City Council meets on water proposals

     by James Murr

      The Junction Eagle,

     January 18, 2011

On January 16 the City Council held a called meeting to be briefed on two proposals related to the city’s water resources.  The meeting was for informational purposes only.  Accordingly, no action was proposed or taken on the proposals.

The first proposal was made by Chance Warrick of Alpha Reclaim Technology (ART), LLC, in Bryan, Texas.  ART is interested in purchasing treated wastewater (effluent) from the city.  According to a submission from ART, the firm is a small water supply service company that purchases effluent and sells it to customers for uses that do not require high purity water.  These uses include oil and gas production (e.g., for fracking), thermo electric power generation, and agricultural production.

ART stated its proposal would bring economic development through the creation of jobs and stimulation of the local economy through ART’s customers and transporters doing business in the area.  The transport of water by pipeline could also be considered.  The city would receive cash payments for the sale of the effluent.  If ART purchased the entire amount of the city’s treated wastewater during a year, the city could receive payment in the vicinity of $70,000 to $80,000 annually.  The city’s wastewater treatment plant currently discharges around 130,000 gallons daily into the Llano River pursuant to the terms of a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

The second proposal was made by Eric Schiebe of Schiebe Consulting, LLC.  It concerns water conservation planning along the Llano River between Junction and the City of Llano that could potentially be funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation.  The purpose of the proposal is to help minimize or avoid the water supply disruptions (e.g., the suspension of junior water rights) that occurred this past summer because of the drought. 

The Schiebe proposal has three components.  The first component would be to improve the understanding of the river’s baseline water flow as a way of helping to ensure that some of the water flowing through Junction will actually reach the City of Llano during times of extreme drought. The second component would be to modify the reservoir behind the city dam to hold more water back during a drought and release the water in a “pulse” sufficient to make it all the way to Llano.  This could involve, for example, dredging the reservoir.  The third component would explore storing water in a surface impoundment or in an aquifer to help conserve water during wet times for release during very dry conditions.

The audience reactions to the proposals were generally skeptical.  Overall, the feasibility of the projects was questioned (e.g., obtaining necessary approvals for multiple permits from the TCEQ).  Also, on the ART proposal, for example, concern was expressed about the decline in water that would flow downstream as a result of the project.    On the Schiebe proposal, concerns were expressed about its practicality (e.g., acquiring land for impounding water), as well as the potential adverse effects of storing treated water underground.  There appear to be a lot of questions that need to be answered before these proposals could be considered seriously.

The following individuals attended the meeting:  Dr. Tom Arsuffi, Tyson Broad, Finley DeGrafenried (City of Llano), Ben Heard, Jerry Kirby, County Judge Andrew Murr, Bill Nieman, Emily Nieman, Jan Nieman, Alice Schmidt, Paul Shukis, Nancy Watson (Congressman Mike Conaway’s staff), and Znobia Wooten.

Present for the called meeting were Mayor Larry Maddux  and Aldermen  James Gamble, Michael Miller, Hoyt Moss, and Olan Raley.   Aaron Bierschwale was absent.  The council’s regular monthly meetings are held at 6:00 p.m. on the second Monday of each month in the City Hall Meeting Room located at 102 N. 5^th Street.  

Oasis Fire Pipeline

Recovery and Reclamation

Nov. 12th Agenda

Morning Session at TTU Dinning Hall

8:30-8:55            Check in and Coffee Social

8:55-9:00            Welcome & Introduction Scott Richardson SLWA

9:00-9:15            Overview of Oasis Pipeline Wildfire Rich Gray TFS

9:15-9:45            General soil/vegetation effects of wildfire in dry conditions Alfredo Munoz NRCS

9:45-10:15            Post fire restoration and recovery Bill Neiman NAS

10:15-10:30            Best land management practices Joyce Moore TPWD

10:30-10:45            Reading your land: Habitat evaluation, assessment, and monitoring.

                        Ward Whitworth Kimble Co. Rancher and Chairman UL SWCD

10:45-11:00            Documenting vegetative recovery: photo points, excluder cages, GPS, etc.

