TWCA Confluence October 2016

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TWCA FALL CONFERENCE October 12-14, 2016

San Antonio Wyndham Riverwalk Hotel

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

WELCOME TO SAN ANTONIO

A brochure with the updated meeting schedule will be available online and at registration.

Senate Agriculture, Water & Rural Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Charles Perry

TWDB Director Peter Lake

Richard Hyde, Executive Director TCEQ

9th Annual Fall Golf Classic Tournament Wednesday, October 12 The Quary Golf Club Noon Tee-off (Please arrive by 11:30 am)

Climate Scientist, Texas Tech Professor Dr. Katharine Hayhoe

Opinions expressed in CONFLUENCE are those of the writer/author and not necessarily those 2 directors or staff. of TWCA, its officers, Confluence2016.indd 2

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OCTOBER 2016 CONFLUENCE TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 4 Page 6 Page 8

Page 12 Page 15

Page 17 Page 18 Page 21 Page 24 Page 26 Page 27 Page 35 Page 38

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Page 43 Page 44 Page 46 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51

Message from the President by Phil Kelley Second Round of SWIFT Funding: Turning Planning Into Projects - TWDB by Kathleen Jackson Lift Her Up–One Firm’s Initiative to Retain Women Professionals, by Connie Curtis P. E., Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. You’ve Got Water Mail by Robert Mace Water Supply Planning Opportunities: Exempt Interbasin Transfers by Martin Rochelle and Nathan Vassar, Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend P.C. Welcome New Members Knowing When and How to Water Promotes Healthy Spaces and Conservation, North Texas Municipal Water District Updates on Key Water Cases by Emily Willms Rogers and Kimberly Grinnan, Heath Delgado Acosta LLP HURRICANE! Courtesy TWCA Risk Management Fund Bitter Waters: The Struggles of the Pecos River -Book Review by Charlie Flatten, Hill Country Alliance A Legendary Leader and Diplomat...Bill West Retires from GBR by Hugh F. Wynn Federal Affairs By J. Tom Ray, Lockwood, Andrews, Newnam, Inc., Chair, TWCA Federal Affairs Committee Managing Resources or Government Overstep? The Fine Line of Groundwater Regulation -- by David Harkins and Josh Grimes, Carollo Engineers Emerging Case Law on Personal Emails Subject to Disclosure Under the Public Information Act

By Susan M. Maxwell, Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP TWCA’s Legislative News Service ZIKA Virus Update, Courtesy TWCA Risk Management Fund Opioid Addiction in Workers’ Compensation Claims Courtesy TWCA Risk Management Fund Future Meetings Board of Directors and Past Presidents Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors, October 2016

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Message from the President TWCA STAFF

Phil Kelley Jefferson County Drainage District #7

Welcome to the TWCA Fall Conference! We are looking forward to a great event with plenty of educational and networking opportunities. We continue to have great turnout at our conferences and expect to have 450 attendees this fall.

Dean Robbins, General Manager drobbins@twca.org

Stacey Steinbach, Assistant General Manager ssteinbach@twca.org

Lisa Henley, Office Manager/ Events Coordinator Lhenley@twca.org

Becky Arledge, Administrative Assistant 3755 S. Capital of Texas Hwy, Suite 105 Austin, TX 78704 www.twca.org (512) 472-7216

As we enter our 74th year as an organization, we continue to see changes that are designed to improve the association while keeping to our roots. New General Manager, Dean Robbins, has taken the reins without skipping a beat. New office space has given the Association a place to gather and hold meetings. Our new Finance Committee, overseen by past president John Grant, is helping to improve the financial status of the Association. And finally, we have transitioned to a new website that integrates seamlessly with our updated association management software, providing a better experience for staff and members alike. If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to take a look around the new website and give us your feedback. We will be sending out instructions soon for creating your own personal account, where you can track committees, your membership, and TWCA events.

TWCA staff has also been busy with ad-hoc committee work. Our new Communications Committee, chaired by Dan Buhman, has met several times by phone over the last two months. That committee is charged with reviewing TWCA’s communication practices and recommending changes and tools that can be implemented to improve our efforts in that arena.

That committee will likely have some initial recommendations for the Board at the meeting in December. Our new Bylaws Committee, chaired by Jace Houston, met in late September and is charged with reviewing the Association’s Bylaws and Continued next page 4

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recommending any necessary changes to the Board. Our Surface Water and Groundwater Committees are meeting the first week of October to consider legislative proposals and prepare for the upcoming legislative session.

If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to subscribe to TWCA’s Legislative News Service. Dean and Stacey will be tracking hundreds of bills and committee meetings on behalf of the association, and their regular reports can be a valuable tool for keeping track of legislation that may affect your organization or practice. You can find out more by visiting the Association’s website.

I also encourage our members to help bring other organizations and entities involved with Texas water to TWCA, or to help staff identify potential members that we should be reaching. Our membership numbers remain strong, and we want to continue that tradition through this new phase of the Association.

In closing, I want to congratulate Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority’s Bill West and Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend’s Robin Lloyd on their recent retirement and contributions made to the Association. Their efforts will be missed, but we hope they stay in touch while enjoying their retirement.

You are Invited...

Wednesday, Oct. 12 6:00 to 7:00 pm Membership Services Reception Sponsored by Carollo Engineers Thursday, Oct. 13 6:00 pm RECEPTION Sponsored by LJA Engineering 5 Confluence2016.indd 5

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Round of TheSecond Woodlands’ Hands-On Approach to Conservation

SWIFT Funding: Turning Planning Into Projects Kathleen Jackson, Board member, Texas Water Development Board Follow Kathleen @twdb_kathleen

Providing communities with financial assistance to implement essential water supply and wastewater infrastructure projects is a key focus of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). It is especially rewarding to guide entities through the process, particularly when the projects for which they seek funding are part of the state water plan.

The State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT),* established by the Texas Legislature and voters in 2013, was created to help fast-track state water plan projects by offering a unique and costeffective financial assistance avenue specifically for them. The financial foundation of the program was created through a $2 billion appropriation from the state’s Rainy Day Fund, which will be leveraged with revenue bonds over the next 50 years to finance approximately $27 billion in water supply projects.

Already in its first two years, the SWIFT program has committed a total of $4.6 billion in financial assistance to take projects from planning to implementation.

We started strong in summer 2015 with the inaugural round of SWIFT commitments totaling $3.8 billion dollars to fund implementation of 30 water management strategies identified in the 2012 State Water Plan. The types of projects approved include transmission pipelines, canal linings, capacity expansions, seawater desalination, leak detection systems, water meter replacements, and reservoirs.

We continued the momentum in December 2015 by opening applications for the second cycle of SWIFT funding. In July 2016, the Board approved $759,255,000 in financial assistance for 15 projects included in the 2017 State Water Plan. The projects include aquifer storage and recovery, an off-channel storage facility, water meter replacements,

The 2016 cycle of SWIFT financial assistance includes financing for state water plan projects across the state. transmission pipelines, capacity expansions, well fields, reclaimed water, and land and water rights acquisition. A significant milestone in this year’s cycle is that more than 35 percent of the commitments will fund conservation and reuse projects.

The diversity in SWIFT project types reflects the diverse locations of the projects themselves, but each shares the goal to meet the water needs of Texas communities. In addition to funding projects in large cities, we’ve funded six projects for communities under 10,000 and 25 for small to mid-sized cities, with populations between 10,000 and 100,000.

One of the largest loans among the 2016 SWIFT projects is a $150 million multi-year loan to the El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board on behalf of the City of El Paso. The Utility will use the assistance to acquire property with associated water rights above the Bone Spring-Victorio Peak Aquifer.

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This project will allow the Utility to manage the land and water use, provide resource protection, and eventually develop the water supply. By using the SWIFT program, the Utility could save approximately $11 million over the life of the 2016 portion of the loan commitment, with additional savings occurring when the Utility closes on the last portion of the loan in 2017.

The City of Waco will use its $12 million SWIFT loan to install approximately 46,000 automatic-read meters for its customers. The new meters will provide customers with real-time information about their water use, enabling them to better manage their own water consumption and more quickly identify leaks or opportunities to enhance efficiency. The project also includes the installation of an acoustic leak detection system, which will save the system money by identifying leaks and allowing for timely repairs. The SWIFT program could save the City approximately $1.2 million over the life of the loan.

Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) is a water management strategy found in multiple regional water plans. The City of Bryan will use an $18 million multiyear SWIFT loan to finance the construction of an ASR injection well and a recovery well, purchase land for the recovery well, and construct pipelines for the project and a pump station. The project will allow the City to address potential water supply shortages during droughts and high-demand periods and is expected to allow the City to meet the maximum daily demands beyond 2040. By using the SWIFT program, the City could save approximately $240,000 over the life of the 2016 portion of the loan commitment, with additional savings occurring when the City closes on the last portion of the loan in 2017.

The abridged application process for the 2017 cycle of SWIFT funding will open this winter, and with hundreds of projects potentially eligible for financing and billions of dollars still available through SWIFT, I urge project sponsors to apply for funding. SWIFT can be a powerful financial resource for communities across our state to develop the water we need for Texas families to have a bright future!

To learn more about the SWIFT program, visit our website at www.twdb.texas.gov. * The SWIFT program includes two funds, the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) and the State Water Implementation Revenue Fund for Texas (SWIRFT). Revenue bonds for the program are issued through SWIRFT. 

Everyone with an interest in Texas water is invited to the Water for Texas 2017 conference. Topics will feature innovative scientific, planning, and financial solutions to water challenges; interactive data and technology; and compelling conversations on water issues that affect all Texans.

January 23–25  Austin, Texas http://waterfortexas.twdb.texas.gov

Conference registration is now open!

Kathleen Jackson has served as a Board member for the Texas Water Development Board since March 2014.

She is a registered professional engineer with a diverse background representing agricultural, environmental, industrial, and wholesale-supply interests. A native of Beaumont, Jackson has three children, sixthgeneration Texans, who all reside and work in Texas.

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Lift Her Up–One Firm’s Initiative to Retain Women Professionals

Photo by D. A. Littlefield

By Connie Curtis, P.E. Fast forward 11 years, and here we are. I can proudly say I still work for Kimley-Horn and have been provided loads of opportunity for personal and professional growth, including a relocation to Houston in 2013. Kimley-Horn is a premier planning and design consulting firm that has grown to have more than 2,500 employees in 70 offices across the United States. We work together to provide a wide range of consulting services to both public and private clients, offering solutions and an exceptional level of service in the areas of water resources, transportation, land development, landscape architecture + planning, environmental, energy, parking, and technology. We have a strong reputation among our clients and employees and we pride ourselves on our unique culture. Kimley-Horn has been recognized nine times as one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For and ranked #3 this year in Fortune’s 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials and #2 in its 20 Best Workplaces for Gen X’ers.

Even with all of this pride, passion, and recognition for our firm, our leaders know there is always room for improvement.

As part of our desire to continuously improve, our management committee (all men, I would like to note) reviewed retention data of the firm. They couldn’t ignore what they saw: the percent of women leaving the firm was noticeably higher than the percent of men leaving the firm. In a workplace whose culture has generally resulted in low turnover, high profitability, and external praise, this seemed unacceptable.

