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- Info
Priority Groundwater Management Areas
Program to identify areas of Texas experiencing, or expected to experience, critical groundwater problems. Relevant reports, studies, maps, and rules.
 Priority Groundwater Management Areas and Groundwater Conservation Districts, Report to the 82nd Texas Legislature: Published in January 2011, this report provides information to the legislative leadership on activities undertaken during the preceding two years relating to the study and designation of PGMAs and the creation and operation of GCD. This report has been prepared by the TCEQ and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), with assistance from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the State Auditor's Office (SAO), and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service (TAES). The report fulfills the requirements of Texas Water Code (TWC), Section 35.018.
The Executive Director of the TCEQ has identified that the Upton and Midland County portions of the Reagan, Upton, and Midland County PGMA have not established a GCD and will begin preparing a report and recommendation in accordance with Texas Water Code, Chapter 35 and Title 30, Texas Administrative Code, Section 293.19(b). Area stakeholders will be provided the opportunity to review and comment on the Executive Director’s report and recommendations before they are finalized and a contested case hearing is scheduled. If you are not already included in our mailing list, please contact Michael Chadwick, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, MC-147, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087. Questions may be forwarded to Mr. Chadwick at 512-239-4517 or e-mailed to mchadwic@tceq.texas.gov.
The Executive Director of the TCEQ has identified that the Briscoe County portion of the Briscoe, Swisher and Hale County PGMA has not established a GCD and will begin preparing a report and recommendation in accordance with Texas Water Code, Chapter 35 and Title 30, Texas Administrative Code, Section 293.19(b). Area stakeholders will be provided the opportunity to review and comment on the Executive Director’s report and recommendations before they are finalized and a contested case hearing is scheduled. If you are not already included in our mailing list, please contact Peggy Hunka, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, MC-147, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087. Questions may be forwarded to Ms. Peggy Hunka at 512-239-2789 or e-mailed to phunka@tceq.texas.gov.
 The TCEQ initially prepared a final report (Groundwater Conservation District Recommendation for Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area ─ Western Comal and Southwestern Travis Counties) petitioning the Commission for action to recommend that portions of the Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area (PGMA) with boundaries that include the western Comal County territory and the southwestern Travis County territory be included in a Groundwater Conservation District (GCD) in accordance with Chapter 35 of the Texas Water Code and Title 30, Texas Administrative Code, Section 293.19. The report's primary recommendation was to combine these territories with the portion of the Hill Country PGMA in Hays County that is presently the Hays Trinity GCD to create a new single GCD. A preliminary hearing was held on October 28, 2010 in San Marcos, Texas. The judge took jurisdiction over the matter and named parties. On December 1, 2010, the Executive Director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) filed an Amended Recommendation and Motion for a Second Preliminary Hearing. The amended recommendation withdraws the Executive Director’s primary recommendation and elevates its alternative recommendation. Under the Executive Director’s new recommendation, the proposed boundaries of the GCD would no longer include the portion of Hays County that is in the Hill Country PGMA (the Hays Trinity GCD). Instead, the western Comal County territory would be added to the Trinity Glen Rose GCD and the southwestern Travis County territory would be added to the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District. During the hearing process, the Commission will also consider the other district creation options evaluated in the Executive Director's report. A notice of the second preliminary hearing was mailed to the study area's stakeholders.
For public inspection until April 6, 2011, the Executive Director has provided copies of the following information to area public libraries, county clerks, GCDs, TCEQ regional offices, and TCEQ's Office of the Chief Clerk:
- The final report, Docket No. 2010-1040-MIS;
- The notice of second hearing;
- A map generally outlining the boundaries of the recommended districts; and,
- The mailing list of stakeholders located either in whole or in part in the identified areas.
Additional PGMA Information
To enable effective management of the state's groundwater resources in areas where critical groundwater problems exist or may exist in the future, the Legislature has authorized TCEQ, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB)  , and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to study, identify, and delineate PGMAs and initiate the creation of GCDs within those areas, if necessary.
What Is a PGMA ?
A Priority Groundwater Management Area (PGMA) is an area designated and delinated by TCEQ that is experiencing, or is expected to experience, within 25 years, critical groundwater problems including shortages of surface water or groundwater, land subsidence resulting from groundwater withdrawal, and contamination of groundwater supplies.
Since the ultimate purpose of designating a PGMA is to ensure the management of groundwater in areas of the state with critical groundwater problems, a PGMA evaluation will consider the need for creating groundwater conservation districts and different options for doing so. Such districts are authorized to adopt policies, plans, and rules that can address critical groundwater problems.
If a study area is designated as a PGMA, TCEQ will make a specific recommendation on groundwater conservation district creation. State law authorizes the citizens in the PGMA two years to establish a Groundwater Conservation District (GCD). However, if local action is not taken in this time frame, TCEQ is required to establish a GCD that is consistent with the original recommendation. Under either scenario, the resultant groundwater conservation district would be governed by a locally elected board of directors.
For more information about PGMAs, see Texas AgriLife Extension Service (TAES, formerly the Texas Cooperative Extension (TCE)) publication B-6191, Priority Groundwater Management Areas: Overview and Frequently Asked Questions.
