County opposes SAWS
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Keeping local water resources local was a topic of discussion for Wharton County Commissioners as they re-emphasized the importance of a resolution passed last year opposing the Lower Colorado River Authority/San Antonio Water Service project to ship water to the Alamo City.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Philip Miller said he had the item placed on Monday's agenda at the request of his constituents and as a reminder local residents need to remain aware of the project.

"People are not as involved or concerned as they once were," Miller said. "One of the problems is that LCRA is looking at the surrounding counties and the wells will be drilled outside Wharton County. I don't think LCRA/ SAWS is good for Wharton County."

Miller said that while LCRA offi- cials are proposing the construction of 70 water wells for irrigation purposes, once the water is out of the ground the authority can claim it as its own.

"Water pumped from the ground instantly becomes surface water and will work its way into the river channel and into the lake for transport to San Antonio," he said. "I would like to oppose the project totally, but we don't have the money to pay for our own engineers to oppose the LCRA engineers to rely on their numbers and projections."

Both Miller and Precinct 2 Commissioner Chris King pointed out that if the wells are drilled into the aquifer above Wharton County, it would potentially lower the local water table.

"They won't be saving surface water for agriculture," King said.

"And we have to ask what is in it for us. We're going to have industry that is going to want to come to Wharton County that is going to need water to operate."

The commissioners also pointed out possibly the best chance the local area has to oppose the project is actually the residents of Austin.

King pointed out that to fulfill the contract in dry years, the LCRA might have to release water from the Highland Lakes, something he thinks will be opposed by the city of Austin that will want to keep the water for their own residents' use.

The resolution passed by the commissioners Sept. 25, 2006, agreed with the need to accurately determine the feasibility of the project.

It states the county has identified several area of concern regarding the impact the project will have on the river as well as objecting to the drilling of groundwater wells as a substitute for using surface water for irrigation.

It concludes, "Therefore be it resolved that the Wharton County Commissioners Court shall not support the LCRA/ SAWS project if it is found to be detrimental to Wharton County and will work to secure our ground water for future generations of Wharton County."