I grew up in rural east Texas, graduated from high school, and moved off to attend Texas A&M University. Four years later, I graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering and was faced with the first of many big life decisions. Where should I work? Who should I work for? As with most things in life, the answer was simple and complicated at the same time.

Simple: I wanted to work in Dallas—close to home.

Complicated: I wanted to work for a firm that valued me and would offer a career where I could learn, be part of a growing business, and be appreciated for my efforts. In all of my searches and dozens of interviews, I found a firm that seemed different. It sparked my interest with four key facts: the people were genuine and competent; the firm was businessminded—not just engineering-focused; the firm was owned by its employees; and the firm had successful women engineers (plural—not just one). That firm was Kimley-Horn.

I guess I forgot to mention that I was a girl who grew up in a rural town and attended a maledominated university in a male-dominated major.

Graduating high school in 2002, I was by no means a trailblazer for women’s rights, but I still got the shocked expression, “You’re going to be an engineer?” from friends and family even after graduating college. So when I interviewed with Kimley-Horn and four of the nine people who interviewed me were successful women engineers, that was staggering in comparison to other companies. And to an ambitious small town girl, the availability of women role models meant something.

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In the last 10 years, we have seen that an increasing number of top engineering graduates are women, and an increasing number of Kimley-Horn’s clients are women. For the firm to grow in the face of these exciting changes, we recognized the need to increase the number of senior women in significant practice roles. We are a firm that typically grows our leaders from college graduates to practice leaders, so to increase senior women, we must retain the women we hire. It just makes business sense. Invest in women, retain women, and increase success.

With this business focus, our management committee took a closer look at the data and, in 2014, created a committee of men and women from across the firm to develop a plan of action and identify major issues that needed to be addressed. How can we reduce the retention gap? How do we retain the women that add such value to the firm?

sponsor women’s groups in local offices; and hold forums on topics such as “Communicating in the Workplace” and “Mentorship and Your Career.”

I’m sure by now you’re wondering, has it worked? Has there been improvement? Was it worth the time and effort? Has there been any positive impact on women in the firm?

At this time, the program has not been in effect long enough for us to have much data to report results.

We are a year and a half into the initiative; data to measure success is still being collected. But if you think data is the only measure of success, then you don’t know much about women.

If you want to know if the Lift program has been worth our time and investment, I can’t give you cold, hard facts. But as a woman who has been successful at Kimley-Horn with and without the Lift initiative, I can give you my view. Here are a few of my observations from the last year and a half:  Was there an immediate change in career path and instant switch flipped of unhappy to happy women professionals with the Lift program? No.  Was there an intentional investment of time to provide every office and team the resources to consistently deliver a message to our senior, midlevel, and young women that our firm supports them, their lives, their goals, and their dreams? Yes.  Was there time taken by the senior men and women to reinforce to our women at all levels their value? And to pay more attention to when the women they work with may be stressed, overworked, or need additional support and flexibility? Yes.  Are the young men sometimes confused on why the Lift initiative is needed? Yes, but it’s made for interesting conversations among genders.  Do all women in the firm think the initiative is necessary? No.  Are men now acknowledging not only the value of the women they work with, but also the daily struggles that we still battle? Sometimes, yes.  Have we seen a bonding together of women to support and champion one another instead of competing against each other? Yes.  Is the Lift initiative perfectly executed every day?

No.  Are there times where I personally don’t feel “Lifted?” Yes, but that’s okay.

These items are subtle, daily results of the Lift program that provide an overall more conducive environment for women to have long-term success.

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Lift – Investing in Professional Women As a result of the committee’s research, a new initiative was introduced in 2015: Lift—Lasting Impact for Tomorrow. The initiative aims to recruit, develop, and retain women at Kimley-Horn, increasing the number of successful women consultants and helping women reach their full potential. Lift offers career development training for mid-level and senior women; resources for mothers and families; and support for schedule flexibility. To educate its young professionals, Kimley-Horn added a “Gender Differences in the Workplace” session to its introductory training classes.

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Lift Her Up...

Continued from page 9 It’s started the conversation for all staff and makes it okay to ask questions. It makes it okay to request help or flexibility without judgement—for both men and women alike.

Specifically, I have seen very personal results from Lift. I had the privilege to be included in a program that brought together 25 mid-level women for two days in the spring and two days in the fall of 2015. If you would have asked me when I was first invited to the program if I was excited to attend, the answer would have been a pretty solid “no.” I’m really busy most of the time, and I can sheepishly admit now that 25 women in a room together sounded more like an invitation for drama than a productive use of my time. But being the good, over-achieving employee that I am, I signed up to attend. And I could not be more proud that I was included and not so full of my own self-worth that I refused to go.

Kimley-Horn invited not only 25 mid-level women from across the firm to the program, but also women executive coaches to help us understand the nuances of corporate business—the nuances that men naturally seem to understand but that completely baffle and frustrate women. We worked on poise and presenting to the world the brand of who and how we want to be known. We worked on breaking down

the barriers that women may create for themselves in the corporate world. There was value in the content of the program, but truly, so much more value in hearing my own fears and demons validated in other women that I could so clearly tell were competent, amazing leaders in their offices and practices. We created a bond of support that is still going strong today in emails to one another highlighting achievements and big practice wins. There have been phone calls, text messages, and Facebook posts of women now traveling together, championing each other, and overall investing in one another.

If you can’t tell, I am a firm believer that the Lift program is effective and worth the time— regardless of what data we can or cannot immediately produce.

Lifting Women Everywhere So, what does this mean to anyone outside of Kimley-Horn? As much as we would love to claim our Lift program as a separator and recruit all of the best women professionals into our firm, we are realistic and know that there are women who will choose to be successful at other firms or in other professions. Instead, we encourage every organization to identify the long-term role that women will play in your company’s future. We encourage you to create a culture from the top of your organization to the bottom that strives to understand the short-term and long-term needs of the women

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Connie Curtis, P.E. is the leader of the Water Resources practice in the Houston office where she assists cities and municipal entities in the planning and design of infrastructure across Texas.

Feel free to contact Connie at ( 281) 9206578 or connie.curtis@kimley-horn.com for further information on Lift or regarding assistance with water infrastructure design.

who contribute to your organization’s success. Figure out creative ways to support women at all levels while also considering the variety of needs that will be identified for senior women and recent college graduates.

Whether you’re an engineering firm, a legal firm, or a municipal entity, you have valuable women of all ages in your organization. We strongly encourage you to invest in your women and reap the successes that those investments will bring. You just might interview a small town girl who wants the opportunity to work hard and be successful. Lift her up. You won’t regret it.

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by Robert E. Mace One day, after reading about D.L. McDonald, the father of large-volume irrigation of the Ogallala, I searched the interwebs to see if there were any photos of Mr. McDonald and his well. To my pleasant surprise, up popped a postcard from 1910 showing a proud McDonald next to his gusher in Hereford. “1200 gallons per Minute” the card proclaimed. “Wow!” I thought to myself “Texas water history on a 4- by 6inch card! I wonder what else is out there…” As it turns out, there’s a lot!

The first postcards appeared in the United States in 1873 as pre-stamped blank penny postcards provided by the U.S. Postal Service. Back in those days, people had to write to each other to affordably communicate at a distance. Postcards were the Twitter of their time: a way to efficiently send a short message to someone with little effort or cost (many of the cards in my collection inquire “Why haven’t you written me?”). The first souvenir postcards appeared at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. After passage of Congress’s Private Mailing Card Act in 1898, private companies were allowed to produce cards for mailing. However, the golden age for postcards in the U.S. started in 1907 when Congress

prescribed the divided back postcard (one side of the back for the address and the other side of the back for a message leaving the front available for an image—in other words, the modern postcard) and ended with the start of U.S. involvement in World War I. After finding the McDonald postcard, I’ve expanded my collection to nearly 200 cards mostly capturing the hydrogeologic history of Texas: water wells, flowing artesian wells, mineral wells, and springs.

However, when the fancy strikes, I acquire other topics or other locations (being a borderline hoarder, I have to be careful here…). For example, I have a postcard of the world’s first desalination plant in Freeport, a few oil gushers, irrigation canals, old donkey-driven water haulers, as well as few interesting out-of-staters.

You never know when the cards will strike. When I recently woke up in Dijon, France, after a day of touring sites related to Henry Darcy, the godfather of hydrogeology, there was a postcard dealer in front of the hotel. You guessed it: I picked up several cards depicting Darcy’s waterworks for the city.

My primary collecting focus is artesian wells of Texas. Sadly, the golden age of postcards (1907 to 12

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1915) just missed the golden age of artesian wells in Texas (1885 to 1905), so there are no postcards directly depicting the first gushers of Fort Worth, Dallas, or Waco (most of Fort Worth’s wells stopped flowing by 1901). I’ve recently been trolling stereoscopic photos (as early as 1850) for potential photos of these wells (this dedicated tea sipper would sing the Aggie War Hymn if he had a photo of an early flowing well from Fort Worth).

One day I received an email from a lady in Austin who—lo and behold—also collected artesian well postcards of Texas. Would I like to meet to compare collections? My wife was not impressed: “That’s weird. There’s no way in hell there’s another person on this planet that collects artesian well postcards of Texas.” The lady and I met (in a public place), and, indeed, she also collected artesian well

postcards of Texas (but with a focus on land companies). I’ve since met another fellow who focuses on postcards depicting mineral wells and water in Texas.

Most of my cards are sourced from Ebay, but I’ve also picked up quite a few over the past year at postcard shows from vendors that specialize in Texas.

The Capitol of Texas Postcard Club is an excellent source of information on upcoming postcard and paper shows.

My collection is online so I can easily check if I already have a card (I started accidentally duping six months ago...). I also post the image of a postcard a day of some water-related card from somewhere on the globe. If you sign up, you, too, can have water mail every day! (youhavewatermail.blogspot.com)

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You’ve Got Water Mail Continued from page 13

“Wow!” I thought to myself.

“Texas water history on a 4- by 6-inch card! I wonder what else is out there…” As it turns out, there’s a lot!”

Robert E. Mace Deputy Executive Administrator to lead the Water Science & Conservation program area for the agency, a group of 64 scientists, engineers, and specialists dedicated to better understanding groundwater and surface water resources in Texas and advancing water conservation and innovative water technologies such as desalination, aquifer storage and recovery, reuse, and rainwater harvesting. His residential consumption of water is under 30 gallons per person per day (and would be lower if his wife was more cooperative).

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Water Supply Planning Opportunities: Exempt Interbasin Transfers

By Martin C. Rochelle and Nathan E. Vassar Third in a series of water supply planning and implementation articles that will address simple, smart ideas for consideration and use by water suppliers.

For many TWCA members, the Fall is a time to develop plans for implementation in the new year.

As such, it is a time that also presents opportunities to examine current water supplies, contracts, and the anticipated use of supplies within current and future service areas. Over the course of our first two water supply planning articles, we examined the value of a water supply audit to identify existing and future water supply challenges, and then the importance of selecting the right team to effectively address such challenges. In this article, we begin focusing on specific mechanisms that may be used to meet water supply needs in an efficient manner. As provided below, the exempt interbasin transfer (“IBT”) is an elegant tool that can be used to address “place of use” limitations and service demands in neighboring river basins, all without the hurdles and challenges associated with traditional non-exempt IBTs. As such, as water supply demands increase, a water supplier may find that an exempt IBT can, in many instances, satisfy both near- and long-term needs of a growing customer base.

