Water supply partnership between San Angelo, Abilene and Midland announced

Below you’ll find city releases about the new partnership:

San Angelo, TX - Jan. 29, 2014. The mayors of San Angelo, Abilene and Midland pledged their dedication to complete transparency in the deliberations of the West Texas Water Partnership, a unique collaborative effort through which the leadership of the three sister cities are combining resources to plan for the region’s long-term water needs.

Before formally pursuing any water supply project, the partnership will present proposals to the other cities’ governing bodies and to the public, and consider all input. Every project will be evaluated using several criteria, including affordability, environmental impact and the effects of the project on the state or community from which the water is sourced. Only projects that meet with public approval and benefit all involved parties will be undertaken.

“The importance of the work this partnership will do cannot be overstated,” San Angelo Mayor Dwain Morrison said. “It is vital for San Angelo and for the entire West Texas region. Our own future – and the futures of our children and grandchildren – depends upon our success in providing a long-term water solution for our part of the state.”

Abilene Mayor Norm Archibald and Midland Mayor Jerry Morales echoed the sentiment, adding that their city councils and communities have been fully supportive of their involvement in the partnership.

“The people know that an abundant water supply is key to our prosperity and our quality of life,” Mayor Archibald said. Mayor Morales added, “This undertaking has the potential to yield tremendous economic growth for our region.”

As partners in the West Texas Water Partnership, the leaders of the three cities will explore opportunities to maximize local water supplies, support conservation and develop new water sources to serve the needs of residents, businesses and industries in the region for the next century. Part of the approach may be to bring more water to the area, a costly undertaking for any one city. By sharing resources and costs, the WTWP will eliminate the adverse effects that competing with each other for water would have on the three cities.

Extreme drought conditions of the past several years have strained the resources of the cities of Abilene, Midland and San Angelo. If no water planning is done, projections show that by 2060, regional water deficits will be massive.
“It only makes sense for our three cities – whose people share such common bonds and face common challenges – to work together in an effort so vital to our region as ensuring an abundant water supply for our future,” Mayor Morrison said.

For more information, go to westtexaswaterpartnership.com.

Rationale for partnership
The 347,000 residents of Abilene, Midland and San Angelo are accustomed to the dry conditions of West Texas. Annual rainfall is one-third of Houston’s, and both the land and its people have adapted; water conservation is common sense for most residents, and civic leaders have long been engaged with long-term water development projects to share resources. However, Mother Nature has dealt the entire state a cruel hand with its recent drought, and with its already-dry conditions, West Texas residents have been in and out of acute water conservation mode for years as they have seen their some of their reservoirs become puddles that are only 1 percent to 5 percent full.

The West Texas oil boom has re-ignited the economy and is contributing to a population explosion. It is clear West Texas – with its colleges, universities, oil patch, wind farms and agriculture – continues to play an important role in the economy and life of Texas. For the benefit of the entire state, that role must not be limited by lack of water and, consequently, West Texas leaders are working together to solve the region’s long-term water shortage.

The Big Picture
The State of Texas places water development and conservation in local hands, guiding it with standardized water planning under Senate Bill 1 (mandated by the 75th Legislature in 1997). To facilitate development of the Texas Water Plan, it has created 16 regional water groups. Abilene, Midland and San Angelo are in Regions F and G. Region F shows the deficit in 2060 would be 219,995 acre-feet of water if nothing were done to increase the supply. In Region G, the 2060 deficit would be 390,732 acre-feet. Steam generation and irrigation are industries whose water needs are showing early shortages, and more will follow – there is simply not enough water in the region for all intended uses. West Texas cities are busy with further development of surface and groundwater supplies, but these alone will not resolve the shortages identified in the 2012 Texas Water Plan.

A Collaborative Approach
The best way to offset the drought’s crippling effects and to prepare for growth is to work together develop several long-term cooperative water management strategies to address future water demands, part of which may include bringing more water to the region. No one city can bear the cost of bringing water in alone, and whether the source is groundwater or surface water, many questions and valid concerns will arise, ranging from environmental to the effect on the source and its inhabitants.

To share these burdens and minimize potential impacts to the environment, Abilene, Midland and San Angelo have joined hands as the West Texas Water Partnership (WTWP). This partnership acknowledges water resource development in the region can best be achieved by working together. It eliminates the adverse effects that competing for water would have. Each city has funded the engineering, legal and organizational needs of an effort to evaluate and develop water management strategies, maximize existing water resources and acquire future groundwater or surface water supplies, if necessary.

The Partnership is in the early stages of research, committed to only seeking realistic water solutions through a transparent process leading to an outcome that is fair for all involved. The group will consider all input and options, and is not bound by any agenda or calendar.

FAQ

What is the West Texas Water Partnership?

The West Texas Water Partnership (WTWP) is a unique partnership created by the cities of Abilene, Midland and San Angelo to address long-term water needs. The WTWP will explore opportunities to maximize local supplies, continue to support conservation and develop new long-term water supplies for the region.

What prompted this Partnership?

