As registration deadline approaches, some cities feeling drained by water district's rules
By Travis Measley | Published Sunday, June 28, 2009
When the legislation creating the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District came to a vote during the final months of 2007, voters overwhelmingly passed it, eager to set up the first local water district in the state with the authority to place certain restrictions on the oil and gas industry for water use.
Then, in August 2008, district board members passed regulations for a mandatory $175 registration fee on all groundwater wells dug after Jan. 1, 2009, and a 22-cent usage fee for every 1,000 gallons pumped by non-exempt wells, which includes municipalities. The fees will generate more than $800,000 for the board's operating expenses, one of the highest amounts among the more than 90 groundwater districts in the state.
Now, with the final July 1 deadline for registering all groundwater wells approaching, some Wise County cities are voicing complaints with the direction the water district is heading. Usage fees for the first half of 2009 will be due to the district by Sept. 1, and many of the smaller cities will see a significant amount of their money head out the door. John Hamilton, Boyd's city administrator, estimates that Boyd will owe more than $14,000.
"That really is a significant sum for cities our size," Hamilton said. "Boyd relies on municipal well water, so it is not like we can use less to keep our fees down. Unlike Decatur and Bridgeport (who use surface water, and are therefore not regulated by the UTGCD), we will use something like 60 million gallons of groundwater (every six months)."
Too much regulation?
As per UTGCD regulations, every non-exempt well must be equipped with a water meter that is compliant with district regulations and a monthly log of groundwater use must be kept and turned in to the district office. Many cities question whether these rules are necessary.
"We are already regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and paying fees imposed by them, so why is this necessary?" Hamilton said.
Also, according to the UTGCD Web site, the fees collected from registered wells and water usage, at least in 2009, will be used to cover the district's operating expenses. The 2009 budget, found on the district's Web site, allots for almost $200,000 in yearly salaries, $123,000 in office expenses, and $287,000 in professional services.
No where in the district's bylaws, rules or "desired future" document is there a plan laid out for how the district is going to preserve water levels within the counties it governs or what other costs it may incur to do so. According to Chapter 36 of the Texas Water Code, a district has two years from its creation to develop and submit a management plan that outlines management goals for the district. The UTGCD has yet to do so.
Bill Davis, the director of field operations for the district, said he understands the negative reaction to the fees.
"The board felt that 22 cents was an adequate fee that would cover costs without gouging the pockets of people," said Davis, who lives within the district and will himself pay the fee. "I think, through time and education, we can show people that we are trying to manage our aquifers and keep our water supply up."
Davis also noted that other districts around the state require a higher fee, even up to $1. He said that the UTGCD has to look forward to what may happen in the next five to 10 years and try and prevent the water supply from depleting.
"People may not be thinking of it that way," he said.
Many city officials said they originally thought the district's primary goal was to focus most of its regulation on the oil and gas companies in the area. But now, with oil and gas well counts down for most of the major companies in the area some fear the burden of funding the district will fall more squarely on municipalities.
"The way I understood it a few years ago was that they were targeting oil and gas companies that were pulling massive amounts of water from the ground," said Newark mayor Matt Newby, "but 22 cents, to the oil and gas industry, is a small price to pay, and they are going to pay it. The public are the real targets. We will be the ones that truly suffer."
Affecting the public
While domestic-use wells are exempt from the usage fee, citizens of some of the smaller cities in the county may still feel the effects of the 22-cent fee. Some city administrators have said they may have to raise local water rates to help cover the new costs.
In Newark, the council has been forced to increase the city's water rates to cover the fees - Newby estimated about $3 a month - but will deposit that money in an account and withhold payment to the district to see if legislation changes. Newby said the city would credit back people's accounts in the event the city was not forced to pay.
"I just don't think it is right to charge people for using water," Newby said. "(The district) isn't allowed, by law, to tax us, so they use the word 'fee' to get around taxing and still forcing us to pay for water. I think that if all the cities in our four-county district stood up and voiced their displeasure with what is going on, we could really make some noise in the legislature."
In Boyd, the city council has decided to absorb the costs for this year, but Hamilton said in the future they may have to look to their customers for help footing the bill.
The actual cost to residents might only be a small percent of their water bills, but money spent to pay district fees could instead be used for other projects within the city.
"We budgeted some funds to cover a fee like this, so the city will be able to pay for it," said Chico mayor J.D. Clark, "but we could be using that money toward improving our own city or benefiting our citizens. It just seems like an unnecessary fee. We already monitor and log our wells, why do we have to add another meter and pay for another log? If someone wants to see our data, by all means, I will give it to you for free."
Lost in translation
The question remains, however, of what went wrong between the overwhelming public approval when the district was created in 2007 and now?
There is a general consensus among most of the city officials in Wise County, as well among state representatives, that the idea of conserving groundwater is crucial to the continued success of the state. Many of the state's water districts are experiencing severe droughts and have been forced to tighten the allotted water usage of their customers. The UTGCD reported that over the next five years, the demand for water in the Dallas/Fort Worth area could exceed the quantity available.
State representative Phil King, who sponsored the bill authored by state senator Craig Estes to create the district, said he believes that the groundwater district has started moving much faster than necessary. In November 2008, King expressed concerns over the district, and still feels those concerns today.
"I think the district has moved too far too quickly," King said. "They need to slow down and not extend outside of their boundaries. They have to attempt to find a communitywide approach to managing our groundwater."
King said the state legislature is currently working toward an agreement that would create communitywide resource panels that would give formal input to the district board. There is also an agreement in the works that would force the district into financial transparency.
"I don't think there was ever any understanding that the district would be in any way charging residential users," he said. "The original vision was to deal with large commercial wells. Now that that doesn't seem to be the main focus, the district must work to sell their ideals to the public because that is who they work for when it comes right down to it."
King suggested to anyone displeased with the actions of the district to write their county commissioners. The commissioners appoint the board members, and people need to express their concerns and force commissioners to appoint people that have the people's best interests at heart when board spots open up, he said.
For more information on the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, visit its Web site, http://www.uppertrinitygcd.com
