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Water debates will not go away...
The next chapter in the ongoing battle over Texas water will open when the Texas legislature meets in January. Many contentious issues remain unresolved, including inter-basin transfer of surface water and export of ground water. A "sleeper" issue—instream flows—is also on the horizon.
The battle over inter-basin transfers hasn't changed over the last eight years. Cities want the legislature to make it easier to pipe surface water from one river basin to another. "Water-rich" and rural areas want to maintain the current obstacles in law to moving surface water, which Farm Bureau supports.
Some, however, are questioning whether the restrictions on inter-basin transfers have put more pressure on the areas that depend on groundwater. Groundwater can be exported without state agency approval, and groundwater conservation districts can't prohibit the export of groundwater. This has caused most of the water marketing in Texas to shift to rural areas with abundant groundwater resources. Expect another hard fight.
The marketing of groundwater and the rule of capture continue to drive the debate on groundwater management in Texas. Those who want to market groundwater want the legislature to dictate how groundwater districts must allocate groundwater rights. They are critical of the local politics that they say determines who gets a permit to pump groundwater. Marketers believe they will receive fairer treatment with more state oversight of these districts.
The rule of capture critics want more state oversight, but for a different reason. They believe local decisions by districts do not provide for good management of the aquifer. They prefer management decisions be made on a regional basis that covers more of the aquifer.
Texas Farm Bureau policy supports "locally controlled" groundwater conservation districts. We must ensure any legislation that harms local control is opposed by our grassroots.
Instream flows is an issue that is not widely known. However, no other issue has greater potential to impact both surface and groundwater rights in Texas. Simply put, instream flows raises the issue of maintaining the water flow in Texas' creeks and rivers. This flow is important to wildlife and the fish in the bays and estuaries on the coast. To ensure this flow, water right holders may find themselves in a battle to protect their water. Environmental groups claim the state has over-appropriated the rivers. If every right holder exercised their full right, environmental groups say our rivers would be dry. They want the state to guarantee a minimum flow. Groundwater users may be affected because rivers are affected by wells located along it. This issue could become the biggest water battle of the 2005 legislative session.