The cities were motivated to work together by a desire to foster economic growth in West Texas and address a common challenge. They have been diligently working individually to meet the short-term water needs of their communities, but they realize the long-term water supply challenges they each face are best addressed through a regional, collaborative and sustainable approach that will allow for cost-sharing, increased water use efficiency and minimization of environmental impacts. By sharing financial costs, resources, experience and knowledge, Abilene, Midland and San Angelo can more effectively develop future water resources for the entire region.

Isn’t the state supposed to provide water? I thought there was a state water plan.

There is a State Water Plan for Texas, and the actions proposed by the WTWP are consistent with it. While the State does sometimes assist entities with financial loans or other aid for water project development, it remains the responsibility of local entities such as the Partnership to identify and secure their future water supplies.

What about the CRMWD? Is it not its mission to address these very issues in West Texas?

We are in conversations with the Colorado River Municipal Water District (CRMWD) to determine whether it has additional water capacity for the cities to use. The WTWP is committed to exploring all possible avenues to develop a long-term water management strategy and solution for the region, which includes the CRMWD.

How will the WTWP pay for any water projects?

Each city in the WTWP will retain local control in deciding how to generate the funding necessary for new water projects. By pooling financial resources and developing projects for the cities’ cumulative population base of more than 300,000 people, the WTWP will be able to develop water supplies in a cost-effective manner.

Do citizens get to vote on whether their city will participate in a water project?

The WTWP is dedicated to transparency and public input. Before selecting any water supply project, the WTWP will present proposals to the cities’ governing bodies and to the public, and will listen to public input.

How will the WTWP decide whether to move forward with a project?

The WTWP will evaluate several criteria when deciding on any water project, including affordability, environmental impact and the impact on the area of the state or community from which the water is sourced. The WTWP will strive to develop projects that provide a net benefit to the region where the water supply will be developed.

Where will the WTWP look for water?

The WTWP will look for both groundwater and surface water supplies. We are researching many possibilities to find sources of water and develop a plan and projects that benefit everyone.

Shouldn’t we be focusing more on water conservation and recycling than getting new, expensive water sources?

The WTWP emphatically endorses water conservation – the most cost-effective water supply is almost always existing water sources that are conserved. All of the cities have active and robust conservation programs, and each city either has or is developing a water reuse program. Combining conservation measures and developing new water sources to address future water needs is the best way to ensure an adequate, long-term water supply for our three cities. However, conservation alone will not create the water supply needed to serve the Partnership’s future water needs.

Will the WTWP help rural communities with their water issues?

The WTWP was formed around a need to develop new supplies for the region. The WTWP is not intended to be limited to Abilene, Midland and San Angelo, and it welcomes potential partnerships with other communities – big or small – that have future water deficits.

When will the WTWP make a decision on a water project?

The WTWP is committed to pursuing the best, most cost-effective, long-term water supplies for the region, and we are carefully evaluating options, funding issues and potential impacts of developing a variety of water projects. We are not close to making final project decisions, but when a final project is chosen, it will be thoroughly discussed with the cities’ governing bodies and with the public.

Will the WTWP affect or be used for water projects currently on tap, such as Abilene’s Cedar Ridge Reservoir?

Development and permitting of the Cedar Ridge Reservoir is well underway, and represents an important future supply for Abilene and the surrounding region. It is possible the development of Cedar Ridge could allow the WTWP to share water supplies, both existing and future, and to more efficiently distribute water across the region. Other water supply projects – including the Hickory Aquifer and T-Bar well fields – also represent important water supply projects for the cities of San Angelo and Midland, respectively. In Midland, the T-Bar wellfield came online last June and provides an average of 300 million gallons per month of water for the City. The City of San Angelo has been performing research and evaluations to bring the Hickory groundwater supply online. It will provide roughly 10 million gallons per day to the City of San Angelo.

There have been claims that the purpose of the WTWP is to pay for the Cedar Ridge Reservoir project. Is this true?

No. The Cedar Ridge Reservoir project is being independently pursued by the City of Abilene. Once developed, Cedar Ridge could enhance the overall supply options that are available and may be considered by the WTWP.

Who will eventually decide whether a proposed water supply project requires a permit? The State?

The permitting specifics are determined by the water source. For example, if a selected project involves groundwater as the source, we may need a permit from a local groundwater conservation district. Pipelines and other facilities may require permitting by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Also, surface water projects will require permitting by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

West Texas has experienced a drought for some time – why hasn’t this happened sooner?

The cities of the WTWP have historically worked to meet their immediate water supply needs individually, while also planning for their long-term supplies. The WTWP was borne out of that planning process two years ago and has been working to meet the cities’ common goals since then.

Does the timing of the WTWP have anything to do with the West Texas oil boom – specifically in Midland?

The significant recent, fast-paced growth experienced in the Midland area underscores the need for proactive long-range water planning. Coming together now to pursue future regional supplies will ensure that West Texas can continue to be an important economic engine for the State.

What if the effort doesn’t work? Do you have a “Plan B”?

The West Texas Water Partnership was formed as a collaborative effort to find the right solutions to meet the needs of our region. The WTWP is not tied to pursuit of any particular project. Thus, if we determine that a project will not meet all of our needs, the WTWP will continue to vet other alternatives.