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Rules
The PGMA process provided in Chapter 35 of the Texas Water Code is implemented by TCEQ rules that outline procedures for the designation of PGMAs and address issues related to the creation of GCDs in areas which have been designated as PGMAs. These TCEQ rules are contained in Title 30, Texas Administrative Code (TAC), §293.19 and §§294.41–294.44.
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Legislative Report
Priority Groundwater Management Areas and Groundwater Conservation Districts, Report to the 82nd Texas Legislature: Published in January 2011, this report provides information to the legislative leadership on activities undertaken during the preceding two years relating to the study and designation of PGMAs and the creation and operation of GCDs. This report has been prepared by TCEQ and TWDB, with assistance from TPWD, the State Auditor's Office (SAO), and TAES. The report fulfills the requirements of Texas Water Code (TWC), Section 35.018.
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Studies, Study Areas, and Designated PGMAs
As of July 2009, 18 PGMA studies and five PGMA update studies have been completed. Eight study areas were determined to have, or were expected to have, critical groundwater problems and were designated as PGMAs:
- Bandera, Blanco, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Comal, Hays, and Travis Counties and parts of Bexar County — the Hill Country PGMA (considered two study areas);
- Parts of Reagan, Upton and Midland Counties — the Reagan, Upton, and Midland Counties PGMA;
- Swisher and parts of Briscoe and Hale Counties — the Briscoe, Hale, and Swisher Counties PGMA;
- Parts of Dallam County — the Dallam County PGMA;
- Parts of El Paso County — the El Paso County PGMA;
- Northern Bexar County — the Northern Bexar County PGMA;
- Bosque, Coryell, Hill, McLennan, and Somervell Counties — the Central Texas – Trinity Aquifer – PGMA; and,
- Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hood, Johnson, Montague, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise Counties — the North-Central Texas – Trinity and Woodbine Aquifers – PGMA.
Ten study areas were determined not to be PGMAs:
- Lower Rio Grande Valley Area;
- Fort Bend County Area;
- Orange-Jefferson Counties Area;
- Wintergarden Area;
- Southernmost High Plains Area;
- North Texas Alluvium and Paleozoic Outcrop Area;
- Hudspeth County Area;
- Williamson and Parts of Adjacent Areas;
- East Texas Area; and,
- Trans-Pecos Area.
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PGMA Reports (Since 2004)
Each of these reports is available in PDF format. (Help with PDF.)
- East Texas Priority Groundwater Management Study Area: Updated Evaluation, June 2004.
- Trans-Pecos Priority Groundwater Management Study Area: Updated Evaluation, March 2005.
- Hudspeth County Priority Groundwater Management Study Area: March 2005.
- Part 1: Table of Contents, Executive Summary, and Introduction (cover–page 8)
- Part 2: Geology, Physiography, and Groundwater Resources (pages 9–20)
- Part 3: Natural Resources; State-Owned Lands; Water Use, Demand, Supply, and Availability; Stakeholder Participation; Area Water Concerns and Identified Management Strategies; Existing Water Planning, Regulatory, and Management Entities; Administrative Feasibility of Groundwater Management; Summary; Conclusions and Recommendations; and References (pages 21–77)
- Williamson, Burnet, and Northern Travis Counties Priority Groundwater Management Study Area: Updated Evaluation, November 2005.
- North-Central Texas - Trinity and Woodbine Aquifers - Priority Groundwater Management Study Area: Updated Evaluation, June 2007. The report recommends that Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hood, Johnson, Montague, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise counties be designated as the Northern Trinity and Woodbine Aquifers Priority Groundwater Management Area (PGMA) and that a regional, fee-funded Groundwater Conservation District (GCD) should be created. After contested case and public hearings, the Commission designated Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hood, Johnson, Montague, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise counties as the Northern Trinity and Woodbine Aquifers PGMA on February 18, 2009. The Commission Order recommended a single, multi-county GCD over Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, and Johnson counties.
- Central Texas - Trinity Aquifer - Priority Groundwater Management Study Area: Updated Evaluation, December 2007. The Commission Order recommended that a regional, combination-tax-based and fee-funded GCD is the most feasible, economic, and practicable option for conservation, protection, and management of the groundwater resources in the area. An alternative recommendation was also provided that recognizes:
- Multi-GCDs in the PGMA would be practicable and feasible;
- Two created, but unconfirmed, GCDs (McLennan County GCD and Tablerock GCD in Coryell County) were present in the PGMA; and,
- These two GCDs are required by their enabling Acts to add an adjacent county by September 2011 or be dissolved by the TCEQ.
- Dallam County Priority Groundwater Management Study Area: December 2008. The report and petition recommended that identified areas of the Dallam County PGMA be added to an existing GCD. On February 17, 2010, the Commission issued an Order recommending that all of the three areas that were not included in a GCD in the Dallam County PGMA be added to the North Plains GCD.
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GCDs Created in Designated PGMAs
Locally-initiated GCD (or "district") creation, or addition of territory to an existing district, has occurred in five of the PGMAs designated before September 1, 2001. However, areas remain in each PGMA that have not yet established a GCD. Successful district creation has not occurred in the designated parts of Briscoe, Comal, Dallam, Midland, Swisher, Travis, and Upton counties.
Map of GCD Creation Status in the Designated PGMAs (April 2011, pdf)
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