Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District Dispute & Pending Litigation

• Texas water provider files lawsuit against Hays groundwater district | KXAN Austin
• KUT News

The lawsuit does not impact water services to the residents of Hays County. Aqua Texas will continue to provide water service, even as the District has allowed Aqua Texas’ groundwater permit to expire. The lawsuit requests an injunction to allow for continued service until the matter is resolved in court or a settlement is reached.

Aqua Texas filed a lawsuit against the District due to the unlawful and unequal treatment it has received.

The goal of the lawsuit is simple: ensure Aqua Texas’ resources are directed toward impactful solutions and not unlawful penalties from the District and allow Aqua Texas to continue to focus on our core mission - delivering water to the people of Wimberley Valley.

The District is exceeding its authority under federal and state law, raising concerns that is violating due process under the U.S. Constitution. Its proposed fine significantly surpasses the legal limits set for Groundwater Conservation Districts when penalizing utilities.  

In addition, when Aqua Texas compares this to actions taken against other water providers in the area, which in many cases have experienced lesser fines and/or complete penalty forgiveness, it is important for Aqua Texas to act.

Over the last several months, the District has repeatedly threatened to not renew Aqua’s permit, which grants access to the groundwater, due to the ongoing dispute and non-payment. The District acted upon these threats by allowing the permit to expire on December 31, 2023.

Aqua Texas owns and operates groundwater wells for the utility systems at issue within the jurisdictional boundaries of the District.  The Aqua Texas wells were drilled, completed and operating long before the Texas Legislature created the District in 2001. Thus, Aqua Texas has valuable vested rights and reasonable investment-backed expectations in the ownership of those wells and the associated water rights that are protected by state and federal constitutional and statutory law. 

For years, Aqua Texas has significantly invested conservation efforts and infrastructure upgrades in Wimberley Valley.

Aqua Texas conducted multiple studies using satellite and acoustical technology to identify leaks in our system to preserve as much water as possible when it travels from our wells to customers’ homes. As a result, Aqua Texas has committed to spending $4 million on infrastructure improvements that will fix pipes that are nearing the end of their usable lifespan and reduce leaks. Once Aqua Texas completes these improvements, water loss within our system will be below water industry standards.

Our investments in the community, and our pursuit of fair treatment by the District so that we may implement our planned mitigation strategy, demonstrate our commitment to the region and our shared goal of protecting natural resources. Additionally, Aqua Texas has purchased property outside of the Jacob’s Well Groundwater Management Zone that would serve as an alternate source of water for customers in the Wimberley Valley. These wells would alleviate the impact on Jacob’s Well, however, the District has implemented a moratorium on drilling new wells within the district preventing Aqua Texas from developing sources outside the Jacob’s Well management zone.

The District has treated investments similar to Aqua Texas’s by other utilities as offsets to imposed penalties. However, despite the fact that Aqua Texas’s financial investments in infrastructure and mitigation dwarf those of other water utilities in the Wimberley Valley, the District has denied Aqua Texas equal treatment by refusing to consider its investments in its penalty calculation.

Our number one water conservation priority in the Wimberley Valley is to reduce reliance on water used within the Jacob’s Well Groundwater Management Zone.

We are deeply committed to aggressive water conservation efforts that will protect Jacob’s Well and provide fresh and reliable drinking water to the community.  

We are grateful for the continued cooperation of our Wimberley Valley customers with ongoing water conservation efforts in one of the most drought-stricken parts of our state.

Aqua Texas provides customers with regular communications, including drought notices and water conservation tips to ensure we are meeting any water usage curtailments set by the District.

We aggressively enforce the restrictions put in place by the District by imposing fees and installing flow restrictors on the water meters of homes that do not comply.

As a result, on average, our customers in the Wimberley Valley use less than half as much water per month as compared to homes in other parts of Texas.

Aqua Texas has conducted multiple studies using satellite and acoustical technology to identify leaks in our system to preserve as much water as possible when it travels from our wells to customers’ homes. As a result, we have committed to spending $4 million on infrastructure improvements that will fix pipes that are nearing the end of their usable lifespan and reduce leaks.

Once Aqua Texas completes these improvements, water loss within our system will be below water industry standards.

The American Water Works Association, recognized as the foremost authority on water management and the organization that sets industry standards for water leakage, has adopted a new approach in discussing water loss, moving away from the use of percentiles. The organization now uses gallons lost per connection to measure water loss. Aqua Texas is 12 gallons per connection above the industry standard. This will be corrected with the $4M capital improvement project underway.

Aqua Texas has purchased property outside of the Jacob’s Well Groundwater Management Zone that would serve as an alternate source of water for customers in the Wimberley Valley; however, the District is purposefully withholding permits for these new wells.

These wells would alleviate impact on Jacob’s Well.