Service area challenges are among the most common hurdles confronting wholesale water providers. While “place of use” limitations are not always included in water rights authorizations, when they are applicable it is important for utilities to

understand such limitations and comply with them.

One significant constraint that has been the subject of conflict over the last hundred years involves the use of surface water supplies within the geographic limits of the basin in which the supplies are located— i.e., within the “basin of origin.” Without explicit authorization from the state, no surface water right holder may divert such supplies outside of the basin of origin of the supply. Such authorizations, referred to as “interbasin transfer” rights, have been the subject of much debate at the Texas Capitol and the source of significant litigation in the courts. Indeed, the IBT statute, Water Code Section 11.085, was substantively amended in 1997, via the Legislature’s enactment of Senate Bill 1, to significantly increase the burden on applicants seeking IBT permits.

While securing a post-Senate Bill 1 IBT authorization comes with a host of significant legal and technical challenges, the Texas Legislature has thankfully afforded a few useful exceptions to the Water Code’s IBT permitting requirements. These exceptions can be employed by utilities to provide surface water supplies to areas that may be located outside of the surface water right’s basin of origin.

Specifically, an exempt IBT provides a relatively quick and cost-efficient option to allow a utility to plan now Continued on page 16 15

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Exempt Interbasin Transfers Continued from page 15 in order to serve future demands in projected growth areas that may be geographically located across a river basin boundary.

Exempt IBTs are specifically authorized under Section 11.085(v) of the Texas Water Code. Section 11.085(v) includes a menu of options that, if applicable and utilized, can avoid the burdensome requirements for extensive application details, broad and expensive notice, public meetings, evidentiary hearings, and evidence of heightened water conservation implementation, among other Section 11.085 requirements that apply to non-exempt IBTs. Significantly, exempt IBTs also escape the application of the “junior rights” provision of Section 11.085, such that an existing water right proposed to be transferred outside the basin of origin pursuant to an exempt IBT retains its original priority date.

Several exempt IBT categories are available under the statute. Section 11.085(v)(1) allows the transfer of not more than 3,000 acre-feet of water per year, in combination with other transfers authorized under the same water right. Emergency transfers of water are permitted pursuant to Section 11.085(v)(2). Applicants may also use Section 11.085(v)(3) to move water from the water right’s basin of origin into that basin’s adjacent coastal basin.

For regional water suppliers whose existing and future service areas may straddle river basin boundaries, Section 11.085(v)(4) allows transfers within the entire retail service area of that utility, as well as to the

geographic areas of a county or municipality that fall outside of the water supply’s basin of origin. Transfers of water imported to the state are also permitted as exempt IBTs under Section 11.085(v)(5), with the exception of water imported from Mexico.

One or more of these options may prove helpful to meet growing water supply needs in the coming years, particularly for potential customers with relatively modest annual demands (less than 3,000 acre-feet per year), utilities located near river basin boundaries (either in retail service area or by county or municipal geographical limits), or those that may wish to meet demands in one of Texas’ eight coastal basins. Further, an applicant may seek an exempt

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IBT on the basis of several of these options in the same application, as may be applicable to an applicant’s particular circumstances.

The value of exempt IBTs extends to both time investment and risk of protest, and the expense and delays that accompany same. Exempt IBT applications may be prepared and processed within a short period, making them attractive, “low-hanging fruit” planning tools. In addition to being exempt from the substantive IBT requirements of Section 11.085(b)-(u), the courts have ruled that applications for exempt IBTs do not require notice or the opportunity for a contested case hearing. City of Marshall v. City of Uncertain, 124 S.W.3d 690 (Tex. App.—Austin 2003; aff’d in part on other grounds, 206 S.W.3d 97 (Tex. 2006)).

Depending upon particular challenges that may be identified by auditing one’s water supply portfolio, and customer needs, an exempt IBT may be part of a broader solution to serve existing and future customers. As noted, future editions of Confluence will address other matters that could supplement an exempt IBT approach, such as the Four Corners doctrine, accounting protocols, and conservation efforts, among others. These tools should be considered by water utilities in a holistic and comprehensive approach to assess the adequacy of water supplies in light of their current and projected water demands. 

Martin Rochelle is the chair of Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend P.C.’s Water Practice Group. Martin focuses on the development and implementation of sound water policy and in representing clients in water quality, water supply, and water reuse matters before state and federal administrative agencies.

Nathan Vassar is an Associate in Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend, P.C.’s Water Practice Group. Nathan’s practice focuses on regulatory compliance, water resources development, and water quality. He also represents clients on important water supply and water quality matters before state and federal administrative agencies.

For questions related to water rights or water supply planning, including exempt interbasin transfers, please contact Martin Rochelle at (512) 322-5810, mrochelle@lglawfirm.com or Nathan Vassar at (512) 322-5867, nvassar@lglawfirm.com.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Lower Trinity Groundwater Conservation District PO BOX 1879 Livingston, TX 77351 Contact: Gary Ashmore General Manager Phone (936) 327-9531 Email groundwater@livingston.net

Acequia WSC P.O. Box 1756 Canyon Lake, TX 78133 Contact: Thomas Hodge Phone (830) 964-2166 Email charlene.simmons@clwsc.com Southeast Texas Groundwater Conservation District P.O. Box 1407 Jasper, TX 75951 Contact: John Martin, General Manager Phone (409) 383-1577 Email jmartin@setgcd.org

Russell A Persyn Texas Area Manager, RESPC 674 CR 4643 Hondo, TX 78861 Phone (210) 213-2297 Email: rpersyn@hotmail.com

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Knowing When and How to Water Promotes Healthy Spaces and Conservation Summer 2011. It was the hottest and driest “Residents, “Residents, especially those new especially those to thetostate, may new the state, have never endured may have never such an intolerably endured such an hot summer.... intolerably hot No one knew it at summer.... theone time,knew but the No it at drought would the time, butnot the end until four years drought would later in until 2015.” not end four years later in 2015.”

year on record in Texas. Residents, especially those new to the state, may have never endured such an intolerably hot summer.

The persistent drought continued and the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) Member Cities and Customers implemented watering restrictions as a water management strategy to extend the available water supplies.

No one knew it at the time, but the drought would not end until four years later in 2015.

As the drought continued through the punishing summer heat and the NTMWD and cities implemented watering restrictions, homeowners often asked, “How do I know when or how much to water my lawn?” According to NTMWD Water Resource Program and Public Education Manager Denise Hickey, “A healthy landscape actually requires less water than you might think. NTMWD has a tool that was launched in 2013, WaterMyYard.org, which can help with those answers. The bottom line is that by raising our Water IQ and learning more about lawn care, we can use water more wisely.”

With WaterMyYard.org, residents can get irrigation recommendations based on local weather conditions and save water by only watering lawns when needed, keeping lawns healthy all year long. Empowering consumers with information about when and how much to water doesn’t just result in healthier lawns, it also encourages people to conserve, which can influence family members, neighbors, and others to become more water wise.

Communities can come together to support water conservation using tools like WaterMyYard.org — which rely on science and data — to maintain healthy green spaces.

So here is the big question: How much more water do consumers use during the summer? Double - Sometimes triple the amount needed. Results from the 2010 research, conducted

by Baselice on behalf of NTMWD within its service area, homeowners admitted to watering their lawns three or more times per week, watering more than their city’s guidelines.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 50 percent of the water used on lawns is wasted due to inefficient watering practices, overwatering, and broken or misdirected 18

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sprinkler heads. By following the recommendations from WaterMyYard.org, consumers can manage their summer water use and water bills by watering lawns only when needed.

WaterMyYard.org uses strategically installed weather stations throughout the entire NTMWD service area that record local weather data to a central server. The recorded weather data is uploaded and transmitted to Texas A&M AgriLife as inputs for determining the water needs required for maintaining healthy lawns. AgriLife applies evapotranspiration (ET) rates and seasonal adjustments to calculate weekly irrigation recommendations for the WaterMyYard.org subscribers. The weekly recommendations are based on prior seven-day weather data. As a free app, WaterMyYard.org can show residents what day to water their lawns, when irrigation systems should be turned on, and whether lawn watering is even needed. The weekly recommendations provide location specific recommended irrigation runtimes expressed as minutes of irrigation runtime.

With a few simple inputs — like ZIP codes or addresses, types of irrigation system spray heads that are installed, and the precipitation rate of an irrigation system — homeowners can register to receive unique watering recommendations by email and text. The

sign-up is simple. Readers are shown pictures of different spray head types to select from to describe their irrigation system as well as links to determine their precipitation rate— the rate water is actually being applied to a lawn.

If subscribers do not know the specific inputs, that is okay. They can simply select “I don’t know,” and an average precipitation rate for the selected spray head will be used in the recommendation calculation. Subscribers can later add or change inputs and add separate zones for greater accuracy.

By 2016, NTMWD installed 15 weather stations within its service area. NTMWD expanded its efforts to provide the most accurate weather data available by installing 12 additional rain gauges.

“Having a second source for rain data provides information that can help establish a more comprehensive view of the weather. This helps us adjust water recommendations for more areas within the city limit,” Hickey states. In addition to the Member City weather stations, four Customer Cities have also installed weather stations. The NTMWD has installed three additional weather stations to improve coverage for the service area. “With a service area the size of Rhode Island, we want to provide accurate weather data due to the fact that it may be raining in the north of our service area while not raining in the southern areas. With over 90 entities served, one recommendation does not fit all.”

Using WaterMyYard.org reduces the amount of water needed on lawns in the summer months, but it can also help homeowners save water after October, during a lawn’s dormant season.

“I believe many homeowners and businesses would be surprised to learn how little water is needed to supplement the natural rain we receive,” Hickey said. “During 2015, WaterMyYard.org recommended no lawn watering was needed 38 weeks out of the year, and for 2016, no supplemental water has been Continued on page 20

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WaterMyYard.org Continued from page 19 needed for 29 weeks so far.”

WaterMyYard.org has been implemented in other areas of the state. The Lower Colorado River Authority has started a WaterMyYard.org program in the Austin and Central Texas region. WaterMyYard.org is also available to homeowners and businesses in Bryan-College Station.

“I believe many homeowners and businesses would be surprised to learn how little water is needed to supplement the natural rain we receive.”

WaterMyYard.org is an educational partnership of the NTMWD and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Irrigation Technology Program. The WaterMyYard.org program was developed by Dr. Guy Fipps, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service irrigation engineer); David Flahive, AgriLife Extension programmer and system analyst; and Charles Swanson, AgriLife Extension irrigation specialist.

-- Denise Hickey

ABOUT THE NTMWD The NTMWD is a regional wholesale provider of water services for approximately 1.6 million residents in the north Texas counties of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Fannin, Grayson, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, and Rockwall — a service territory covering 2,200 square miles. In addition to water treatment and delivery, the NTMWD also provides regional wastewater treatment and solid waste disposal services. 

