Aqua Texas sues groundwater district over pumping fine

The National Weather Service website stated that as of Jan. 4, 24% of the Hill Country is in what is considered extreme drought conditions, which is the second to the worst drought designation category. Additionally, 20% of the Hill Country is in severe drought, which is a level below extreme. Aquifer levels reached the lowest point since the 1950s. Issues around groundwater usage and the limitations thereof have gotten contentious.

In 2022, officials at Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District issued a fine to Aqua Texas, a national utility company with a state branch, for pumping more water than the district’s permit allotted. Locally, Aqua Texas services water and wastewater to most of the northern half of the Wimberley Valley including the city of Woodcreek.

“Groundwater is the only source of drinking water for the majority of western Hays County — that's tens of thousands of residents,” the groundwater convservation district said in a written statement to the Daily Record. “Aqua Texas has not abided by its permit from the District and has failed to keep its infrastructure in shape, resulting in the ongoing overproduction of its permit. This is to the detriment of the citizens of Wimberley and Woodcreek, including Aqua's own customers, who do their best to conserve.”

According to the statement sent by the HTGCD that pointed to self-reported production volumes for 2022, Aqua Texas produced more than its annual allotment by over 89 million gallons. In 2022, HTGCD said Aqua Texas pumped approximately 88% more than the amount that its permit allowed. On review of Aqua Texas’s 2022 leakage reports, its systems lost as much as 32% of its water due to issues with water pipe infrastructure.

According to a lawsuit filed against the district by Aqua Texas, Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District “has publicly threatened to not renew Aqua Texas’ permit to produce groundwater for its customers because Aqua disputes — and therefore has not paid — an almost half-million- dollar illegal penalty that the District assessed against Aqua Texas.”

Aqua Texas filed a suit on Dec. 29 against the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District and its board of directors for what the business said was “unlawful and unequal treatment of Aqua Texas and its complete disregard for Aqua’s state law duty to provide continuous and adequate water service to its customers.”

Craig Blanchette, president of Aqua Texas, said the aim of the suit is to prevent the district from allowing Aqua Texas' groundwater permits to expire on Dec. 31, 2023.

“HTGCD is exceeding its authority under federal and state law, raising concerns that [it] is violating due process [as intended by] the U.S. Constitution,” Blanchette said. “Its proposed fine significantly surpasses the legal limits set for Groundwater Conservation Districts when penalizing utilities.”

According to the HTGCD General Manager Charlie Flatten, the district is responsible for issuing permits and ensuring pumping adheres to the allotted cubic gallons of water. The permittee is responsible for finding ways to mitigate the use of water via drought restrictions and communication with the consumers. Aqua Texas said it has a statutory obligation to provide water service to its customers.

“In 2022, their drought curtailment communications were lacking and they didn’t manage their allotment or their infrastructure very well and now they’re overproduced,” Flatten said.

As stated in the suit, Aqua Texas disagreed stating that the “amount of groundwater produced from Aqua’s wells is directly dictated by the customers’ actual voluntary demand for water service — e.g., turning on the faucet or the dishwasher — not some mandatory usage imposed by Aqua on its customers.”

Blanchette wanted to make it clear to all consumers that service will not be interrupted due to the lawsuit.

“The lawsuit does not impact water services to the residents of Wimberley Valley,” Blanchette said. “Aqua Texas will continue to provide water service, even as the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District has allowed Aqua Texas’ groundwater permit to expire. Aqua Texas is committed to keeping customers within the impacted area informed of any changes in their service.”

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court Western District of Texas Austin Division.