                        Dr. Tom Arsuffi TTU Llano Field Station

11:00-11:15            Economic Impact of Oasis Fire Andy Murr Kimble County Judge

11:15-11:30            Cost Share Programs: EQIP, WHIP, Alfredo Munoz NRCS

                        LIP, Arlene Kalmbach, TPWD representative

11:30-12:00            Lunch (Sack Lunch in Dinning Hall)

                        Speaker: Aaron Wendt Statewide Watershed Planning Coordinator TSSWCB

Afternoon Session at Fox Hollow Subdivision

12:00-12:30            Transport to Fox Hollow Site (Van shuttle)

12:30-3:30            Outdoor demonstration stations on three sites with

                        Rotation between sites at equal time intervals. (approx. 45 mins./site)

                        Site One: Flat bottom land & steep slope demos Steve Nelle

·      Habitat Monitoring

·      Excluder on Shin Oak sprouts (with control sprouts not caged)

·      Two natural excluder cages (one on forbs & one on hackberry sprout)

·      Excluder cage on forbs sprouts watered

·      Erosion issues @ man-made spreader dam

·      Demo of cut & stacked slash on contours of steep slope

·      Demo of straw rolls and seeding results on steep slope

·      Photo points 

                        Site Two: Flat upland & steep slope real time demos Bill Neiman & Rich Gray

·      Micro – island restoration site / reseeding site

·      Demo Seeding on steep slope including seed balls

·      Erosional controls with cut slash, etc.

·      Leave standing cedar for wildlife habitat

·      Leave cut cedar

                        Site Three: Upland at upper end of draw Joyce Moore & Gary Garrett

·      Best land management practices

·      Check dams of rock (Junction HS students)

·      Observe how cedar slash of large cedar has been spread in a concentric pattern around the stump.

3:30-4:00            Return to TTU  Center

4:00-4:30            Wrap up and evaluation, seed mix given out.

The 5th season of the Texas Water Symposium begins October 13 in Junction

Austin, TX (October 5, 2011) – The first of four Texas Water Symposia will be held Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 7 p.m. at the Texas Tech University campus in Junction.  The topic will be, “Drought: What, Where, Why and When…will it end?”

The Texas drought could last until 2020. Panelist John Nielsen-Gammon, who serves as Texas State Climatologist and professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M, says the culprit is the likely establishment of a new La Niña in the central Pacific Ocean. A La Niña is formed when colder than usual ocean temperatures form in the central Pacific, and these tend to create wetter than normal conditions in the Pacific Northwest but also drier than normal conditions in the Southwest. A La Niña has been blamed for starting the current drought but the new one, which began developing several weeks ago, is likely to extend drought conditions for Texas and much of the Southwest.

The panel of experts includes Dr. Bruce A. McCarl, Regents Professor of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. He received his B.S. in Business Statistics at the University of Colorado and Ph.D. in Management Science from Pennsylvania State University. His recent research efforts have largely involved policy analysis (mainly in climate change, climate change mitigation, water economics, and biosecurity) as well as the proper application of quantitative methods to such analyses. He teaches graduate courses in applied mathematical programming and applied risk analysis. He was part of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

John W. Nielsen-Gammon is an American meteorologist and climatologist. He is a Professor of Meteorology at Texas A&M University, and the Texas State Climatologist, holding both appointments since 2000. His research group uses a combination of observational and computational techniques to study the characteristics, dynamics, and forecasting of certain weather phenomena. Much of his recent work has involved air pollution meteorology. 

Todd Votteler served as the federal special master for the U.S. District Court, Midland, in Sierra Club v. San Antonio, Endangered Species Act litigation over the Edwards Aquifer. He has in-depth, firsthand knowledge of the complex legal, hydrologic, economic and cultural issues attached to the aquifer. He was also assistant to the federal court monitor assistant during Sierra Club v. Babbitt, which established the first limits on pumping from the Edwards Aquifer. A Texas native, Votteler has a Ph.D. in environmental geography from Texas State University and is a frequent contributor to popular publications on the Edwards and other Texas water issues. He is also editor-in-chief of The Texas Water Journal and Executive Manager of Intergovernmental Relations and Policy for Guadalupe Blanco River Authority.

