No decision on permits to export water

BASTROP (KXAN) - Some Central Texans were speaking out Wednesday night to save their water. The Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District (LPGCD) held a public hearing to discuss permit applications that would allow water from Bastrop and Lee County aquifers to be taken to other parts of Central Texas. A vote on this matter was tabled Wednesday and is expected to happen in April.

Bastrop City Hall was a packed house as the LPGCD board went over the applications. They're considering four different permit applications.  Forestar Real Estate Group is applying for the greatest amount of acre-feet of groundwater.

Groundwater is measured in acre-feet. Combined, the entities are applying for more than 100,000 acre-feet of water. That's enough to supply water to around 300,000 homes for a year.

The idea--pump water to Hays, Williamson and Travis counties. Proponents say this would help support future demand for central Texas as it grows. But many locals worry about what this could mean for their water supply. For some Bastrop County residents available water is worth its weight in gold.

JoAnn Sullivent is one of dozens of Bastrop and Lee County residents to speak at City Hall Wednesday night. Sullivent runs a mobile home community off State Highway 71 in Bastrop. She owns the property and a private well which provides water to more than 60 tenants--plus her home. If the groundwater that feeds the well is starts heading other places, she says she'd be concerned about supply for her community.

"If this well ever goes down, I'm out of business," Sullivent said, "[The tenants] must be relocated."

Environmentalist Steve Box says in addition to concerns from residents about losing water supply, the Colorado River could see changes.

"Water comes out of the aquifers and flows into the river. The aquifers charge the river," said Box, looking out into the river from Fisherman's Park in Bastrop. "Some of the flow you see in the Colorado River right now is coming out of those aquifers," said Box.

While people like Sullievent worry they could go dry, others could profit from water sold below their land.

"I don't know if it's the money that's speaking louder than the water?" she said.

The Texas Water Development Board says by 2060 the state's demand for water is likely to increase by 27 percent compared to its demand in 2000. Right now the Texas legislature is working on a plan to fund water infrastructure in the state. House Bill 4 would divert $2 billion from the rainy day fund into water projects across the state. The bill is expected to go on the House floor as soon as next week.