01/10/2025
Dear Trinity Aquifer users,
As the fourth year of Severe to Emergency Drought grips the Hill Country, the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District would like to thank everyone going the extra mile to conserve water. The District recognizes the ongoing effort the community is making to help extend the water in the aquifer through the duration of this drought.
The District would like to feature the good efforts of several users. Driftwood Recovery has refurbished its water management to include enhanced rainwater harvesting and metered use that help swiftly isolate wasteful parts of the system for repair, which are then immediately repaired The Wimberley ISD and the Wimberley Library have incorporated “One-Water” construction methods to create new buildings that safely maximize water efficiency and greatly reduce the burden on the aquifer.
The City of Dripping Springs has created a water re-use system that provides irrigation-grade water to public green spaces, golf courses, and dust suppression on construction sites. That project has recaptured millions of gallons of irrigation-grade water that would have not gone to beneficial use, while conserving potable drinking water in the aquifer.
The Dripping Springs and the Wimberley Water Supply Corporations are demonstrating diligence in their leak detection and customer communications to improve efficiencies in each of their delivery systems. The District recognizes the hard work they and many other utilities are doing in their operations.
Homeowners, business, ranch and farm operations, and wildlife are all reliant on the same water source in Western Hays County -- groundwater from the Trinity Aquifer. The Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District will continue to gather hydrogeologic data to enhance aquifer resilience. We continue to work with the Hays County Commissioners Court to incentivize new developments away from aquifer pumping. We are exploring grants for small communities who lack the financial resources to quickly repair leaking systems. We welcome information you want to share about these types of programs or others.
We also work with local elected officials to identify additional sources of water and encourage the large utilities to do the same. The District actively supports alternate water supplies such as rainwater harvesting, atmospheric and condensate water harvesting, and re-use. Hill Country appropriate landscaping can reduce demand on the aquifer by as much as 50% per household. By incorporating native and drought-tolerant plants into your landscape, you could get additional years of life from your well, which could mean that your well makes it through the drought. With new wells costing from $30,000 upwards, these are serious choices. While we all pray for a return to normal (extra please) rainfall in the coming years, let’s continue to prepare for the worst by only using our precious, limited water resource as efficiently as possible. Please contact us at the District offices if you have any thoughts or questions.
Thank you,
Staff, and the Board of Directors at the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District
Charlie Flatten, General Manager
Laura Thomas, Assistant General Manager
Radu Boghichi, P.G. Hydrogeologist
Keaton Hoelscher, Geo-Technician
Allie Nicoletti, Office Manager
District 1, David Smith, Treasurer/Secretary
District 2, Bruce Moulton, President
District 3, Carlos Torres-Verdin
District 4, Linda Kaye Rogers, Vice President
District 5, Marcus Gary
