Media Release July 8, 2008

Water News.. Recent Rains

By Lee Sweeten, G.M Real Edwards Conservation & Reclamation District

Seems like there is quite a bit to talk about this week and of course the first thing is rain. If you are one of the lucky ones who have been blessed by the scattered showers over the last several days, consider yourself lucky. While these showers are great, they do not provide the overall general rains that we so desperately need. Unofficially, here in Barksdale, we have had slightly over four (4) inches since the beginning of January. Keep in mind that the last ten year average (again unofficial) for Barksdale is 35.7 inches. In my last article, I mentioned that we were looking for individuals that have kept rainfall data. This data will be used to try and correlate rainfall to recharge along with base flow of springs and streams. The graph below is based upon data furnished by Ms. Jerry Clark at the Nueces River Motel in Barksdale who quite amazingly, has kept records since 1975.

The ten (10) year average for the six (6) period of January thru June is 15.83 inches. So at our current amount of slightly over 4 inches in Barksdale, it looks like this may go down as one of the drier years in a long time.

This leads right in to the next thing to talk about and that is the current drought conditions. As mentioned above there have been scattered showers and rains through out the District. However as also mentioned, these have not been general nor of sufficient quantity to alleviate the current drought conditions and we urge everyone to make continual attempts to conserve. While I normally do not list other organizations’ website addresses in my articles, the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) website @ http://www.saws.org/ conservation has an excellent section on water conservation and is well worth looking at. Not only does this site list many of the tips we have published in prior issues but helps plan for future water savings as well.

We are still busy working on the well registration project and have almost finished the initial round of letters in Real County and are almost ready to start work following up on those wells that show to be capable of producing over 17 Gallons Per Minute (gpm) of 25,000 Gallons Per Day (gpd). Wells that fall into this group are required to be registered under Section 5 of the District’s Rules. If you are the owner of a well that falls into this group and have not registered it, you need to do so as soon as possible. Over the next several weeks, we will be sending out reminders to over 130 individuals who have not yet responded to our initial mail out. Once we finish this process in Real County, we will initiate it in Edwards County.

While our rules make it mandatory for large wells to be registered, the District urges everyone to complete the registration process. It is very important that the District receive this information so that we are able to properly account for all of the groundwater usage within Edwards and Real County. Without this information the District may be required to issue new permits that would exceed the available water supply. State law requires the District to issue permits for all the available groundwater, and with no registration form on your well the District cannot account for your water demand. It also benefits you to have a record of your historic use so the District can ensure your pumping is not interrupted and no wells are drilled that may interfere with your well.

You may obtain a well registration form by calling our office at (830) 234-3158 or by emailing lsweeten@swtexas.net . The forms are also available on our website @ www.recrd.org .

River flows are up slightly this week due to the scattered showers within the District.

Just a reminder; if you have rainfall data that you would be willing to provide us, please contact our office at (830) 234- 3158 or email lsweeten@swtexas.net.

For now, remember “Every Drop Counts” so “Do Your Part; Be Water Smart”