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Unless Victoria wakes up to the threat from GBRA we WILL lose our water!
By KennethSchustereit in KennethSchustereit The Old Bolillo!
September 22, 2009

This opinion article appeared in the Express-News.

Wake up Victoria!

SAWS shouldn’t get distracted by lawsuit

Express-News editorial - The San Antonio Water System isn’t gaining friends in the region by suing the Lower Colorado River Authority.

Yes, the LCRA board pulled the rug out from under the long-planned joint project to bring water from the Colorado River Basin to San Antonio.

And perhaps SAWS is entitled to more than the $20 million due the utility under the terms of the agreement. The contract says SAWS can regain half of its $40 million investment if the project is abandoned.

But once again water wonks in the region are discomforted.

This comes after the leadership team of Chairman Alex Briseño and President Robert Puente labored so hard to rebuild relationships.

No doubt losing the LCRA deal is frustrating to SAWS leaders, who have encountered their share of dead ends. And SAWS leaders have to get the best deal possible for ratepayers.

But the word emanating from LCRA project studies had focused on rising costs and dropping yield for some time.

Now, it’s all but official: The two big surface water projects in SAWS’ plan sadly were expensive mirages.

Record heat this summer put an exclamation point on the ongoing drought that has raised some fears about the lack of alternative water supplies for the long run.

It is conceivable that SAWS will be doing business with the LCRA in the future. The ongoing legal dispute should be handled as cleanly and quickly as possible. Comments: 1 comment(s) on; "SAWS shouldn’t get distracted by lawsuit"

KennethSchustereit 6:59 PMReport abuse Report Abuse Report Abuse

I am Kenneth Schustereit of Victoria. I served as an appointed member of the Citizen's Forum of the Lower Guadalupe Water Supply Project. I told Catherine McHaney, owner of the Victoria Advocate, GBRA Board member and proponent of the project that I would consider it my purpose in this position to see the project die an ugly death on the front page of her newspaper! I did not disappoint her! The problem lies in the fact that despite the unfeasability of the project, it still lives! The same thing has happened with the LCRA/SAWS Project! SAWS entered into a contract to study the feasability of doing a 177 mile pipeline project that would cost the San Antonio taxpayer well over $1.5 billion! What would that do to the water rates in San Antonio? The water wasn't there! Simple! The LGWSP would have been an approximately 140 mile pipeline pumping water 754 feet up hill. What kind of water would you get? Just ABOVE where GBRA plans to take water from the Guadalupe River, Invista Chemicals has a TCEQ permit to dump 20 tons of polluted process water per year! Seems no one in San Antonio or the Hill Country wants to hear about that! I sent copies of that permit into the Hill Country to various community officials and what did I hear back? Zip! Benzene or butadiane in your ice cubes anyone? Yum! Last month I see that Region L kept this billion dollar-plus project in the 5 year plan! In the late 70s I drove an M-48A1 tank up a canyon wall at Camp Bullis over 1000 feet deep. There are several deep canyons north of San Antonio that would not only make excellent reservoirs but would fill up quickly during a thunderstorm. These canyons are over the Recharge Zone and would benefit the aquifer. SAWS owns over 1,100 pieces of property over the recharge zone where they should build rainwater retention structures to benefit the aquifer. How many have they built? You are not getting our river or groundwater! The LGWSP is indeed a "mirage!" kenneths@awesomenet.net 361 578 4436

Comments


  • gansoblanco gansoblanco Report a ViolationReport a Violation
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    The bizarre and continuing refusal of San Antonio to construct reservoirs has always baffled me. You're talking a major city set in the desert attempting to use groundwater as it's primary water source. Plain & simple: WEIRD.

    September 23, 2009 at 8:51 a.m.