 1-51

1.10    Summary of Existing Plans and Programs.......................................           1-52

1.10.1..... State and Federal Plans/Programs..................................           1-53

1.10.2..... Regional Water Plans.........................................................           1-63

1.10.3..... Certified Groundwater Conservation District
Management Plans.............................................................           1-69

1.10.4..... Local Water Plans...............................................................           1-74

1.10.5..... Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plans
(with Section 1.12)..............................................................           1-90

1.10.6..... Water Quality Programs...................................................         1-102

1.10.7..... Summary of Other Information Available from
Existing Local/Regional Planning...................................         1-104

1.11    Water Availability Requirements Promulgated by a County
Commissioners Court.......................................................................         1-105

1.12    Current Preparations for Drought....................................................         1-105

     2                 Population and Water Demand Projections - Text linked to Figures and Tables                      2-1

2.1       Population Projections..........................................................................             2-1

2.2       Municipal Water Demand Projections...............................................           2-12

2.3       Industrial Water Demand Projections................................................           2-15

2.4       Steam-Electric Power Water Demand Projections.........................           2-15

2.5       Mining Water Demand Projections....................................................           2-16

2.6       Irrigation Water Demand Projections................................................           2-21

2.7       Livestock Water Demand Projections...............................................           2-24

2.8       Total Water Demand Projections.......................................................           2-27

2.9       Water Demand Projections for Counties and Parts of
Counties of River and Coastal Basins of the South
Central Texas Region..........................................................................           2-30

2.10    Water Demand Projections for Major Water Providers
in the South Central Texas Region ...................................................           2-48

2.10.1..... San Antonio Water System (SAWS)................................           2-51

2.10.2..... Bexar Metropolitan Water District (BMWD).....................           2-51

2.10.3..... Canyon Regional Water Authority (CRWA).....................           2-59

2.10.4..... Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA).....................           2-59

2.10.5..... New Braunfels Utilities (NBU)............................................           2-61

2.10.6..... City of San Marcos.............................................................           2-61

     3                 Evaluation of Current Water Supplies - Text linked to Figures and Tables                    3-1

3.1       Groundwater...........................................................................................             3-1

3.1.1....... Edwards-Balcones Fault Zone Aquifer
(Edwards Aquifer).................................................................             3-1

3.1.2....... Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer (Carrizo Aquifer)............................             3-1

3.1.3....... Trinity Aquifer.........................................................................             3-2

3.1.4....... Gulf Coast Aquifer.................................................................             3-2

3.1.5....... Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer.......................................             3-3

3.1.6....... Sparta Aquifer.......................................................................             3-3

3.1.7....... Queen City Aquifer................................................................             3-3

3.1.8....... Groundwater Availability in the South Central

................ Texas Region.........................................................................             3-4

3.2       Surface Water........................................................................................             3-6

3.2.1....... Lakes and Reservoirs...........................................................             3-7

3.2.2....... Run-of-River Water Rights....................................................             3-9

3.3       Drought Response...............................................................................           3-11

3.4       Methodology to Calculate the Water Supplies Available
to the South Central Texas Region and Methodology for
Calculating the Water Supplies Available for Water
User Groups.........................................................................................           3-14

3.5       Potential for Emergency Transfers of Surface Water......................           3-18

     4                 Comparison of Supply and Demand to Determine Needs - Text linked to Tables                   4-1

4.1       Water Needs Projections by Water User Group................................             4-1

4.2       Water Needs Projections by Major Water Provider......................         4-114

4.3       Social and Economic Impacts of Not Meeting
Projected Water Needs....................................................................         4-116

     5                 Regional, County, City, Water User Group, and
Major Provider Plans  -
Section 5 Part 1 Text   Section 5 Part 2 Text .............             5-1

5.1       Regional Water Planning Process (Starting Section 5 - Part 1)                         5-1

5.1.1....... Water Supply Options...........................................................             5-2

