"This situation in Texas is the crucible in which a lot of things are going to be forged. It's not for the faint-hearted."
Water deal could fuel growth along Texas 130
River agency might import groundwater to quench coming thirst around area.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
By Stephen Scheibal
Austin American Statesman
Copyright 2005
A quarter-billion-dollar agreement, tentatively sealed today, could send a small river of well water across Central Texas — enough to supply tens of thousands of homeowners and businesses south and east of Austin.
The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, the manager of surface water supplies north, south and east of San Antonio, approved a tentative deal with a high-powered partnership known as Sustainable Water Resources.
At a minimum, the deal could send nearly 10 billion gallons of water a year from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer — an underground lake east of Williamson County — to San Marcos, where the GBRA operates a water treatment plant. Water from the treatment plant could serve growth from San Antonio's suburbs to Kyle and Buda, rural but burgeoning towns south of Austin.
But if Sustainable Water Resources can find more customers, the line could also serve new development along Texas 130, the toll road east of Interstate 35 that likely will bring a population boom to the farms and ranchland east of Austin and Round Rock.
"We think somebody's going to have to go there," said Pete Winstead, an Austin lawyer who championed the construction of Texas 130 and is now a managing partner of Sustainable Water Resources. "And we're going there first."
For years, a new entrepreneurial breed of water marketers has contemplated tapping Texas groundwater and piping it to cities where growing populations threaten to outstrip water supplies. But until today, none of the upstarts had committed buyers who would make the huge expense worthwhile.
GBRA General Manager Bill West said his agency has enough water now in Canyon Lake and the Guadalupe and Blanco rivers to serve growth for only another 15 years.
"In the water planning world, it's kind of like 15 weeks," West said.
GBRA officials are loath to tap the most obvious groundwater source in their watershed — the Edwards Aquifer, which is already straining to support millions of people in and around San Antonio who tap it for drinking and washing as well as support environmentally sensitive plants and animals.
As part of today's preliminary deal, Sustainable Water Resources will build the pipeline that would carry water as much as 70 miles from the Carrizo-Wilcox to San Marcos. Lynn Sherman, a principal at Winstead Consulting Group LLC, estimated that the project will cost roughly $200 million to $250 million.
Sherman is former president of WaterTexas, one of the state's first water marketing firms and a key member of the Sustainable Water Resources group. WaterTexas has worked for years with landowners and water rights holders, trying to secure groundwater supplies that could be moved to parched areas around the state.
Sustainable Water Resources also includes J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., the engineering firm Bury+Partners Inc., San Marcos developer Terry Gilmore and Schlumberger Water Services, a company that specializes in modeling underground water sources.
It's still unclear how much the GBRA would actually pay Sustainable Water Resources. Both sides might spend the next year fleshing out the partnership, while the company will search for developers or water purveyors who might want to tap into the line.
It's also unclear what challenges or roadblocks face both sides. While Sustainable Water Resources officials insist their water line and dramatic pumping levels won't harm the environment, others might disagree or at least ask state regulators — or judges — for time to study the project.
The plan's architects are also bracing for competing water vendors that might try to undermine the deal.
Today's preliminary agreement, they said, is just the beginning.
"This situation in Texas is the crucible in which a lot of things are going to be forged. It's not for the faint-hearted," Winstead said. "I've told everybody on our team, 'Get ready. This is going to get interesting.' "
© 2005 Austin American-Statesman: www.statesman.com
River agency might import groundwater to quench coming thirst around area.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
By Stephen Scheibal
Austin American Statesman
Copyright 2005
A quarter-billion-dollar agreement, tentatively sealed today, could send a small river of well water across Central Texas — enough to supply tens of thousands of homeowners and businesses south and east of Austin.
The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, the manager of surface water supplies north, south and east of San Antonio, approved a tentative deal with a high-powered partnership known as Sustainable Water Resources.
At a minimum, the deal could send nearly 10 billion gallons of water a year from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer — an underground lake east of Williamson County — to San Marcos, where the GBRA operates a water treatment plant. Water from the treatment plant could serve growth from San Antonio's suburbs to Kyle and Buda, rural but burgeoning towns south of Austin.
But if Sustainable Water Resources can find more customers, the line could also serve new development along Texas 130, the toll road east of Interstate 35 that likely will bring a population boom to the farms and ranchland east of Austin and Round Rock.
"We think somebody's going to have to go there," said Pete Winstead, an Austin lawyer who championed the construction of Texas 130 and is now a managing partner of Sustainable Water Resources. "And we're going there first."
For years, a new entrepreneurial breed of water marketers has contemplated tapping Texas groundwater and piping it to cities where growing populations threaten to outstrip water supplies. But until today, none of the upstarts had committed buyers who would make the huge expense worthwhile.
GBRA General Manager Bill West said his agency has enough water now in Canyon Lake and the Guadalupe and Blanco rivers to serve growth for only another 15 years.
"In the water planning world, it's kind of like 15 weeks," West said.
GBRA officials are loath to tap the most obvious groundwater source in their watershed — the Edwards Aquifer, which is already straining to support millions of people in and around San Antonio who tap it for drinking and washing as well as support environmentally sensitive plants and animals.
As part of today's preliminary deal, Sustainable Water Resources will build the pipeline that would carry water as much as 70 miles from the Carrizo-Wilcox to San Marcos. Lynn Sherman, a principal at Winstead Consulting Group LLC, estimated that the project will cost roughly $200 million to $250 million.
Sherman is former president of WaterTexas, one of the state's first water marketing firms and a key member of the Sustainable Water Resources group. WaterTexas has worked for years with landowners and water rights holders, trying to secure groundwater supplies that could be moved to parched areas around the state.
Sustainable Water Resources also includes J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., the engineering firm Bury+Partners Inc., San Marcos developer Terry Gilmore and Schlumberger Water Services, a company that specializes in modeling underground water sources.
It's still unclear how much the GBRA would actually pay Sustainable Water Resources. Both sides might spend the next year fleshing out the partnership, while the company will search for developers or water purveyors who might want to tap into the line.
It's also unclear what challenges or roadblocks face both sides. While Sustainable Water Resources officials insist their water line and dramatic pumping levels won't harm the environment, others might disagree or at least ask state regulators — or judges — for time to study the project.
The plan's architects are also bracing for competing water vendors that might try to undermine the deal.
Today's preliminary agreement, they said, is just the beginning.
"This situation in Texas is the crucible in which a lot of things are going to be forged. It's not for the faint-hearted," Winstead said. "I've told everybody on our team, 'Get ready. This is going to get interesting.' "
© 2005 Austin American-Statesman:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Wednesday, November 16, 2005
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