WaterMyYard.org outreach in Melissa, TX. 20

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Updates on Key Water Cases

By Emily Willms Rogers and Kimberly Grinnan Texas v. New Mexico: In 2014, Texas filed suit against New Mexico, an original action in the U.S. Supreme Court1, alleging that New Mexico has exceeded its annual allotment of Rio Grande Compact water by allowing excessive pumping of groundwater that is hydrologically connected to the Rio Grande, in violation of the Compact. New Mexico moved to dismiss Texas’ complaint, and the complaint filed in intervention by the United States, asserting that New Mexico had met its delivery obligations (to Elephant Butte Reservoir) under the Compact, and had no further obligation to ensure that Texas’ full allotment of Compact water arrived at the state line. The Special Master appointed by the Supreme Court to hear this interstate dispute (in which Colorado, as the other Compact state, is also a party), on June 28, 2016 issued his Draft First Report, with his recommended decisions on pending motions. The Special Master has recommended that New Mexico’s motion to dismiss Texas’ complaint be denied, concluding that Texas has stated plausible claims of violation of the 1938 Compact. The Draft First Report rejected New Mexico’s argument, opining that New Mexico’s narrow view goes against the text of the Compact and the overall purpose of the Compact to equitably apportion water in the signatory states in one document. Regarding the United States’ complaint, the Special Master recommended that New Mexico’s motion to dismiss be granted “to the extent 21 CON 3_5_17.pdf 21

that the United States cannot state a plausible claim under the 1938 Compact” (because the United States is not a Compact party), but nonetheless that the Supreme Court exercise its original jurisdiction to hear the United States’ claims regarding Rio Grande Project rights along with Texas’ claims. Finally, he recommended that the Court dismiss the motions to intervene filed by the Elephant Butte Irrigation District and the El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1. Once the Special Master finalizes and files this First Report, the parties will have the opportunity to brief “exceptions” to the Report, and then the Supreme Court will consider and act upon the Special Master’s recommendations regarding the pending motions.

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Updates on Key Water Cases

mineral estates and groundwater estates lend to a workable overlap of law and doctrine – the court easily extended the mineral law doctrine to resolve conflicts between severed surface and groundwater estates not expressly covered in the parties’ agreement.4 The supreme court denied the City’s motion for rehearing and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings.

Continued from page 21

Coyote Lake Ranch LLC v.

City of Lubbock: In a May 2016 decision, the Texas Supreme Court once again extended oil and gas principles to groundwater law when it decided that the owner of a severed groundwater estate was subject to the accommodation doctrine, thereby requiring the groundwater rights owner to accommodate the surface owner’s existing use of the land when constructing its groundwater facilities.2 Generally, the owner or lessee of the mineral estate has an implied right to use the surface of the land to remove the minerals. The goal of the accommodation doctrine is to balance the rights of surface and mineral owners to use their respective estates while recognizing and respecting the dominant nature of the mineral estate.

To prove the that mineral estate has failed to accommodate existing uses of the surface estate, the surface owner must show that (1) the use of the surface by the mineral estate completely precludes or substantially impairs the existing surface use, and (2) there is no reasonable alternative method available to the surface owner by which the existing use can be continued. The surface owner must further show that there are alternative reasonable, customary and industry-accepted methods available to the mineral estate owner which will allow the recovery of the minerals and also allow the surface owner to continue the existing use.3 Continuing the logic employed in the Day decision – that the similarities between

Harris County Flood Control District v. Kerr:

On June 17, 2016, the Texas Supreme Court handed down its latest decision in the long-running dispute between the Harris County Flood Control District and local landowners.5 The Court withdrew a previous judgment and on rehearing, issued a decision that is now more favorable to governmental entities. The question before the court was whether governmental entities engaging in flood control measures should be liable to homeowners damaged by floods on the theory of a constitutional taking. The homeowners’ argued that the County’s failure to implement two developed flood-control plans combined with their approval of upstream private development has led to the repeated flooding of the homeowners’ land, and that flooding has amounted to a taking under Article I, Section 17 of the Texas Constitution. To effectuate a takings claim, plaintiffs must prove that the government “intentionally took or damaged their property for public use, or was substantially certain that would be the result.”6 The Texas Supreme Court disagreed with the landowners’ claim, holding that the County did not have the requisite intent nor did it take an affirmative specific act that caused flooding that amounted to a taking; the failure of the government to take a discretionary action – like the failure to fully implement a flood plan 22

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– is not an affirmative action. The Court carefully considered several amici curiae briefs urging rehearing, including the joint amicus brief filed by the TWCA, Texas Municipal League, Texas Association of Counties, Texas Conference of Urban Counties, and the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas. The homeowners filed a motion for rehearing on August 30, 2016.  (Footnotes) 1 Texas v. New Mexico, Original No. 141.

2 Coyote Lake Ranch LLC v. City of Lubbock, 59 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 967 (2016) 3 See Getty Oil Co. v. Jones, 470 S.W.2d 618, 621 (Tex. 1971); Merriman v. XTO Energy, Inc., 407 S.W.3d 244, 250 (Tex. 2013).

4 See Edwards Aquifer Auth. v. Day, 369 S.W.3d 814, 831–32 (Tex. 2012).

5 Harris County Flood Control Dist. v. Kerr, No. 13-0303, 2016 WL 3418246, (Tex. June 17, 2016).

6 See City of Keller v. Wilson, 168 S.W.3d 802, 808 (Tex. 2005).

TWCA FALL CONFERENCE

October 12-14, 2016 San Antonio Wyndham Riverwalk Hotel

Emily Rogers, TWCA Water Laws Chair, is a water attorney at Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP. She represents public entities in matters involving surface and groundwater rights, and water and wastewater service utility matters. To reach her regarding your water project or with water-related questions, please call512-472-8021 or email her at erogers@bickerstaff.com.

Kimberley Grinnan is an associate at Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP. She graduated from Texas Tech Law School in 2016.

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HURRICANE !

Courtesy of TWCA Risk Management Fund So far in the 2016 Hurricane season there have been seven named storms, none with any significant impact on the United States, yet. However, we are entering the period of greatest activity as tropical wave after wave leaves the African continent and moves over very warm Atlantic waters.

Although hurricane winds can be fierce and destructive, the most deadly element that comes ashore with a storm is water. The storm surge that is built up by the strong and prevailing winds of a storm can inundate huge areas of the Texas coast and affect people and property miles from the immediate coast.

To help Fund members with facilities near the Gulf coast recognize storm surge potential in their area maps of potential flooding due to storm surge are available at NOAA web sites and in a very easy to use and access form on the Weather Underground website at www.wunderground.com.

For the Texas coast NOAA prepared and Weather Underground displays six sets of maps. They are for the Port Arthur area, Galveston, Matagorda Island, Corpus Christi, Padre Island and Brownsville.

Together they encompass the entire Texas Gulf coast.

Each set includes projections of inundation created by each of the five categories of hurricanes displayed by storm surge and storm tide. Storm surge maps display the “abnormal rise of water over and above

the predicted astronomical tides.� The storm tide maps combine the storm surge and astronomical tides. Two examples for a category three hurricane impacting the Corpus Christi area of the coast are displayed.

NOAA Sea, Lake, Overland Surge from Hurricane (SLOSH) indicating extent of inundation at various storm surge/tide heights.

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In addition to these maps, the National Hurricane Center will forecast potential storm surge flooding when a tropical storm is approaching the coast of the United States. Local emergency management agencies will also help disseminate this vital information. They also have a storm surge inundation map for the whole Gulf and Atlantic coast of the United States that illustrates conditions projected for all five categories of hurricane. ď “ Sources: NOAA Storm Surge Maps at noaa.maps.arcgis.com, Weather Underground, Hurricane Resources, at wunderground.com

Hurricane IKE, a Category 4 storm, slammed the Gulf Coast September 13, 2008 with sustained

winds of 110 mph, a 22 ft (6.8 m) storm surge, and widespread coastal flooding. Insured losses as a result of the storm totaled $12 billion – $10 billion caused by wind damage and $2 billion caused by flooding.

The effects of this storm were crippling and long-lasting, including impacts to the price and availability of oil and gas.

Most, if not all of the communities previously located on the Bolivar Peninsula, which together with Galveston Island separates Galveston Bay from the Gulf of Mexico, were utterly devastated.

Based on an extensive aerial survey conducted on the days following the storm, very little remained west of the community of High Island.

Hurricane Ike is the third costliest storm in U.S. history, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Tropical Storm Sandy in 2012.

Damage in Texas alone totaled approximately $29.5 billion.

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XITmanagement, Museum, and Dalhart TX characteristics, history, exploitation from the beginnings of recorded history.

From its headwaters at 11,750 feet in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of northern New Mexico, the Pecos begins as pure snowmelt and winds 926 miles to its confluence with the Rio Grande at the Texas – Mexican border west of Comstock. Along its journey through New Mexico, the Pecos provides nourishment to irrigated agriculture and to the towns that were built around that water course’s dependable flow. As the Pecos approaches the Texas border, it begins to gathering brackish base-flow and suffer the ravages of evaporation and invasive species.

Mr. Dearen has transcribed accounts from the early 16th Century Spanish explorers, describing their surprise at the lack of traditional riparian zone geomorphology and plant life along its banks. He documents the gradual rise in dependency on its waters for agricultural purposes, and details the subsequent management nightmares that include inter-state squabbles, over-appropriation, massive flash flooding, and the perils of invasive species.

At 241-pages, Bitter Waters is well researched with scores of interviews and includes more than 50pages of notes and bibliography. However, for those of us looking for a thorough scientific treatise replete with hydro-chemistry, site specific riparian geomorphology, or a complete catalog of flora and fauna; we will have to wait.

Until then, Patrick Dearen gives us an excellent account of the Pecos River’s history, physical anomalies, and cautionary tales about the misadventures of desalination attempts, failed agricultural irrigation ‘solutions’, and the ravages of invasive species. Many have come to terms with the Pecos, and many more have failed, but all agree that the Pecos River is unique, difficult, and at times beautiful. Above all, the Pecos River exemplifies the truism that making a living off of the land in west Texas is not a given; and requires tenacity, ingenuity, and adaptability. 

Bitter Waters: The Struggles of the Pecos River

By Patrick Dearen

Pecos Bill said to have complimented his namesake river with the phrase, “the water ain’t really fit for drinkin’, but it’ll do in a pinch” Pecos River historian and award-winning author Patrick Dearen has delivered his 23rd book, and latest in a sequence featuring West Texas’s Pecos River. Bitter Waters: The Struggles of the Pecos River is a comprehensive exploration of the Pecos River’s

Book review by Charlie Flatten, Water Policy Manger for the Hill Country Alliance -- a land and water stewardship/sustainability 501c3 with a large membership in the Hill Country. The Alliance provides an information clearinghouse on its website, www.hillcountryalliance.org .

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A Legendary Leader and Diplomat...

Bill West Retires from GBRA Another Texas water industry luminary has hung up his spurs. William E. “Bill” West, Jr., a distinguished South Central Texas water professional, retired in September 2016 after forty-six years in the business. Bill spent twenty-three of those years serving the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (See Sidebar for GBRA Basin Details, page 29) as its general manager. Bill was born September 7, 1946 in

By Sarah Houston Hamilton, Texas, 100 miles northwest of Austin, to William E. and Madeline (Porter) West. Both parents were products of North Central Texas farms…early cotton country. In part, because of these rural roots, Bill, Sr. gravitated toward the Soil Conservation Service, a job that took the family to several Hill Country towns – Kerrville, Fredericksburg and San Marcos – during their children’s younger years.

