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 Dec. 1, 2004
 here will you get water?
It is a question as old as Texas, and an ongoing quality of life issue for current and potential residents of western Travis and northern Hays counties, where water supplies are limited and few public water suppliers provide service.
To put it simply, "water comes from three places — surface, groundwater, or it falls out of the sky," said George Ward, scientist with the University of Texas Center for Research in Water Resources.
You have three basic options: drill a groundwater well, install a rainwater harvesting system or connect to a community water supply, if one is available.
To improve water availability, LCRA has proposed to build a water line to supply surface water stored in Lake Travis to landowners along Hamilton Pool Road. If the LCRA Board approves water service contracts, it may take two years or more until the water line is built and residents would have this option.
In the meantime, residents have three existing alternatives for water. The following provides a summary of these options, general costs and the potential issues concerning quality, reliability and other factors, according to area water experts.
Groundwater wells
Most existing homeowners in this area rely on groundwater wells. While many long-term residents report that they have good quantities of water from their wells, others said they have periodic problems with the water quality and quantity, especially during dry periods.
Today, it would cost about $10,000 to $15,000 to drill a well to the necessary depth of 600 to 900 feet, said long-time area water well driller Ray Whisenant. To be successful, a well most likely will need to stretch to the lower formations of the Trinity Aquifer, rather than the closer Glen Rose formation, which has traditionally supplied area homes.
"The Glen Rose formation doesn't give up the volumes to provide a household the necessary quantity of water," said Whisenant, who co-owns Whisenant & Lyle Water Services, a water drilling firm based in Dripping Springs.
A survey of state drilling records for a portion of this region showed a record number of wells drilled in the past four years, and drillers have had to go deeper and deeper to find quality water.
Specifically, in the Rocky Creek Watershed, a 9.3-square mile area along Hamilton Pool Road near the border of Travis and Hays counties, 68 water wells were drilled between 2000 and August 2004, representing nearly half of the 139 wells drilled in this area since the 1970s, according to state records. (Note: These well completion reports filed by water well drillers represent only a portion of total number of wells drilled.) Since 2000, the average depth of wells was 790 feet, compared with 460 feet in the 1970s.
"You have a dwindling water supply, and the water that is there is sometimes not of good quality," said Geoff Saunders, senior hydrologist with LCRA's water resource protection department. In a recent environmental assessment of the Rocky Creek Watershed conducted by LCRA water quality experts, Saunders researched well records from the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
Water quality is another issue for wells in the area. Water from the wells generally contains high sulfate concentrations and total dissolved solids. The wells also yield "hard" water, meaning the water has a high mineral content. Water filtration and softeners, plus electricity to pump the water, are added monthly costs.
The water's foul sulfur odor can be addressed by aerating the water in a tank for at least 24 hours, water supply experts said.
Before purchasing a home or property, area residents and water experts advise consumers to check state records on water well drilling activity and compare notes with area landowners. As more people move in and more wells are placed, there is a potential for the aquifer levels to drop, experts said. There is always the chance that a well will come up dry, and another well or a deeper one may be required, which would mean additional costs.
Rainwater harvesting is a viable alternative for many
Rainwater is an option that has gained attention in recent years, though using rainwater is nothing new. It serves as the primary water source for many people worldwide, said Herb Grubb, a water supply planner with the consulting engineering firm HDR Engineering. Grubb, former director of statewide water planning for the Texas Water Development Board, should know. He grew up on a family farm in Virginia where a household cistern was the main water source.
In recent years, the technology for rainwater systems has improved, and there are an increasing number of suppliers serving the area.
Today, the cost of a household rainwater harvesting system is roughly comparable to drilling a well, ranging from about $10,000 to $25,000, depending on the capacity and other factors.
A complete system includes a collection surface, such as a guttered roof; a cistern; a filtration system; a pump; and a disinfection process.
For planning purposes, a collection surface of at least 1,500 square feet is required for a two-person household in the Hill Country, where the average annual rainfall is 32 inches a year, according to Tank Town, a Dripping Springs rainwater-harvesting firm that sells bottled rainwater. As a rough estimate, a home system should have about 5,000 gallons storage capacity for every family member.
One obvious consideration is how available is rainwater, especially during dry periods. "You're as dependable as the rain. And for that matter, a well is as dependable as the aquifer. There is no definite horizon on each of them," Grubb said.
In times of drought, homeowners could supplement a rainwater system by having water trucked in, an option also available for well users, Grubb and others said.
As far as quality, advocates praise rainwater systems as producing purified water that is naturally softened.
"Those on such systems rave about them, and sing praises about the quality of the water," said Kent Butler, a water planner and UT professor of architecture.