5.1.2....... Alternative Regional Water Plans........................................             5-3

5.2       South Central Texas Regional Water Plan..........................................             5-7

5.2.1....... Regional Summaries............................................................             5-7

5.2.2....... County Summaries.............................................................           5-21

5.2.3....... Water Management Strategies.........................................           5-65

5.2.4....... Cumulative Effects - (Starting Section 5 - Part 2)............           5-81

5.2.5....... Environmental Assessment.............................................         5-103

5.2.6....... Implementation Issues......................................................         5-118

5.2.7....... Special Water Resources................................................         5-127

5.3       Water User Group Plans and Costs - Section 5 - Part 3..............         5-129

5.3.1....... Atascosa County Water Supply Plan (Starting Section 5 Part 3)                   5-133

5.3.2....... Bexar County Water Supply Plan....................................         5-143

5.3.3....... Caldwell County Water Supply Plan...............................         5-191

5.3.4....... Calhoun County Water Supply Plan................................         5-197

5.3.5....... Comal County Water Supply Plan...................................         5-203

5.3.6....... DeWitt County Water Supply Plan..................................         5-213

5.3.7....... Dimmit County Water Supply Plan..................................         5-217

5.3.8....... Frio County Water Supply Plan.......................................         5-221

5.3.9....... Goliad County Water Supply Plan...................................         5-225

5.3.10..... Gonzales County Water Supply Plan..............................         5-229

5.3.11..... Guadalupe County Water Supply Plan...........................         5-233

5.3.12..... Hays County Water Supply Plan.....................................         5-245

5.3.13..... Karnes County Water Supply Plan..................................         5-255

5.3.14..... Kendall County Water Supply Plan.................................         5-259

5.3.15..... LaSalle County Water Supply Plan.................................         5-265

5.3.16..... Medina County Water Supply Plan.................................         5-269

5.3.17..... Refugio County Water Supply Plan.................................         5-279

5.3.18..... Uvalde County Water Supply Plan..................................         5-283

5.3.19..... Victoria County Water Supply Plan.................................         5-289

5.3.20..... Wilson County Water Supply Plan..................................         5-293

5.3.21..... Zavala County Water Supply Plan...................................         5-299

5.4       Water Supply Plans for Major Water Providers.............................         5-305

5.4.1....... Regional Water Provider(s) for Bexar County...............         5-305

5.4.2....... San Antonio Water System (SAWS)..............................         5-309

5.4.3....... Bexar Metropolitan Water District (BMWD)..................         5-312

5.4.4....... Canyon Regional Water Authority (CRWA)...................         5-316

5.4.5....... Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA)...................         5-317

5.4.6....... New Braunfels Utilities (NBU)..........................................         5-318

5.4.7....... City of San Marcos...........................................................         5-320

     6                 Policies and Recommendations......................................................................             6-1

6.1       Introduction..............................................................................................             6-1

6.2       Additional Regional Water Plan Recommendations.........................             6-1

6.2.1....... Additional Regional Water Supply Storage.......................             6-1

6.2.2....... Lockhart Reservoir................................................................             6-2

6.3       Guiding Principles and Assumptions...................................................             6-2

6.3.1....... Regional Balance of Benefits and Costs —
Mitigation Policy....................................................................             6-2

6.3.2....... Conservation..........................................................................             6-3

6.3.3....... Use of Evaluation Criteria....................................................             6-3

6.3.4....... Potential Reductions in Permitted
Groundwater Supply..............................................................             6-3

6.3.5....... Groundwater Sustainability..................................................             6-4

6.3.6....... Protection of Edwards Aquifer Springflow
and Downstream Water Rights............................................             6-4

6.3.7....... Planning for System Management
Water Supplies......................................................................             6-4

6.4       Feasibility of Meeting Irrigation Water Needs....................................             6-5

6.5       Evaluation Criteria.................................................................................             6-5