Madeline taught elementary school while the couple reared their children, Bill, Jr., and his older sister, JoAnn Sidney West. With this geographical background, it’s no surprise that Bill remained in and around the scenic Texas Hill Country.

West was no stranger to hard work early in life. His first paying job was digging up an old septic tank by hand in the middle of summer – a sweaty, forgettable experience. Other work included stints in construction with TXDOT, and during college, several years with an electrical contractor. “My construction experiences taught me ‘how to work’ and with the electrical contractor, I learned valuable lessons about how to manage projects and people,” Bill recalled.

Bill graduated from San Marcos high school in 1965 where he participated in all sports. He reflects on those “good times” during which the school won the 1965 State 3A basketball title, beating Waxahachie 87-63. The school suffered a near miss State 3A football title in 1964, losing to Palestine 24-14. Good times, indeed, for the school’s young athletes. Upon graduation, Bill continued his education at Texas State University, later switching to and graduating from Texas A&M University in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Engineering.

and Carly Surratt

William E. “Bill” West, Jr. Those college years came with the usual financial challenges for a newly-wed couple. Bill and his wife, Alexis (Shaw), married in 1968, and in his words, “were hell bent on earning college degrees.

With the exception of a small loan from the Methodist Church, we worked our way through school living in student housing – slightly renovated army barracks.”

Bill didn’t say so but ‘slightly renovated’ was probably code for drafty in the winter and sweltering in the summer. He further explained that, “[Alexis] put me through Texas A&M by teaching school at Iola, twenty miles east of College Station.”

Bill considers his proudest accomplishment in life outside of work to be, “my forty-eight year marriage to Alexis and the two children, daughter Shemyn Warren, son, Clint, she blessed us with – not to mention the five grandchildren, four boys and one girl, our children brought into our lives.” The marriage has been an obvious success. In a followup question about who might have been the most influential person in his private life and in career choices, Bill was quick to give credit to Alexis and to his faith. “I grew up in the Methodist Church and served as president of the Methodist Youth Fellowship in high school,” Bill added. “Church has always been a very positive influence in West family lives.”

Continued on page 28

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Bill West Retires Continued from page 27 After graduation in 1970, West began his illustrious career with the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). It started with the whimper of a freshly minted college graduate instead of a bang. In his words, “My first job with LCRA was as a ‘water boy’”. It didn’t take long for LCRA management, heavily populated with University of Texas alums, to realize they had scored big with this young Aggie.

While at LCRA, Bill served as System Operations Manager, Water Resources Director, and in 1986 was named Executive Director of Natural Resources.

During his years with LCRA, Bill was a key negotiator in several landmark water rights cases on the Colorado and was very much involved in the Texas Water Commission adjudication of the river. He also participated in the development of the Balcones Canyon Conservation Plan in Travis County for the issuance of an Endangered Species Act 10-A permit.

Bill recalled that after eight local species were listed as endangered, several stakeholders – developers, policymakers, environmentalists, scientists and local parties – collaborated to craft the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan (BCCP).Collectively, they produced an action plan that allowed brisk development to continue in Travis County while assuring compliance with federal law. The Plan provides property owners avenues for mitigating the removal of endangered species habitat while protecting the most ideal habitat within the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve. This unique collaboration has aided the unprecedented development in the county while protecting more than 30,000 acres of treasured Balcones Canyonlands.

And how did the challenges he faced at the LCRA help shape Bill’s career? He summarized them in his usual to-the-point fashion. “At the LCRA, I held various positions in both water and power sides of the organization before being recruited by a head hunter for the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority job,” he explained. “Along the way, I faced many careershaping opportunities: matters dealing with flood control, water rights, and power and water wars including a few landmark legal cases. I was also privileged to be involved in the early development of ERCOT¹. And, of course, there were those enlightening experiences in customer relations.

In addition to his accomplishments at both the LCRA and GBRA, Bill is a past president of the

Bill and Alexsis West influential statewide Texas Water Conservation Association (and member of its board) and the National Water Resources Association; past chairman of the Texas Water Forum; and a member of the Region L Water Planning Committee. Other notable statewide positions dotting Bill’s crowded resume include appointments serving on water oversight committees under Governors Clements, White, Bush, and Perry. In 2003, Governor Perry also appointed Bill to the State’s Study Commission on Water for Environmental Flows.

Additional acknowledgements of distinction include receipt of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers’ Honorary Diplomate, Water Resources Engineers (Hon.D.WRE) recognition granted to individuals who have provided outstanding, long-term service in the field of water resources. Just thirty-eight such honors have been bestowed since the Academy’s founding in 2004. In August 2016, Bill received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Water Resources Association (NWRA). To attain Life Member Status, the NWRA recognizes only those individuals who have long been active in meritorious leadership roles for the Association. West has also enjoyed his “former student” committee services as a Department Advisory-Texas A&M University representing the Agriculture Engineering community.

This advisory role involves candid discussions with university staff on curriculum, the merits of student 28

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GBRA Projects Sidebar

internships, and a host of other important topics on how to improve the education experience at A&M. Over the years Bill West has dealt with many dynamic individuals in the world of Texas water. Asked about those figures he would point to as having made exceptional contributions to the industry, Bill replied, “Without being too specific – there are just too many – I would include Sim Gideon, the LCRA general manager when I came aboard, and Victor Bouldin, a TWDB graphic Vinson and Elkins general counsel for many Texas water authorities and a role model for a host of young engineers of his era; and of course, the inimitable Lt. Governor Bob Bullock who pushed through very significant legislation creating Texas’ first comprehensive water conservation and management plan².

Regarding GBRA projects he had hoped to complete before retirement…and didn’t…but which he considers important objectives for his successors, Bill said, “There are three major water supply projects in various stages of development whose completion I consider absolutely crucial to the future of the Basin.

First, the Authority is working on what we call the Mid-Basin Project to bring much-needed water to high growth areas along the I-35 and SH Toll 130 corridors; secondly, the Lower Basin Project – an off-channel reservoir – that would help supply water for municipalities, industry and agriculture in the lower basin region and relieve some downstream demands on Canyon Reservoir; and third, the Integrated Water and Power Project (IWPP), a drought-proof desalination water supply for Texas.” (See Side Bar, right)

The Mid-Basin Project, a conjunctive use water supply project would supply 65,000-plus ac/ft. of water to customers along the I-35 and SH Toll 130 corridors, an area that has no groundwater. This new supply would include sur face water, groundwater, and/or aquifer storage and recover (ASR) components to comprise a single supply. “To put the project into perspective,” West noted, “the firm yield of Canyon Reservoir is 90,000 ac/ft. of water. The Mid-Basin Project will be the first significant municipal water supply project in the region in several decades.” In February 2016, the GBRA Board approved a $31 million purchase of Texas Water Alliance Limited (TWA) from SJW Corporation in Gonzales and Caldwell counties. The TWA assets include groundwater leases on over 30,000 acres that will provide 15,000 ac/ft. of groundwater toward the Mid-Basin Project. In 2009, the GBRA applied for an off-channel surface water permit in Gonzales County that would add 50,000 ac/ft. of water. “As you can see,” West noted, “developing and bringing a water supply project to fruition takes significant time.”

GBRA’s Board authorized the Lower Basin Project – construction of an off-channel reservoir – to help supply water for municipalities, industry and agriculture in the lower basin region. According to West, “The goal is to construct reservoir storage in the lower basin area to ‘firm up’ GBRA’s existing interruptible water rights, a firm water supply of about 100,000 acre-feet. Also, the project should relieve some of the downstream demands on the fully committed Canyon Reservoir.”

GBRA’s Integrated Water Power Project (IWPP) is a strategy involving desalination of seawater along the Texas Gulf Coast as a new and inexhaustible source of freshwater for coastal residents and industry. The strategy includes a large-scale seawater desalination water treatment plant with a finished water production capacity of 100,000 acre feet per year (89.3 MGD) and a colocated power plant sized at an initial capacity of 500 megawatts (MW) for potential expansion to 3,000 MW. At full capacity the IWPP could supply enough water for over 350,000 homes and electricity for up to three million homes. GBRA is Continued on page 30 29

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Bill West Retires Continued from page 27 conducting a feasibility study, performed by MWH Global (MWH) and funded in part by the US Bureau of Reclamation (a Title XVI Grant), the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and the Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute at UTSA. The study – still in its early phase of development – will consider many factors: plant location, the most effective and efficient water conveyance system, fuel sources (the Eagle Ford Shale formation stretches across thirty Texas counties, ten of which are located in the study area), construction timelines, safe brine disposal and other environmental and economic issues. The study area includes thirty-one counties encompassing over 29,000 square miles, three major cities (Austin, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi), several ports, numerous small and mid-sized growing communities including the IH-35, SH 130, and IH10 corridors, and numerous industrial and agricultural water users. This study area includes all or part of twelve river basins that drain to the Gulf Coast, significantly, the Brazos, Colorado, Lavaca, Guadalupe, San Antonio, and the Nueces.

“We’re taking a regional approach to solving our water issues and have been moving this important IWPP study along so that relevant questions can be addressed for SWIFT and SWIRFT funding,” West said.

(Source: www.gbra.org press releases)

Bill received many prestigious awards during his long and distinguished career.

Aquifer. No surprise there since groundwater in Texas is governed by “the rule of capture”. Under this concept, whomever owns the land above can withdraw the groundwater below – even from beneath neighbors’ lands, unless prohibited by state statute or unless there is proven waste. On the other hand, Texas surface water is governed by the “prior appropriations” doctrine whereby the State holds surface water in trust for the benefit of all its citizens (subject to a state-granted right to use).

Not surprisingly, this treatment of surface and groundwater as separate legal frameworks 4 has exacerbated conflicting behaviors by Texas water users, particularly in times of drought. This separation ignores a fundamental hydrologic connection between surface and ground water. And it provides minimal if any incentive for their efficient conjunctive use – a legal and hydrological dichotomy that complicates planning for those with water management responsibilities in Texas (like Bill West); and in particular for the Edwards Aquifer and the Nueces, San Antonio, and Guadalupe Rivers because of the extensive amount of interaction between these systems.

Unusual and not uncommon reductions in springflow represent a significant hazard to the seven species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) that live in the Edwards Aquifer and its

The Edwards Aquifer Conflict

Among Bill’s many important labors after coming to the GBRA was his unrelenting effort to achieve a long-term solution to the so-called Edwards Aquifer Conflict. The South Central Texas Region L is a particularly complicated area in which to do water planning; most particularly because of the complex interrelationships between the region’s surface and groundwater resources. A fifty-yearold Texas water plan³ reminded the industry of the disconnection between ground and surface water law, noting: “The situation is paradoxical when one realizes the actual interrelationship of ground and surface water development for future State needs and the necessity for adequate groundwater supplies to meet future municipal and domestic requirements in certain areas.”

