CITY OF BUDA DECLARES STAGE 1 WATER RESTRICTIONS Effective Monday, August 24, 2020

Aug. 20, 2020 - Effective Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, Stage 1 Water Restrictions will go into effect for City of Buda water customers in accordance with the City’s adopted Water Resource Management and Drought Response Ordinance. This is due to the lack of consistent precipitation, and higher than normal demands on our water production system. Under Stage 1, twice per week mandatory watering restrictions are now in place. Violation of the ordinance could result in a fine of up to $2,000 per offense and a surcharge on the customer’s utility bill. For more on Stage 1 restrictions and water conservation tips visit: https://www.ci.buda.tx.us/232/Water-Conservation

Official City of Buda website post: https://www.ci.buda.tx.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1153

Hays Trinity GCD Declares Drought for Jacob's Well Groundwater Management Zone

Flow at Jacob's Well has dropped below the drought threshold triggering a drought declaration by the Hyas Trinity Groundwater Conservation District at the August 6 Board Meeting. With the Jacob's Well Groundwater Management Zone (GMZ) drought declaration, permittees operating wells within the GMZ are required to reduce pumpage by 20% to extend diminished groundwater supplies. - Wimberley Valley Watershed Association.

Read more here.

 

Note: The Jacob's Well GMZ is in the Hays Trinity GCD boundary and not in the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservations District boundary.

When It Rains, Texans Forget Drought and Worsening Water Scarcity

 Article by Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue

August 3, 2020

After the Pandemic, soaring population growth, development will again challenge planning and water Supply in the Texas Hill Country.

Tropical Storm Hanna, a Record-Breaking Tropical Storm Season and a Coin-Flip La Nina for the Fall

Summary:

• The amount of the state under drought conditions increased from about 25 percent four weeks ago to about 36 percent
• Despite drought conditions, statewide reservoir storage is normal for this time of year
• Tropical Storm Hanna should improve drought conditions in Central and South-Central Texas

Read full article here

Aquifer Monitoring Tools

No Drought

Lovelady well height: 487 ft-msl

Barton Springs: approximately 61 cfs 10-day avg

MONITORING TOOLS

Aquifer conditions are dynamic, with water levels often fluctuating  due to drought, recharge, and pumping. The use of monitor wells  with specialized equipment helps track these changes in order to  inform policy that protects water supplies and spring flow for all users.  After all, groundwater is a shared resource. We’re often asked the question:  “How are aquifer conditions determined?” or  “How are aquifers monitored?”  The short answer: "Monitor wells!"  You can view the District (and other agency)  monitor wells and aquifer data HERE. BSEACD staff employ several types of equipment to collect  continuous, accurate measurements and observe aquifer  trends at a number of area monitor wells and for various  aquifers. Equipment and techniques vary from manual  periodic measurements with an electric tape, to automated  sensors that record and store measurements over time. Many well owners have seen BSEACD staff visit their wells  to take a manual water-level reading using an e-line.  A manual measurement is a reliable and accurate method  to measure water levels in a well and is often used to verify  automated sensor accuracy. However, a manual measurement  only represents a snapshot of a well's water level for a given  date and hydrlogic condition and is time-consuming.

While all monitor wells have manual measurements, wells  that are only manually measured periodically are called ‘periodic’  monitor wells, meaning staff will make a visit one to two  times a year to get a snapshot measurement. The most common technique the BSEACD uses to collect  continuous water levels is equipping monitor wells with a  pressure transducer probe. The probes measure the  water pressure above the instrument as it changes and r ecords the corresponding water level every hour.  Staff stop by these transducer wells quarterly to  download the data, or more frequently to aid with scientific studies.

While many continuous monitoring sites are active domestic wells,  monitoring does not interfere with operation of the well.  These monitor wells are often plumbed with a small PVC pipe that  keeps the pressure transducer and cable away from the pump wires  and the pipe that brings water to the surface. The newest type of monitoring technology being used for water-level measurements is a sonic (sound) sensor. This sonic sensor records the depth to water from the top of the well to the water level using sound pulses. The data is recorded in real-time and is transmitted via WiFi to a cloud-based platform which processes and archives the data. Data can be retrieved at any time with an internet connection. Staff have deployed seven sonic sensors on Edwards and Trinity wells in the last two years. One major advantage of this system is the ability to display water-level readings in real-time through the online dashboard (as seen in the hydrograph below) which helps to analyze trends over time.

An additional benefit is that the sensor can detect when the pump is  active and can label the data it collects as under the influence  of the pump. Several other groundwater entities are now deploying  these units, including Edwards Aquifer Authority, Comal Trinity GCD,  and Hays Trinity GCD. This is providing a larger network of real-time  monitoring. Water levels are the most basic information one can collect about groundwater resources. Understanding how water levels are changing over time in individual wells, and across an aquifer, can tell us a lot about drought conditions and the increasing demand on groundwater resources. Therefore, collecting accurate, long-term, frequent, real-time water-level data is critical to having a science-based approach to  conservation and management of our most precious shared resource.