Title
Receive report from EAA staff regarding Edwards Aquifer 2024 Critical Period Management, permitted groundwater authorization, reported use, and possible over-pumping.
Body
STAFF RECOMMENDED MOTION:
None. This item is for discussion purposes only.
SUMMARY:
The purpose of this agenda item is for the Permits/Enforcement Committee to receive a report from EAA staff regarding 2024 groundwater withdrawal permits, reported usage by permit holders, and a review of 2024 critical period management (CPM), where groundwater withdrawal interruptions were made to applicable permit holders in the San Antonio and Uvalde pools of the Edwards Aquifer.
EAA rules require all non-exempt withdrawals to be metered and authorized for use within a calendar year. At the end of each year, permit holders are required to file annual use reports with the EAA, which must include, as a minimum, a beginning-year and an ending-year meter reading. From these readings, “annual use” is calculated. EAA staff review these reports, verify the annual use calculations, and compare validated annual use to each permit holder’s annual authorized withdrawal amount. Authorized withdrawal amounts were affected by CPM reductions in 2024 in the San Antonio and Uvalde Pools of the Edwards Aquifer.
2024 Critical Period Management:
In 2024, declining water levels as measured at the Bexar County Index Well (J-17) and springflow measurements at Comal springs combined to trigger EAA’s CPM program for a total of 366 days (leap year) in the San Antonio pool of the Edwards Aquifer. CPM conditions entered Stage 2 for one period: from January 25 to April 2 (69 days); entered Stage 3 for five periods: from January 1 to Jan 24 (24 days); from April 3 to June 5 (64 days); from June 21 to June 29 (9 days); from July 24 to August 21 (29 days); and from September 16 to September 17; and entered Stage 4 for four periods: from June 6 to June 20 (15 days); from June 30 to July 23 (24 days); from August 22 to Se...
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