For years there was simply no limit to groundwater withdrawals from the Edwards 30

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springs 5. To protect them, the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) and four other local entities applied for an incidental take permit under the ESA, creating a 15-year Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) as part of the application process. In addition to his previously mentioned participation in the development of the Balcones Canyon Conservation Plan in Travis County for the issuance of an Endangered Species Act 10-A permit, Bill also played a key role in the final development and adoption of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan and final permit from the US Fish and Wildlife for the Edwards Aquifer.

habitat, and crane deaths that occurred during a year of extraordinary drought compels ESA liability”. After the Fifth Circuit denied a Petition for Rehearing, the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of the case in June 2016. The defendants prevailed.

According to West, “The Supreme Court’s denial of review allows TCEQ to do its job administering the State’s surface water resources and GBRA to continue its mission of environmental stewardship of the resources of the Guadalupe River Basin. This case boiled down to defending the state’s system of water rights and fending off federal intervention at a cost to ratepayers and taxpayers of more than $7 million,” West said. “We worked to challenge and dispel what we believed to be a seriously flawed chain of causation theory and an even more flawed methodology for counting whooping crane populations that allowed for the species to be counted as dead if they were missing in more than one aerial flyover.”

“We all should work on developing a meaningful plan to address the needs of the flock and work toward growing it to a sustainable level,” he added. ”A long-term project that could benefit both whooping cranes and citizens is the aforementioned Integrated Water Power Project to provide desalinated seawater from the Gulf of Mexico to constituents in the designated region.”

In February 2016, TAP and the GBRA, after years of litigation, announced their plan to collaborate on a white paper to include specific plans for constituent engagement and grant pursuits. The intent of the document, used to advocate particular positions or solutions to a problem, is to end an era of mistrust by providing forward motion on shared stewardship interests benefiting the Guadalupe River System and the endangered whooping crane.

Regarding the white paper announcement, West commented, “GBRA and TAP have many differences demonstrated by a bitter, long-running lawsuit. This collaboration represents a commitment [by both parties] to find viable solutions on the issues that affect the Guadalupe River system.”

“This is a difficult step for each of us,” noted Jim Blackburn, a TAP board member and former attorney of record for TAP. “We are used to fighting and distrusting one another. Now we are attempting to develop trust and a positive working relationship.”

The white paper is a stated commitment by both groups to ensure that stakeholders are able to

The Environmental Challenge…

Developing a Cooperative Effort

Another longstanding environmental challenge of Bill’s has been the ongoing conflict with The Aransas Project (TAP)6 primarily regarding the endangered whooping crane and freshwater flows into the San Antonio Bay. In March 2010, TAP, citing the Endangered Species Act, sued the TCEQ in federal district court alleging that mismanagement of the Guadalupe and San Antonio rivers had harmed the whooping cranes at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge causing multiple deaths of whooping cranes on the Texas coast. TAP’s intent was to bring a halt to water permitting on the Guadalupe and San Antonio rivers. The GBRA filed to join the case as intervener defendants, claiming that there was no evidence supporting the double-digit losses claimed by the plaintiffs.

In March 2013, a federal district judge ruled in favor of TAP. But in June 2014, a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel agreed with defendants that the plaintiff failed to prove its case, finding “Nowhere does the District Court explain why the remote connection between water licensing, decisions to draw river water by hundreds of users, whooping crane

Continued on psge 32

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Bill West Retires Continued from page 27 be involved in the process. Specific plans for constituent engagement and grant pursuits are being developed for the collaborative effort .

On a more personal note, Bill was asked how best to describe in a word his role both in the water industry and in his private life. He responded, “Public servant.” Further, if it was his to write, how would he describe his legacy in the water business?

“Diplomat.”

And how does Bill West define success?

“There are two types of people in this world – givers and takers”, he replied. “My idea of achieving success is to be a giver. I hope that’s how my contemporaries define me.” And in response to whether his original definition of success had changed over time as a result of life’s challenges and experiences, he answered, “No.” When questioned about how he spent leisure time away from years of stressful, pressure-packed positions, Bill replied, “The general manager’s position at GBRA definitely had its challenging moments, but I had a way of coping. Alexis and I live on a few acres between Seguin and San Marcos. This is where I find quiet time, a place where I deal with job-related stress while doing dusty, outdoor chores on my Kubota tractor.”

West responded to the traditional ‘plans for retirement’ question with his usual candor.”I plan not to make any major commitments for six months.

After that, between my “honey-do” and our bucket lists, I suspect Alexis and I will be come up with enough activities to occupy our time. We’ve put off so many things because of time constraints. Among future activities, I hope to do some hunting, fishing and spending more time with the grandchildren and their sports.

Water issues are becoming increasingly challenging in Texas. To counter the inevitable retirements of experienced industry leaders like Bill West, he offered his thoughts on how to attract more young men, and particularly, more young women into a male-dominated, highly technical business.

“Over the last ten years, the water industry has changed considerably both in the public agencies and the private engineering companies,” he replied.

“Female graduate engineers have become major contributors. They are very detail-oriented, and accordingly, make great project managers. For this reason, there are a growing number of women executives in our industry, a trend that will most definitely help us meet the many major challenges we face here in Texas…and not just in the water industry.”

Bill West has given his state and the water industry forty-six very productive years of dedicated service filled with many significant accomplishments.

For these reasons and for a life well-led, he is much admired by his family, friends and business colleagues.

The Texas Water Conservation Association thanks you, Bill, for being a part of our organization and for your many contributions and devotion to the Footnotes on page 34 water industry. 

Bill with Senator John Cornyn

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Guadalupe River at Guadalupe State Park

Guadalupe River Basin: If the Big Sky Guy asked you to concoct a near-perfect river complex, how could you improve on the Guadalupe, San Marcos, Blanco, San Antonio and Medina river system? With countless miles of clear, sparkling waters and cypress-lined banks in its upper reaches, this most famous river in Texas, the Guadalupe, draws visitors – fishermen, swimmers, boaters, and tubers – from all over the state. And canoeing, kayaking and rafting enthusiasts throughout the nation are familiar with the upper Guadalupe’s clear and sparkling waters. Fed by the Edwards Aquifer, the Guadalupe is one of the few major Texas streams to flow from its headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico entirely within state boundaries.

Guadalupe River: the Guadalupe runs from Kerr County to San Antonio Bay on the Gulf. It has several dams along its length, notably Canyon Dam 7, which forms Canyon Lake northwest of New Braunfels. The upper portion of the Guadalupe, formed by two main tributaries – its North and South Forks – is a relatively diminutive but swift stream with limestone banks, shaded by pecan and bald cypress trees. The section between Canyon Dam and New Braunfels is the most heavily used for recreation. The Guadalupe is joined by the Comal River in New Braunfels and the San Marcos River two miles west of Gonzales. The San Antonio River flows into it just north of Tivoli.

Ahead of the entry into the San Antonio Bay estuary, the Guadalupe forms a delta, splitting into two distributaries referred to respectively as the North and South parts. Both distributaries flow into the San Antonio Bay estuary at Guadalupe Bay.

Comal River: a tributary of the Guadalupe River, it is the shortest navigable river in Texas. It runs entirely within the city limits of New Braunfels in southeast Comal County. The Comal begins at Comal Springs and flows 2.5 miles until its junction with the Guadalupe.

San Marcos River: a tributary of the Guadalupe River that begins at San Marcos Springs, rising from the Edwards Aquifer into Spring Lake. It is joined by the Blanco River after four miles. The San Marcos joins the Guadalupe River near Gonzales after flowing 75 miles.

Blanco River: a tributary of the San Marcos River, this shallow stream – prone to flash floods after heavy rains – occasionally dips below ground in some areas. Its primary source is a series of springs in northern Kendall County. The river flows eastward 87 miles through Kendall, Blanco, and Hays counties, then takes a southerly turn and joins the San Marcos River.

San Antonio River: a tributary of the Guadalupe River that originates in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio 4 miles north of downtown. The 240-mile river follows a southeastern path crossing five counties (Bexar, Goliad, Karnes, Refugio and Wilson) before feeding into the Guadalupe River 10 miles from San Antonio Bay on the Gulf of Mexico.

Medina River: a tributary of the San Antonio River, its source is springs in the Edwards Plateau in Bandera County. After flowing 120 miles, It merges with the San Antonio River in southern Bexar County. Much of this course is owned and operated by the Bexar-MedianAtascosa Water District to provide irrigation services to farms and ranches.

Blanco River at Wimberley

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FOOTNOTES, Bill West article pg, 27-33

The fountain darter, the San Marcos gambusia (presumed extinct), the Texas blind salamander, the Comal Springs dryopid beetle, the Comal Springs riffle beetle, Peck’s Cave amphipod, and Texas wild rice.

6 TAP is an alliance of citizens, organizations, businesses and municipalities that promote responsible water management of the Guadalupe River Basin to ensure a freshwater flow from the Hill Country to the bays in support of eco systems that promote area fishing tourism and protect the winter habitat of endangered whooping cranes.

5

¹In 1970, The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) was formed to comply with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) requirements that coordinate to improve reliability of the bulk power grid. ERCOT manages the flow of electric power on the Texas Interconnection that supplies power to over 24 million Texas customers (85 % of the state’s electric load). ²After a prolonged drought, Bullock urged legislators in 1997 to develop a statewide water plan, Senate Bill 1, to improve the management, conservation, and protection of the state’s water supplies through regional water planning. This legislation increased the power of the Texas National Resources Conservation Commission to oversee water transfers, conservation, quality, and diversion efforts. Source: Handbook of Texas Online, Carolene English, “Bullock, Robert Douglas [Bob].” ³Texas Water Development Board. The Texas Water Plan, II-29, 1968.

4 Ronald A. Kaiser, Texas Water Resources Inst., Handbook of Texas Water Law: Problems & Needs 32 (1987).

In 1958 the USACE, in cooperation with the GBRA, began construction of a dam several miles upriver from New Braunfels. Upon completion in 1964, the Canyon Dam provided the first effective flood control for areas downstream. The lower Guadalupe begins at the outlet of Canyon Lake, near New Braunfels.

The (GBRA) has rights to the water in the Canyon Lake conservation pool. This water is used to operate small hydroelectric plants downstream from New Braunfels, and for municipal water supply, irrigation, and industrial uses. GBRA placed into service a hydroelectric facility at Canyon Dam in February 1989.

7

Hugh Wynn is a regular contributor to CONFLUENCE. After a successful career in oil and gas, he authored a number of novels, including West of the Cross Timbers, an acclaimed frontier/ western saga which recounts life in North Texas in the mid-19th century. Wynn is also the author of two series of Texas Frontier DIME NOVELS, an integral component of the SAVE WATER TEXAS “Learning From Our Past to Influence Our Future” water conservation educational program.

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FE D ERA L A F FA I RS

By J. Tom Ray, Lockwood, Andrews, Newnam, Inc., Chair, TWCA Federal Affairs Committee issues left behind by Congress to arise again during the Lame Duck.

House Passage of Water Resources Development Act In the final week before adjournment, the House of Representatives began debating its version of the WRDA bill on Tuesday and completed action yesterday by passing their version of the bill by a vote of 399 to 25. This follows action in the Senate on WRDA which was adopted by a vote of 94 to 3. The Senate version of WRDA already includes funding to assist Flint, Michigan as it struggles with its drinking water infrastructure. An amendment was offered on the House floor providing $170 million for Flint which was approved by a vote of 284-170. The expectation is that since relief for Flint is now a part of both the House and Senate WRDA bills that funding will find its way into a final version that will be negotiated in the coming weeks. The huge majorities in favor of WRDA in both Houses of Congress should create momentum to pass the bill in December.

