FINDING THE BALANCING BETWEEN HIGHEST PRACTICABLE GROUNDWATER PRODUCTION AND CONSERVATION

Groundwater conservation districts and stakeholders in Texas are required to find a balance between the “highest practicable level of groundwater production and conservation, preservation, protection, recharging, and prevention of waste of groundwater, and control of subsidence”. This balance is then expressed quantitatively as a management goal known as the “desired future condition”, which is used to estimate the volume of groundwater that can be produced in the future to meet the goal. The future pumping estimates are used to guide planning and permitting.

Two rounds of planning over a 10-year time frame indicate that the 16 different management areas focus on different goals and have different priorities in the planning process. While the 10-year story is relatively short and ever-changing, experience indicates that there are many different views about groundwater use and conservation in Texas.