Typically, people with rainwater harvesting systems don't have lavish landscapes, but instead rely on native plants that use less water, said Butler, who is finalizing a study that considers rainwater collection as an option for Hill Country developments. LCRA is partially funding the study.
A potential limiting factor is there are no federal or state public health or safety standards for designing, constructing or maintaining rainwater systems, said Nora Mullarkey, senior water conservationist for LCRA. Thus, homeowners are advised to diligently check on service and equipment suppliers before buying a system.
Another consideration is the required maintenance. Rainwater harvesting requires ongoing upkeep, such as cleaning the cistern every year or two, replacing filters and other maintenance.
"Those considering options may decide it's more maintenance and responsibility than they choose to take on," Butler said.
Centralized water systems
Another alternative is linking to a centralized water system, which experts said generally provides the most reliable water, whether its source is groundwater or a surface supply, such as a reservoir.
Today, however, this option seems remote for many existing homeowners in the area, who live on acres of land far from potential suppliers. In the unincorporated area of western Travis County near Hamilton Pool Road, residents and those familiar with the area identified few existing public water suppliers, most notably Deer Creek Water Co., which serves several hundred subdivision customers.
However, with few exceptions, the cost for extending a line to a single homeowner is generally prohibitive, experts said. Another consideration: These providers require connection fees, as well as ongoing monthly fees, costs that groundwater and rainwater customers do not have.
There is strength in numbers, however. "There are some ways that individual homeowners can band together to get economies of scale," noted Kate Wilkins, a program specialist TCEQ in Austin. For example, Wilkins, who lives in a rural area, said she and nearby homeowners recently hooked up to a water line extended by a local nonprofit water supply company. The costs were spread among a handful of residents, allowing them to discontinue use of poor-quality well water.
Though there may be few options today, there are some important things to know about public water utility suppliers. Here are the four general types and some basic info on each:
- City-owned facilities. Most people are familiar with city-owned water services, as this is an area that traditionally has been dominated by the public sector.
- Member-owned, nonprofit water supply corporations (or WSCs). Texas has a strong tradition of organizing nonprofit companies to serve areas where the local government has not provided water, particularly in rural areas. WSCs typically require customers to pay a one-time membership fee, usually ranging from $50 to $250, which entitles the member to receive utility services and to vote as a member or stockholder of the company, according to a fact sheet from TCEQ.
- For-profit companies increasingly are providing water services. For example, Bryn Mawr, Pa.-based Aqua America, which bills itself as the nation's largest publicly traded water utility operator, runs a number of water facilities that serve subdivisions throughout Travis County.
- Special purpose districts, including municipal utility districts (or MUDs), and water control and improvement districts. Texas has more than 800 MUDs, which are special districts authorized by the state Legislature beginning in 1971 to provide utility services in fast-growing suburban areas where cities didn't or couldn't serve. According to TCEQ records, 41 of Travis County's 60 special water districts are MUDs, including water suppliers to well-established real estate developments such as Lakeway, River Place and Senna Hills. Unlike LCRA, MUDs have taxing authority, which allows them to quickly build infrastructure by selling bonds backed with future taxes.
Ronald J. Freeman, an Austin water lawyer and a board member of the West Travis County MUD 6 near Bee Cave, has helped set up numerous MUDs for developers. Even so, he advises developers to first consider forming an agreement with a local provider that specializes in the water business — if one exists.
"The first thing I tell them is you're not in the business to be in the water and sewage business. You don't want the obligation," Freeman said. "You have an albatross around your neck."
When it comes to researching water suppliers, consumers have to do some legwork, experts said. David Eaton, a professor at the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs and a specialist in water issues, noted that consumers can review TCEQ records to compare the rates and enforcement actions taken against individual water suppliers.
Tom Vandivier has tried the gamut of water supplies since he moved to northern Hays County in 1986. At one time or another he has relied on a groundwater well, a rainwater catchment system at his business and, most recently, a centralized water utility system.
Years ago, when he relied on a well, he remembers having corroded pipes and problems with wear and tear on appliances, a consequence of hard water. He said he had expensive monthly bills for supplies to soften the water. His rainwater system too often proved unreliable.
A Hays County attorney, Vandivier is president of the defunct Hill Country Water Supply Corporation, a company that is being dissolved after LCRA purchased and began operating the water system in January.
"It was a definite step up" to get water piped in through a central system, he said.
Related info:
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's water utility database, www.tceq.state.tx.us/permitting/water_supply/ud/iwud.html
Texas Water Development Board info on groundwater wells, http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/
American Rain Catchment Systems Association, http://www.arcsa-usa.org/
Aqua America, http://www.aquaamerica.com
Tank Town, http://www.rainwatercollection.com/
Texas Rural Water Association, http://www.trwa.org/
Updated Dec. 16, 2004
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