Title
Consider recommendation from the Permits/Enforcement Committee to approve leases of permitted Edwards groundwater rights with Frank A. Ramsey and New Fountain United Methodist Church, for the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project of the San Antonio Water System, in support of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan, in the total amount of $45,644.00.
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RECOMMENDED MOTION:
Move the board approve leases of permitted Edwards groundwater rights from the permit holders as listed herein, to the EAA for the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project of the San Antonio Water System in support of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan, and authorizing the General Manager to execute the leases.
SUMMARY:
The purpose of this agenda item is for the board to consider a Permits/Enforcement Committee recommendation to approve leases of permitted Edwards groundwater rights for the Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Project of the San Antonio Water System in support of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan (EAHCP). The EAHCP includes several measures intended to minimize and mitigate the impact of the use of Edwards groundwater on federally-listed threatened and endangered species associated with the Edwards Aquifer. A significant component of the EAHCP as a conservation and springflow protection measure is the use of the SAWS ASR project as a long-term conservation measure to replace SAWS pumping from the Edwards Aquifer and maintain a minimum spring flow at Comal and San Marcos Springs. Through this effort, the EAA has been tasked with acquiring 50,000 acre-feet of permitted Edwards Aquifer groundwater rights through leases and lease options to be stored in the ASR project.
The EAA has secured leases of groundwater rights of 68.520 acre-feet from the permit holders listed below, to be effective January 1, 2017. EAA staff has completed its technical review of the transfer documents and has confirmed the accuracy of these leases, as summarized belo...
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