6.6       Conservation Planning Guidelines.......................................................             6-7

6.7       Legislative Recommendations.............................................................             6-7

6.7.1....... Plan Implementation..............................................................             6-7

6.7.2....... Changes in TWDB Planning Process..............................           6-11

6.7.3....... Proposals for Other Legislative Changes........................           6-13

6.7.4....... Ecologically Unique Stream Segments and
Unique Reservoir Sites......................................................           6-14

Supplement 1 Text

Supplement 2

     7                 Regional Water Plan Adoption.........................................................................             7-1

7.1       Facilitation..............................................................................................             7-1

7.1.1....... Overview.................................................................................             7-1

7.1.2....... Initial Workshop.....................................................................             7-1

7.1.3....... Interviews................................................................................             7-2

7.1.4....... Facilitation..............................................................................             7-2

7.1.5....... Development of Alternatives................................................             7-3

7.1.6....... Selection of Initially Prepared Plan......................................             7-4

7.2       Public Participation................................................................................             7-6

7.2.1....... Introduction.............................................................................             7-6

7.2.2....... Phase I Public Participation.................................................             7-6

7.2.3....... Phase II Public Participation................................................             7-7

7.2.4....... Phase III Public Participation...............................................             7-8

7.3       Coordination with Other Regions.....................................................         7-109

7.4       Final Plan Adoption...........................................................................         7-110

Appendices

Appendix A – Irrigation Projection Methodology

Appendix B – General Procedures and Assumptions for Technical Evaluations

Appendix C – Reliability Information for Water Rights in the South Central Texas Region

 

Supplement to Vol. I - Conservation Planning Guidelines

 


List of Figures

Figure                                                                                                                                        Page

ES-1               South Central Texas Planning Region (Region L)......................................          ES-3

ES-2               Plan Structure..................................................................................................          ES-4

ES-3               Projected Water Demands..........................................................................        ES-12

ES-4               Distribution of Total Demand Among Users..............................................        ES-14

ES-5               Supply, Demand, and Need (Shortage).....................................................        ES-16

ES-6               Projected Water Needs (Shortages)..........................................................        ES-17

ES-7               Counties with Projected Municipal Needs (Shortages)...........................        ES-18

ES-8               Cities with Projected Needs (Shortages)..................................................        ES-18

ES-9               Counties with Projected Industrial Needs (Shortages).............................        ES-19

ES-10             Counties with Projected Steam-Electric Needs (Shortages)..................        ES-19

ES-11             Counties with Projected Irrigation Needs (Shortages).............................        ES-20

ES-12             Counties with Projected Mining Needs (Shortages)................................        ES-20

ES-13             Regional Planning Process.........................................................................        ES-22

ES-14             Sources of New Supply................................................................................        ES-23

ES-15             Phased Implementation of Water Management Strategies.............        ES-23

ES-16             Regional Water Plan — Annual Cost of Cumulative
Additional Water Supply
..............................................................................        ES-29

ES-17             Regional Water Plan — Unit Cost of Cumulative
Additional Water Supply
..............................................................................        ES-30

  1-1                 Eco-Regions — South Central Texas Region................................................             1-6

  1-2                 Percentages of Population Residing in Urban and Rural
Areas
(1990)....................................................................................................           1-15

  1-3                 Age Distribution of the Population (1990).....................................................           1-17

  1-4                 Level of Educational Achievement (1990)....................................................           1-17

  1-5                 Major Aquifers..................................................................................................           1-30

  1-6                 River Basins, Coastal Basins, Reservoirs, and Lakes................................           1-39

  2-1                 Summary of South Central Texas Region’s Projected Population...............             2-4

  2-2                 Projected Per Capita Water Use and Municipal Water Demand..............           2-14

  2-3                 Projections of Industrial, Steam-Electric, and Mining
Water Demands
...............................................................................................           2-20

  2-4                 Projections of Irrigation Water Demands......................................................           2-23

