Galen Scott
gscott@weatherforddemocrat.com
Slightly over 78 percent of voters in Montague, Wise, Parker and Hood Counties supported the creation of the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, according to election results announced Tuesday.
In Parker County, the measure passed by a three-to-one margin, with a total of 5,545 ballots cast in favor of the district and 1,877 against.
By requiring water well production data and forcing new wells to adhere to certain spacing requirements, the district is meant to safeguard groundwater supplies, which are experiencing more pressure than ever before as population trends in the four-county area continue to increase.
State Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) pushed the district’s enabling legislation through the House during the most recent meeting of the State Legislature. King noted the Upper Trinity district is the only district in the state with any regulatory authority over water wells used for oil or gas production.
“That long drought we just finished was probably a blessing in the sense that it brought this situation that we all knew was out there to a head,” King said. “This is going to be one of those things that 10 or 20 years down the line we’re going to be very glad we did.”
Now that voters have confirmed the district, King said this is where he bows out.
“The temporary board members from the four counties will get this thing up and running, and hopefully accomplish the purpose that was intended,” he added.Karin Malone and Larry Jones were appointed to represent Parker County among the district’s temporary board of directors.
As he waited for the final results to be announced at the Parker County Courthouse Annex, Jones was matter-of-fact about the road ahead. One of the district’s first actions, he said, will be to meet with existing groundwater districts to find out the best way to establish baseline information.
“We can Easter egg hunt with the other water districts and essentially tailor our own program,” he said.
Jones listed rapid population growth, the district’s location in the Trinity Aquifer recharge zone and burgeoning Barnett Shale natural gas production as some of the district’s specific characteristics.
Kathy Chruscielski, a local groundwater advocate who was instrumental in mustering support for the new district, called its confirmation a big step in the right direction. In addition to usage reports and spacing requirements, Chruscielski hinted the district may bring about more stringent wastewater injection well standards.
“Some other districts have been successful in protesting [injection well] permit applications, and negotiating with the drilling company to get more monitoring, so there is early detection if contamination occurs,” she said. “We’re in a recharge zone and that contamination can migrate. That’s a big concern.”
The directors will be keeping an eye on water quality too, according to Jones.
“This water is going into the porous soil of the western Cross Timbers region, and anything that attaches to that water on its way down is going to wind up in our wells,” he said.
Jones acknowledged King and Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) for their role in creating the district.
“And I would like to thank the voters of Parker County for passing this initiative, and while I can only speak for myself, I can assure them that I will be working to provide for all residents of the area, not just the few with special agendas,” he said.
Along with two temporary directors from each of the other three counties, Malone and Jones are scheduled to hold the district’s first official meeting at the Parker County Courthouse Nov. 15.