The Future of a WRDA 2016 Much hard work lies ahead since the Senate version of WRDA, at 562 pages, is much longer and costlier than the 100+ pages of the House version.

The Senate version includes an entire title and Continued on page 36

Both the House and the Senate have now adjourned until November 14. Pending something unforeseen this means that Members will be able to devote full-time to campaigning for the November 8 election without having to be in Washington DC. But they didn’t leave town before a flurry of activity; here is a brief summary of what occurred in the last few days before Congress adjourned: Passage of Continuing Resolution Avoids Government Shut-down at Midnight on September 30th The Senate voted 72 to 26 and the House 342 to 85 to adopt an FY17 Continuing Resolution [CR] that will run through December 9th. The Continuing Resolution will continue the FY16 funding levels, decreased by ½ percent to fit under the budget cap. The Congress will come back into session on November 14th with most of its year-end work focused on a lame duck omnibus bill that should pass in mid-December. The target adjournment date of the 114th Congress is Friday, December 16. The CR includes $500 million to aid victims of flooding that struck earlier this summer in Louisiana, a hefty $1.1 billion to respond to the Zika virus, and full FY17 appropriations for military construction and for veteran benefits. It is entirely possible that additional relief dollars may be found for other issues during the lame duck. Bottom-line: expect the contentious 35 CON 3_5_17.pdf 35

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FEDERAL AFFAIRS

The FEMA proposal states that the FFRMS will only apply to “FEMA Federally Funded Projects,” defined as “actions where FEMA funds are used for new construction, substantial improvement, or to address substantial damage to structures or facilities.”

FEMA has stated that the new FFRMS will not apply to the “non-grant components” of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). However, post-disaster assistance for new construction or substantial improvement funded through FEMA assistance programs, including the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, will likely be required to comply with the FFRMS and build to the higher standard.

Continued from page 35

devoted to funding and programs related to the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. The cost of the Senate bill reached $10.6 billion while the House bill came in around $5.0 billion. The cost difference reflects the significant policy differences, notably the Senate version’s focus on drinking water projects. It is unusual for a traditional WRDA to include such provisions.

The positive news includes repeated pledges to return WRDA to a two-year cycle, and the reports that leadership on both sides of the aisle expressed confidence in being able to come to agreement on a final bill in the lame duck session.

A side-by-side comparison of the major provisions in the Senate and House versions is being compiled and will be reviewed by the TWCA Federal Affairs Committee. We anticipate joining with NWRA, National Waterways Conference, Association of California Water Agencies in compiling and reviewing the WRDA versions.

FEMA Proposed Rule Needs Critical Analysis and Comment The TWCA has had several updates on changes under Executive Order 13690 to the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS).

Recently, FEMA issued notice of proposed rulemaking to implement FFRMS in conformance with EO 13690.

For any new construction or for substantial rehabilitation to existing structures using FEMA funds, the rule will require structures to be built two to three feet higher than the 100-year floodplain. Other federal agencies, including the Corps of Engineers and HUD, are expected issue FFRMS implementing regulations in near future.

FEMA’s proposed rule is open for public comment until October 21, 2016.

Recognizing that the cost of elevating structures by two to three feet above the Base Flood Elevation can be and in most cases conceivable will be massive. The TWCA needs to carefully review and analyze this proposed rule. The TWCA Federal Affairs Committee will ask specialists that have followed the FFRMS situation will be asked to lay-out the details of the proposed Rule and identify any potential pitfalls. Based on a complete analysis, the TWCA should consider submitting comments by the October 21st deadline.

Continuing Resolution Approved By wide margins, 72-26 in the Senate and 342-85 in the House, the Congress approved a 10week funding bill to keep the federal government operating when the new fiscal year begins in October 1st, through December 9th. The CR will continue the FY16 funding levels, decreased by ½ percent to fit under the budget cap.

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The TWCA Federal Affairs Committee in conjunction with the 2017 Texas Water Day, scheduled for the first week in February, will prepare a “special edition” of our Priority Water Issues briefing paper to present TWCA positions on current federal water issues. We need your help. Please consider joining our Texas Water Day 2017 Steering Committee. More information will be presented at the Federal Affairs Committee meeting in October as well as in periodic emails and updates. 

With both chambers eager to get back out on the campaign trail, battles over other contentious issues were set aside for now, likely to re-emerge in a post-election session. The CR includes $1.1 billion in funding to respond to the Zika virus, $500 million in flood relief for Louisiana and other states, and full fiscal 2017 appropriations for military construction and veterans.

Big Changes at the USACE Changes in leadership have taken place throughout the US Army Corps of Engineers. Those of special interest to TWCA members include the following: • LTG Thomas P. Bostick, the 53rd Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, served his country for 38 years of service. He relinquished command to LTG Todd T. Semonite, who became the 54th Chief of Engineers.

• Steven L. Stockton, Director of Civil Works, will retire on August 5th, after more than 45 years of service, including 41 with the Corps. James Dalton, the former Chief of Engineering and Construction, assumed the role of Director of Civil Works on August 7th.

• Mark Mazzanti, who had been Chief of the Programs Integration Division at headquarters, has transferred to the Southwestern Division in Dallas to become the Division Programs Director.

• COL Christopher Hussin has replaced COL Richard Pratt as Commander of the Tulsa District.

Bigger Changes – Facing a New Congress and Administration The changes at the Corps are big, but bigger will be the approaching changes in Congress and the Executive Branch. From all I’ve read, all we know right now is that the future is murky. Even so, TWCA has a role. Our Texas Water Day is even more critical during quadrennial changes: it is the opportunity for TWCA to present its positions on priority water issues facing Texas and the nation.

USACE Change of Command Ceremony

LTG Todd T. Semonite

James Dalton

Tom Ray, of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, has followed national water issues for more than 20 years.

He can be reached at j-tray@lan-inc.com.

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Managing Resources or Government Overstep?

The Fine Line of Groundwater Regulation

By Dr. David Harkins and Josh Grimes, Carollo Engineers Texas is experiencing one of its wettest years on record, with very few drought conditions present throughout the State. Out west, however, California is reeling from a drought that compares to what Texas experienced in 2011. As seen during Texas’ worst drought years, passions flare when water is scarce.

Californians are currently on high alert, as they face both severe drought and new groundwater regulations.

California is often considered one of the most stringently regulated states. But from a groundwater management perspective, California groundwater users have not historically been subject to any statewide regulation. That all changed in 2014 when the California State Legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). This new legislation is sending shock waves across the state, especially in the San Joaquin Valley, also known as the “food basket of the world.” Agriculture is a multibillion dollar industry in California, and the San Joaquin Valley is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the nation despite receiving

less than 15 inches of rainfall per year on average.

Groundwater makes this possible. To say that agriculture and groundwater are important to the valley would be an understatement.

Texas—More than a Decade Ahead of California in Groundwater Regulation As we learn the details of SGMA and attend events throughout the state, there is a sense of déjà vu, not only from Texas HB1763, which established our state’s joint groundwater planning process, but also from people’s reaction to regulation of groundwater. Just like in Texas, SGMA attempts to maintain local control of groundwater by requiring local agencies to lead the way in groundwater management. Also just like in Texas, the public is extremely passionate about groundwater, and urban and rural areas are divided over the issue. Twenty years ago, rural Texans would tar and feather you just for mentioning the “M word” (meter). The same is true today in the central valley of California.

But if you step back, you see that Texas is more than a decade ahead of California when it comes to 38

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September 13, 2016 US Drought Monitor groundwater regulation. It appears Texas simply had to deal with it sooner due to drought and variable climate. However, California attitudes toward groundwater regulation are similar to those of Texans 10 to 15 years ago.

Of course, Texas has not figured everything out. Groundwater battles still exist with pending case law precedent. But in California, agencies are still fighting over management boundaries, bylaws, and who will facilitate the planning effort. The fact that many Texas Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs) have completed significant modeling work to determine their modeled available groundwater shows how far Texas has progressed. Texas is regulating groundwater based on sound science and real data. The Lone Star State is moving forward in a world that tends to turn fairly slowly, at least when it comes to groundwater regulation.

Sustainability and Undesired Results As expected, California also does things their own way, and the legislature put some real strength in SGMA. At first glance, California’s approach looks similar to Texas’ approach. But with a closer look, you’ll see one key difference: SGMA has a requirement to “achieve sustainability.” That is a tall order, and stakeholders have only 20 years to achieve it.

In California, the requirement to achieve sustainability means that agencies must implement a groundwater sustainability plan (GSP) by 2020 that ensures an aquifer is operated sustainably by 2040.

Texas legislation doesn’t specify this sustainability goal.

It requires local agencies to develop their own desired future conditions (DFCs) within their boundaries as part of the state’s joint planning process, and it

requires that DFCs do not affect neighboring agencies’ DFCs. Part of achieving sustainability, according to California’s legislation, is limiting “undesirable results.” This requires agencies to prevent, for example, chronic lowering of water levels, depletion of groundwater storage, and degradation of groundwater quality. It also requires agencies to address subsidence. Like in Texas, subsidence is a serious issue in California, especially in the San Joaquin Valley. NASA research suggests that parts of the central valley sank as many as 13 inches in eight months in the record drought of 2014. According to California’s Department of Water Resources, groundwater pumping is a major cause of this subsidence, so agencies almost certainly must find a way to address it.

Lessons Learned California has a long way to go in terms of groundwater regulation. SGMA has set them on a path to sustaining their aquifers, but much can be learned from the “water wars” in Texas over the last 20 years. Some of the hardest lessons learned in Texas are: 1. Data, data, data - the best way to build consensus among stakeholders is to establish sound science based on real data. Knowing what types of data are needed as early as possible is extremely important.

2. Do not ignore the politics - from establishing regulatory boundaries to building a groundwater model, people who can help build consensus among stakeholders will be a valuable asset to local agencies.

3. Plan for change - regulations will continually evolve, so regulatory agencies that don’t plan ahead will pay for these oversights in the long term.

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California and Texas Continued from page 39 Understanding what types of changes may be coming can help plan for those changes.

Considering the stakes, it is no surprise that California’s state legislature put serious teeth into SGMA, and it’s no surprise that reactions in California have been similar to those in Texas when it comes to groundwater regulation. So maybe Texas and California aren’t so different after all? Well, let’s not get carried away!  Dr. David K. Harkins is the Texas Water Resources Lead of Carollo Engineers in Austin, Texas. Dr. Harkins has over 18 years of experience in water resources and environmental engineering design and planning including studies dealing with water supply, water quality analysis and modeling, wastewater permitting, water availability modeling, water resources management, instream flow analysis, environmental flow analysis, bay and estuary evaluations, groundwater modeling and management planning. Dr. Harkins has been involved in a variety of civil and environmental projects across Texas. Contact David at dharkins@carollo.com or at 512.453.5383.

Josh Grimes, Josh Grimes has 11 years of groundwater resources experience, including ser ving as General Manager of a Texas GCD. He is a member of the TWCA Groundwater Committee and the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) Groundwater Committee, as well as a member of the ACWA Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) Best Management Practices Subcommittee. Contact Josh by email, jgrimes@carollo.com or by phone 512-453-5383.

