|
|
|
|
The Victoria College. Full-time salaried position with benefits available...
DISTRICT "Champions for Community Wellness" has the following positions...
“People opposed to this don’t understand the gravity of the situation,” said Svetlik, the president of the temporary board of directors of the proposed district in Lavaca County. “Our purpose is to educate the people and let them decide. I hope we make the right decision.”
That decision has begun to be made starting with early voting continuing through Tuesday and will end with voters going to the polls on Saturday.
Ranging reporter Sonny Long and Svetlik got together at the Kountry Bakery in Hallettsville and talked about the proposed groundwater conservation district.
Q: What is the basic responsibility of the proposed groundwater conservation district?
A: To protect and preserve the natural resources of Lavaca County by developing a management plan and obtaining accurate data of Lavaca County water usage and setting the desired future conditions of our aquifer.
Q: The temporary board of directors has also pledged not to do certain things. What are some of those?
A: The groundwater district will not sell groundwater, will not pay for pipelines to transport water out of the county, will not require meters on domestic or agricultural wells, and will not guarantee any amount of water for export out of the county.
Q: You mentioned water meters. Elaborate on those a little more.
A: The law prohibits meters being placed on household and agricultural wells. The law does allow the district to meter and regulate the amount of water that would be exported out of the district – allowing Lavaca County citizens a legal means for prohibiting anyone from impacting our groundwater supply. We don’t know how soon water marketers and exporters will start transporting Lavaca County groundwater to other water-poor areas of the state. But, when they do, a groundwater conservation district will have the authority to meter and limit the amount of water they can take, and charge them fees on that water. Without a groundwater district, the water marketers and exporters will be completely unregulated, answerable to no one.
Q: Talk about desired future conditions and the groundwater conservation district’s role.
A: Without a groundwater conservation district, the determination of how much water is available to be pumped out of Lavaca County will be made on a regional or statewide basis, using inaccurate and incomplete data, and by an area-wide board with no Lavaca County representation. Without accurate information gathered and provided by the Lavaca County Groundwater Conservation District, the data the state uses to determine Lavaca County groundwater needs will be little better than a wild guess. It is imperative that Lavaca County has a groundwater conservation district now in order to provide the necessary, accurate assessments of its current and future water needs.
Q: Why is it so important that Lavaca County voters approve the groundwater district in this election?
A: It is true, if the district is not approved now, the issue will come up again. It is necessary that the Lavaca County Groundwater Conservation District be voted in now to ensure that the needs of Lavaca County residents are addressed in the most beneficial manner. This election is the last opportunity we have to create a single-county groundwater conservation district. If the district is not approved at this time, any future groundwater conservation district will be combined with neighboring counties and managed jointly with representation from each county, diluting our voice in our groundwater management process.
There is also the potential of a future groundwater conservation district being crafted by the state. If it does not pass this time, we risk sacrificing local control and oversight authority.
Sonny Long is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact him at 361580-6585 or slong@vicad.com or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.
Online:
To learn more about the proposed Lavaca County Groundwater Conservation District go to www.lavacagcd.org. Temporary board president Larry Svetlik asks that interested people visiting the web site also click on the link “What can happen if our district is not confirmed.”