  2-5                 Projections of Livestock Water Demands....................................................           2-26

  2-6                 Total Water Demand Projections...................................................................           2-29

  3-1                 Major Aquifers – South Central Texas Region...............................................             3-2

  3-2                 River Basins, Coastal Basins, Reservoirs, and Lakes
(South Central Texas Region)
..........................................................................             3-6

5.1-1               Planning Process...............................................................................................             5-1

5.2-1               Regional Water Plan – South Central Texas – Region L
Regional Water Planning Area
.........................................................................             5-9

5.2-2               Regional Water Plan.......................................................................................           5-16

5.2-3               Regional Water Plan – Annual Cost of Cumulative
Additional Water Supply
.................................................................................           5-18

5.2-4                              Regional Water Plan – Unit Cost of Cumulative
Additional Water Supply
.................................................................................           5-19

5.2-5                              Regional Water Plan – Atascosa County......................................................           5-22

5.2-6                              Regional Water Plan – Bexar County............................................................           5-24

5.2-7                              Regional Water Plan – Caldwell County.......................................................           5-26

5.2-8                              Regional Water Plan – Calhoun County........................................................           5-28

5.2-9                              Regional Water Plan – Comal County...........................................................           5-30

5.2-10                          Regional Water Plan – DeWitt County..........................................................           5-32

5.2-11                          Regional Water Plan – Dimmit County..........................................................           5-34

5.2-12                          Regional Water Plan – Frio County...............................................................           5-36

5.2-13                          Regional Water Plan – Goliad County...........................................................           5-38

5.2-14                          Regional Water Plan – Gonzales County......................................................           5-40

5.2-15                          Regional Water Plan – Guadalupe County...................................................           5-42

5.2-16                          Regional Water Plan – Hays County.............................................................           5-44

5.2-17                          Regional Water Plan – Karnes County..........................................................           5-46

5.2-18                          Regional Water Plan – Kendall County.........................................................           5-48

5.2-19                          Regional Water Plan – La Salle County........................................................           5-50

5.2-20                          Regional Water Plan – Medina County.........................................................           5-52

5.2-21                          Regional Water Plan – Refugio County.........................................................           5-54

5.2-22                          Regional Water Plan – Uvalde County..........................................................           5-56

5.2-23                          Regional Water Plan – Victoria County.........................................................           5-58

5.2-24                          Regional Water Plan – Wilson County..........................................................           5-60

5.2-25                          Regional Water Plan – Zavala County...........................................................           5-62

5.2-26                          Regional Water Plan – Simulated Comal Springs Discharge....................           5-82

5.2-27                          Regional Water Plan – Simulated San Marcos Springs Discharge..........           5-83

5.2-28                          Regional Water Plan – Simulated Edwards Aquifer Pumpage..................           5-84

5.2-29                          Regional Water Plan – Simulated Edwards Aquifer Levels.......................           5-85

5.2-30                          Regional Water Plan – Additional Carrizo Groundwater Pumpage...........           5-87

5.2-31                          Regional Water Plan – Simulated Carrizo Aquifer Drawdown...................           5-88

5.2-32                          Regional Water Plan – Carrizo Aquifer.........................................................           5-89

5.2-33                          Regional Water Plan – Carrizo Aquifer.........................................................           5-90

5.2-34                          Regional Water Plan – Carrizo Aquifer.........................................................           5-91

5.2-35                          Regional Water Plan – Carrizo Aquifer.........................................................           5-92

5.2-36                          Regional Water Plan – Carrizo Aquifer.........................................................           5-93

5.2-37                          Simsboro Aquifer in CPS-ALCOA Area Drawdown between
Years 2000 and 2050 for 55,000 acft/yr Water Supply
...............................           5-94

5.2-38                          Regional Water Plan – Simsboro Aquifer.....................................................           5-95

5.2-39                          Regional Water Plan – Simsboro Aquifer.....................................................           5-96