1. Jim Brasher – General Manager, Colorado County Groundwater Conservation District August 8, 2011 – Colorado County Commissioners Court

2. Outline Description of Aquifer Groundwater Usage Future Groundwater Usage Well Registration and Permitting

3. Major Aquifers of Texas

4. Hydrologic Cross-Section

5. 3-D Conceptual Model

6. Pumpage versus Water Level Change Chicot Evangeline Jasper

7. Pumpage versus Water Level Change Evangeline

8. Summary of Gulf Coast Aquifer Composed of Chicot, Evangeline and Jasper Aquifers (along with Burkeville Confining Unit) Chicot is best and Jasper is poorest quality Aquifers dip and thicken from NW to SE Computer simulations can project aquifer conditions based on pumpage assumptions at future points in time

9. Types of Groundwater Usage Municipal or Public Supply Domestic Livestock Commercial Irrigation Mining Fracture Stimulation (Oil & Gas)

10. Irrigation

11. Colorado County Groundwater Usage

13. Ave water level of index wells (CBGCD) 200820072010200520062009

14. Future Water Usage Up until recently: High availability of Colorado River for irrigation Abundant groundwater throughout the county No accurate estimate of groundwater usage or availability because there was plenty of water No regulation needed

15. Region K Water Plan

16. County201020202030204020502060 Bastrop1,6101,4071,2261,072934814 Blanco696662585655 Burnet10110098969593 Colorado200,822192,465184,380176,555168,946161,663 Fayette739692648606568533 Gillespie2,0392,0131,9871,9601,9361,912 Hays (p)11 Llano979963946930915900 Matagorda193,048186,072179,353172,916166,722160,750 Mills2,9362,8722,8102,7492,6892,631 San Saba3,2403,1363,0352,9372,8412,749 Travis1,2241,034951875805741 Wharton (p)191,241176,441170,127164,044158,177135,911 Williamson (p)000000 TOTAL589,705567,272545,634524,809504,695468,763 Lower Colorado Regional Water Planning Group (Region K) – July 2010 (p) – denotes that only the portion of the county in Region K was considered Projections of Irrigation Usage (Surface and Groundwater)

17. County201020202030204020502060 Bastrop13,27518,62022,96430,04035,86043,208 Blanco1,4671,7121,9472,1432,3602,626 Burnet8,99011,43714,16616,86718,62620,550 Colorado3,1553,2923,3283,2593,3203,409 Fayette3,8904,4174,8795,2445,7516,495 Gillespie4,7495,3985,6465,5765,541 Hays (p)7,20210,65613,44616,26619,74222,498 Llano5,7226,2356,4466,6476,8757,139 Matagorda5,5905,8305,9065,8835,831 Mills1,0101,0701,0931,0531,0861,104 San Saba1,2991,3161,3281,3391,3311,336 Travis199,677237,014274,610308,229342,865369,723 Wharton (p)3,7763,8803,9103,8803,8423,806 Williamson (p)8,84111,09513,76116,62519,74323,082 TOTAL268,643321,972373,430423,051472,778516,348 Lower Colorado Regional Water Planning Group (Region K) – July 2010 (p) – denotes that only the portion of the county in Region K was considered Projections of Municipal Usage (Surface and Groundwater)

18. County201020202030204020502060 Bastrop13,27518,62022,96430,04035,86043,208 Blanco1,4671,7121,9472,1432,3602,626 Burnet8,99011,43714,16616,86718,62620,550 Colorado3,1553,2923,3283,2593,3203,409 Fayette3,8904,4174,8795,2445,7516,495 Gillespie4,7495,3985,6465,5765,541 Hays (p)7,20210,65613,44616,26619,74222,498 Llano5,7226,2356,4466,6476,8757,139 Matagorda5,5905,8305,9065,8835,831 Mills1,0101,0701,0931,0531,0861,104 San Saba1,2991,3161,3281,3391,3311,336 Travis199,677237,014274,610308,229342,865369,723 Wharton (p)3,7763,8803,9103,8803,8423,806 Williamson (p)8,84111,09513,76116,62519,74323,082 TOTAL268,643321,972373,430423,051472,778516,348 Lower Colorado Regional Water Planning Group (Region K) – July 2010 (p) – denotes that only the portion of the county in Region K was considered Projections of Municipal Usage (Surface and Groundwater)

19. Future Groundwater Projections Projected increase in population in Colorado County pales in comparison to Travis and surrounding counties Colorado and surrounding counties will be viewed as prime areas to exploit for transport of water to urban areas! LCRA-SAWS project was an example $1.6 billion project underway to transport water to San Antonio from Gonzales County

20. Future Groundwater Usage Water will increasingly be treated as a commodity Water marketers who can deliver water to urban areas will be well compensated Result: Is Regulation good or bad? Prefer local or state control? Do you risk having no regulation?

21. CCGCD Rules & Regulations Well Registration Well Permitting Production limits Spacing requirements Some metering Data Acquisition

22. Well Registration Every water well (new and existing) must be registered One-time procedure No costs to the registrant

23. Well Registration Why do I have to register my well? 1. Protection from offset production. Example: Water needs for hydraulic fracture stimulation for Eagle Ford Shale Aquifer: Poorest area in the county for aquifer. Will need to access Evangeline and Jasper most likely. Water Requirements: Small total amount needed, but VERY high rates Potential Impact: Severe local drawdown of water table

24. Well Registration Why do I have to register my well? 1. Protection from offset production. 2. Protection in the event of contamination. 3. May be difficult to get your well serviced if well is not registered. 4. Can get a more accurate estimation of water usage for the District…underreporting usage means over-reporting availability.

25. Well Registration What happens if I don’t register my well? CCGCD tries to highlight the advantages to the well owner of registering their well District does have the power to fine well owners who refuse to register their wells

26. Well Registration Expect 3000 to 4000 wells in the District should be registered Predict that 1500 to 2000 will be registered Some residents are not aware of registration Some civil disobedience Deadline to register: September 15, 2011 Board is likely to extend deadline Forms available at District office or web-site (www.ccgcd.net)www.ccgcd.net

27. Well Permitting Only a select few of the total wells registered will require a permit (estimate 5 – 10%) The following are exempt from requiring a permit: Domestic wells pumping < 50,000 gpd Livestock wells pumping < 50,000 gpd Rig supply wells for oil/gas E&P Mining regulated by the Texas Railroad Commission Abandoned wells

28. Well Permitting Examples of wells NOT exempted (i.e. will require a permit) Irrigation wells (not including gardens & lawns) Municipal/public supply wells Wells used to supply rigs performing hydraulic fracture stimulation Wells for gravel operations Commercial wells (business & manufacturing)

29. Well Permitting Permits are typically of 3-yr duration Amount of water designated for use can be used at any time during permit period Permittees can apply for amendment to permit if more water may be required Spacing from existing wells depends on the size of the well being permitted

30. Well Permitting Four types of Permits Existing and Historic Use Permits Operating Permits Test Well Permits Transport Permits Depending on the size of the well, approval of the permits may be done by the General Manager, by the Board of Directors, or will require a public hearing

31. Well Permitting Permitted wells with greater than 6 inch casing diameter might require a meter Essentially, only Class C wells will be metered Domestic and livestock wells will NOT be required to have a meter!!! State law Practicality of metering thousands of wells

32. Data Acquisition A monitor well network has been set up to check monthly changes in water level

33. Data Acquisition A monitor well network has been set up to check monthly changes in water level Pumpage and water level data will be incorporated into computer simulation models that help predict future aquifer conditions

34. Questions?