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Dear Stakeholder:
Thank you for your continued interest in the LCRA-SAWS Water Project. In an effort to keep you and all members of the public informed, I wanted to let you know that on Dec. 17 the LCRA Board of Directors approved policy guidance on several issues affecting the project.
LCRA staff had asked the Board to answer key policy questions to complete the project studies and apply for necessary permits.
The guidance – provided in four resolutions – focuses on how the project will protect and benefit the lower Colorado River basin. The LCRA-SAWS contract requires the project to “protect and benefit the lower Colorado River watershed and the district’s water service area, including municipal, industrial, agricultural, recreational and environmental interests.”
Following staff briefings and considerable deliberation over the past 12 months, the Board directed staff to use the following assumptions for the LCRA-SAWS Water Project studies:
Water demand projections – The project studies should use updated regional water demands that include municipal and industrial growth that is occurring and not reflected in previous planning numbers. LCRA staff updated regional water demands through LCRA’s water supply resource planning effort. Read the resolution and the Water Supply Resource Plan demands update - December 2008.
Irrigator reliability – For project study purposes, LCRA should plan for adequate water supplies to meet currently-projected agricultural water needs over the lifetime of the project. Read the resolution.
Groundwater – The use of groundwater should be limited to dry periods when there is not enough surface water to meet agricultural irrigation needs. Read the resolution.
Water reserve – The 50,000 acre-feet reserved in LCRA’s Water Management Plan will be kept in reserve. LCRA will explore opportunities to make other water available to the project on a firm or interruptible basis. Read the resolution.
The policy guidance will be incorporated into the feasibility studies to determine how much water is expected to be available for SAWS and whether project requirements can be met. The results of the updated studies are expected in spring 2009.
Project plans call for state and federal permit applications to be filed within the next two years and a draft implementation plan to be presented to the LCRA Board in 2015. At that time the LCRA Board must find that the project adequately protects and benefits the lower Colorado River basin for the project to go forward. SAWS Board of Trustees must determine whether the yield and cost meet SAWS’ needs.
To give you a status report on the project, we are hosting two project update meetings on Feb. 3 in El Campo and on Feb. 5 in Burnet. A technical meeting will also be held on Feb. 3 in El Campo. Meeting agendas will be available in early January.
For more information, contact me at 1-800-776-5272, Ext. 7208, or lcrasawswaterproject@lcra.org.
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