Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District Meeting Highlights Tuesday, February 12, 2019

CONROE, Texas -- The Regular Meeting of District Board commenced shortly after 6:00pm following the preceding meeting on Permits and Permit Applications. All Board members were present: President Webb Melder, VP Harry Hardman, Treasurer Jim Spigener, Secretary Stuart Traylor, Director Jon Bouché, Director Jonathan Prykryl and Director Larry Rogers.

After the January financials were discussed, General Manager Kathy Turner Jones added that both her and Assistant General Manager, Samantha Reiter are presently conducting an in-depth analysis of the fiscal 2019 budget to recommend amendments that are in line with the new goals and management strategies determined by the District. Recommendations will identify future expenses and assist with forecasting needs with the newly appointed Board.

David H. Smith of the Texas 4-H Ambassador Program presented information about the high school youth Water Ambassador program available throughout Texas for qualifying youth to assist with both water industry education and water conservation management. Presently in the 3rd year of a 4-tier program the ambassadors travel throughout different geographical areas of Texas and must volunteer for 12 months sharing their knowledge with schools or other sectors in the community. The Board approved $2500 toward the TX A&M Youth Development Foundation.

Samantha Reiter requested the Board approve additional funding in the amount of $1450 for the educational Resource Action Program to enable 5th graders at a local school to be part of the program. Currently 15 schools and 1300 youth participate in the educational curriculum throughout the county with over $42,000 already received for the program. This died for lack of a 2nd from the Board.

Gulf Coast Program Chief, David Brown, of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shared detailed information on accessing public information on the groundwater monitoring system. USGS monitors water levels and collects data from the 4 aquifers that affect Montgomery County to determine forecast trends and the effectiveness of groundwater management with scientific data influenced by population growth and groundwater withdrawal. The USGS is very focused on monitoring wells in the outcrop/recharge zones of the county. The system will determine predictive modeling of water availability at any given point in time.

Vice President Harry Hardman with Bob Harden and Kathy Turner Jones are actively working with Groundwater Management 14 (GMA 14) to update and establish methodology for a new joint management plan based on science and recommendations of the District. Run D as a model scenario was not recommended by the Board.

Recently residents have asked the LSGCD to follow up on a claim that K & K Construction was responsible for a large amount of water discharge into a quarry excavation pit. The Thornhill Group, Inc (TGI) ran a preliminary assessment indicative that K & K Construction and their quarrying operations have not resulted in detectable adverse impacts to the aquifer or well owners.

Lastly, the staff is currently collecting information and documents to develop a 2018 Annual Report.

New Business to be considered for the next meeting: update on USGS new wells, review of marketing and educational material available to the public online or printed to insure it is fact based. Meeting adjourned at 8:10pm.

More information on meetings, agendas, and minutes may be found at www.LoneStarGCD.org