John Baccus recently joined the faculty at Texas Tech University as a professor for the Department of Natural Resources Management and is a Wildlife Ecologist.  Previously at Texas State University he was Regents' Professor, University Distinguished Professor, recognized as Robert B. Packard Distinguished Educator by Southwestern Association of Naturalists and Outstanding Educator, Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society. He was Director, Wildlife Ecology Graduate Program, and has numerous publications and over $7 million in grants investigating the ecology and management of Texas' wildlife and birds.

The annual Texas Water Symposium series is co-sponsored by Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas Tech University, Texas Public Radio and the Hill Country Alliance.

These events are free and open to the public. All of the water forums are taped and aired on Texas Public Radio.

For more information about the series Dr. Tom Arsuffi at 325-446-2301  HYPERLINK "mailto:tom.arsuffi@ttu.edu" tom.arsuffi@ttu.edu.

The Hill Country Alliance (HCA) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to raise public awareness and build community support around the need to preserve the natural resources and heritage of the Central Texas Hill Country. 

Llano News-June 22, 2011
Tyson Broad

Will the Llano River soon cease to flow?  If the past can predict the future, the answer is “probably yes”.

The last time zero flow was recorded at the US Geological Survey (USGS) gauge at Llano was on July 20 and 21, 1984. Twenty years before that, zero flow was recorded for 19 days in July, 1964. The flow on June 22 in those years was 23 cubic feet per second (cfs), compared to the 3 cfs currently in the river. (A cubic foot is about 7.5 gallons)

This spring’s record heat and wind certainly have had an impact on flows, but so have drought conditions for three of the last four years. On average, the annual flow of the Llano River at Llano is 382 cfs. Since 2008, the flow has been 54 percent of average (205 cfs). The last time the four-year average was this low was during the drought of the fifties.

To date, the current drought has yet to reach the magnitude and length of the drought of the fifties.  Average annual flow during a seven-year period from 1950-56 was 44 percent of average. For 67 days, from June 25^th to August 30^th of 1956, the Llano River ceased to flow and water was brought in by railcar to the city.

During drought, most of the flow in the Llano River is from springs on the South Llano River. One of the largest of these springs is Seven Hundred Springs. On June 2, 2011, USGS measured the flow at 13.6 cfs, similar to the springflow in 1964 and 1984. During the fifties drought, springflows were reported to be 11 cfs. 

In Junction, records dating back to 1915 show the river has never ceased to flow. During the height of the drought in 1956, the flow of the Llano River at Junction was 3.7 cfs.   Currently, the flow is 43 cfs, similar to the flow recorded on this date in 1964.

Hydrologic records for Llano, Seven Hundred Springs, and Junction all suggest that the current drought is the worse since the drought of the fifties.

Accurately predicting what happens next is based on many variables.  The seasonal outlook from the National Weather Service predicts persistent drought through September, but also predicts an above-normal hurricane season.

The El Nino-La Nina cycle is another variable. Fortunately, the current La Nina, which has brought drought conditions, is predicted to continue to weaken. Unfortunately, it usually takes at least a year for an El Nino episode to form in its place. The last two El Nino periods in 2007 and 2009 broke drought conditions across the region.

Predicting hydrologic conditions is not an exact science and is based on many variables. However, current conditions and predictions indicate that it may be a long summer.

Update June 29, 2011

Rains across the watershed last Tuesday night (June 21) have boosted the flow at Llano to 15 cfs. On this date in 1980, flows were 17 cfs and in 1964, were 9 cfs.

Flows in Junction are 42 cfs. In 1984, flows for the Llano at Junction were 54 cfs.; in 1964, flows were 40 cfs.

Similar to Llano River @Llano, the four-year average flow for Llano River @ Junction is 57% percent of normal. Average annual flow is 198 cfs. The last time it was this low was at the end of the drought of the 50s.