Aerial view overlooking landscaping on April 4, 2015 in San Diego, California. Gov. Jerry Brown has demanded a 25 percent cut in urban water useage due to a severe drought affecting much of California.

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Emerging Case Law on Personal Emails Subject to Disclosure Under the Public Information Act

By Susan M. Maxwell The Texas Public Information Act (“PIA”) applies to public information of every “governmental body,” including all public entities within the executive and legislative branches of government at the state and local levels, thus including the governing bodies of the various types of water districts and special districts created under Texas law. TEX. GOV’T CODE § 552.003(1)(A). Because the underlying policy of the PIA is to provide the public with complete information about government affairs and the official acts of public officials and employees, the Legislature has directed that the PIA be construed liberally in favor of disclosure of requested information. TEX. GOV’T CODE § 552.001. As public officials and employees increasingly rely on electronic devices and cellular phones to conduct their official business, these individuals and their local governmental entities need to understand and comply with developing open records law. Several recent court decisions provide additional guidance on these PIA issues.

Last year, the Austin Court of Appeals issued a significant opinion regarding the scope of “public information,” based on a newspaper’s requests for correspondence from both an official’s (Bexar County Commissioner) government email account and his personal email accounts, to the extent the correspondence related to his official capacity as either county commissioner or as a member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, on whose board

he served on behalf of the County. Rejecting the commissioner’s claims under the PIA and under common law privacy, the court held that “officialcapacity emails related to official County business are necessarily information held in connection with the transaction of official business, and this information is held for the County, which owns it.” Adkisson v.

Paxton, 459 S.W.3d 761, 775 (Tex. App. – Austin 2015, no pet.). Thus, regardless of the account or device through which the emails were transmitted, they are public information under the PIA. The County (not the commissioner) was also held liable for attorney’s fees to the Attorney General and to the requestor. Adkisson, 459 S.W.3d at 781.

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Public Information Act

Provided Courtesy of TWCA Risk Management Fund

of public information subject to disclosure, specifically including “any electronic communication created, transmitted, received, or maintained on any device if the communication is in connection with the transaction of official business.” TEX. GOV’T CODE § 552.002(a-2). This scope of public information extends not only to officers and employees of the governmental body, but also to “a person or entity performing official business or a governmental function on behalf of a governmental body,” if the information pertains to official business of the governmental body. TEX. GOV’T CODE § 552.002(a1); § 552.003(2-a). To date, there are limited court cases interpreting the amended PIA definitions.

Nonetheless, these recent developments in open records law should encourage local governmental entities to review their current policies and practices, and their oversight of those, including with respect to use of personal email accounts and devices and records collection and retention.

Continued from page 41

In April 2016, the same court addressed for the first time a distinct issue relating to one of the exceptions from disclosure. Specifically, the court considered whether the personal email addresses of city officials (the mayor and council members of Austin) could be redacted from disclosed documents, under the exception for the “email address of a member of the public,” unless that person consents to its release. TEX. GOV’T CODE § 552.137(a). Although the Attorney General had previously concluded that the exception applied, the court held that the PIA in this context plainly distinguished “members of the public” from those persons who are part of the governmental body that was communicated with.

Thus, the city officials’ personal email addresses were subject to disclosure. Austin Bulldog v. Leffingwell, 490 S.W.3d 240, 249-50 (Tex. App. – Austin 2016, no pet.).

Both of those court decisions were based on a prior version of PIA provisions defining the scope of public information, which was later amended by the Legislature in 2013. The amended definition, however, even more clearly outlines a broad scope

Susan M. Maxwell is a par tner at Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP in Austin, where she practices primarily in water law, including representation of cities, water districts, river authorities, and other local government entities and private parties in litigation, permitting, and other administrative proceedings, and transactional work involving surface water and groundwater rights. Susan currently serves as the Secretary of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

She received an Honors B.A. degree in Political Science from Marquette University, followed by her J.D. with Honors from The University of Texas School of Law and an M.P.Aff. degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin.

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TWCA Legislative News Service Now is the time to sign up for TWCA’s Legislative News Service for the Regular Session of the 85th Texas Legislature, which convenes on January 10, 2017. Prefiling of bills begins on November 14, 2016, so tracking will begin soon.

TWCA’s Legislative News provides: n Analysis of bills of significant interest to TWCA members; n R egular tracking and reporting on the status of those bills as they move through the legislative process; and n Notice of committee hearings on significant bills.

Subscribers are updated with regular tracking reports via email, and can always get the latest information by logging on to our website (login information will be emailed at a later date). The two-year service starts soon and runs through the next interim, so sign up today! ~ TWCA water district members who subscribe to the Legislative News may also be eligible for a significant discount from TELICON, the Texas Legislative Service’s extensive online database for the Texas Legislature.

SUBSCRIPTION FORM AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE: WWW.TWCA.ORG OR CALL DEAN ROBBINS AT (512) 472-7216 43

How long do symptoms last?

Zika is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week. People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. For this reason, many people might not realize they have been infected. Symptoms of Zika are similar to other viruses spread through mosquito bites, like dengue and chikungunya.

How soon should you be tested?

Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for about a week. See your doctor or other healthcare provider if you develop symptoms and you live in or have recently traveled to an area with Zika. Your doctor or other healthcare provider may order blood tests to look for Zika or other similar viruses like dengue or chikungunya. Once a person has been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections.

UPDATE According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Zika virus is now being transmitted by native mosquitos primarily in the Miami, Florida area. It is probably only a matter of time before the native mosquito population is able to spread the disease across the southern tier of the United States. In 80% of adult cases there are no discernible symptoms. However, the common symptoms are shown below: Symptoms Many people infected with Zika virus won’t have symptoms or will only have mild symptoms.

The most common symptoms of Zika are • Fever • Rash • Joint pain • Conjunctivitis (red eyes) Other symptoms include: • Muscle pain • Headache

When to see a doctor or healthcare provider See your doctor or other healthcare provider if you have the symptoms described above and have visited an area with Zika. This is especially important if you are pregnant. Be sure to tell your doctor or other healthcare provider where you traveled.

If you think you have Zika • See your doctor or other healthcare provider for a diagnosis.

• Learn what you can do for treatment.

• Learn how you can protect others if you have Zika.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website:

https://www.cdc.gov/zika/

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Since Zika is transmissible through sexual relations condoms should be used to prevent giving the disease to a partner. Zika prevention kits being distributed in areas of Miami where the disease is now endemic include condoms, DEET based insect repellent, a pyrethrin application that kills mosquitoes on contact and a mosquito net to hang over your bed.

Despite the seeming mildness of Zika symptoms, a very recent medical study about the virus in mice has determined that the virus will lodge in the brain and possibly affect areas of the brain associated with learning and memory. Specifically, the study determined that the virus may infect certain brain cells that” help replace lost or damaged neurons throughout adulthood.” The cells affected are called “neural progenitor” cells that function as the stem cells of the brain. If the virus damages these cells it could affect the brain’s ability to establish or repair neuronal pathways that contribute to memory retention or the formation of new memories. According to the study, deficits in the brain’s “ability to generate new

neurons may be associated with cognitive decline and neuropathological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.” (Zika Infection may Affect Adult Brain Cells, medicalexpress.com, August 18, 2016) 

Courtesy of TWCA Risk Management Fund

TWCA Gratefully Acknowledges these CONFLUENCE Sponsors for making this publication available to our members.

PLATINUM

GOLD, CONTINUED Northeast Texas Municipal Water District San Jacinto River Authority SWCA Environmental Consultants

Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP Halff Associates, Inc. HDR Engineering, Inc. Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend, P. C. McCall, Parkhurst & Horton L.L.P. Sabine River Authority of Texas Trinity River Authority of Texas

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Courtesy of TWCA Risk Management Fund

Opioid Addiction in Workers’ Compensation Claims Opioid addiction is a significant problem in American society and in workers’ compensation. According to recent estimates, there are 2.5 million people with opioid addiction in the U.S. Approximately 20 percent of this population is addicted to illicit opioids, such as heroin, and the other 80 percent to prescription opioids, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone, hydromorphone and codeine.

Workers’ compensation, statistics indicate that as many as 500,000 claimants are receiving treatment for chronic pain, with the majority of them using opioids.

A great deal of attention and effort has been focused on addressing this epidemic and recent reports, including the 2015 Workers’ Compensation Drug Trends Report by Optus, a pharmacy benefit management company, indicate that there has been a slight decline in the use of and prescriptions for opioid analgesics.

Concern for prescription costs and management is also something the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) factored into its efforts and reforms aimed at reducing workers’ compensation costs. The Closed Formulary, fully implemented in 2013, has had a significant impact both on the type of prescriptions written for medications and the costs of those drugs.The Formulary allows for FDA approved medications but requires preauthorization for those drugs found on the “N” Drug list

produced by the Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) and adopted by the TDI-DWC. Most prescribed opioids are on the “N” list. The most recent report from the Texas Department of Insurance indicates up to an 83% reduction in the prescription of “N” drugs.

The problem of opioid use and abuse as well as treatment of addiction are extremely complex and have many nuances related to underlying medical conditions, social and employment factors. In this article, however, we will narrow our focus and share some information about a new opioid implant that has received a significant amount of attention in the media as a possible way to treat opioid addiction. We will also explain the team approach the Fund uses for workers’ compensation claimants who get trapped in an opioid addiction cycle and describe the basics of escaping from opioid addiction.

Some forms of the opioid, buprenorphine are included in the Closed Formulary and are approved for treating both pain and addiction. The new implant has 46

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intentional misuse. Like other opioid treatments, buprenorphine itself is additive.

• It terms of cost, the buprenorphine implant is priced like an injectable drug, which is projected to be between $1000 to $1500 a month. That is much more expensive than other generic forms of buprenorphine.

• There are also risks and costs associated with procedures involving insertion and removal of the implants. Physician monitoring, no less than oncemonthly, is recommended.

Despite its drawbacks, it may provide an effective alternative for treatment when further use and testing show its efficacy and the advantages of the implant delivery of small continuous doses to help patients escape from opioid addiction.

The Fund’s approach to managing opioid overuse or abuse The priority review status for the buprenorphine implant clearly reflects the FDA’s call -- and to a greater extent, society’s call -- for more effective opioid dependence treatment. The enthusiasm with which the implant is being greeted by the medical community is an indicator of how much the Workers’ Compensation industry wants to find a solution. But because the problem of opioid addiction is complicated, any truly effective solution can’t be one-dimensiona or simply rely on a purely pharmaceutical approach.

For some time, the Fund has taken a multipronged approach to identifying and managing opioid overuse and abuse. Workers’ compensation claims adjusters start by identifying instances where the problem may exist using data from a variety of sources in the claim file including utilization review, bill review, the medical case manager, the pharmacy benefit manager and the employer.

Once an affected claimant is identified, the next step is to reach out to the prescribing physician to make him or her aware of the situation because a single provider may not have the same comprehensive view of what is happening as the claims team. Discussion with the physician can encompass duration of medication, other medications the injured worker is taking and the existence of narcotic prescriptions from other physicians who may be treating the injured worker.

Putting all the pieces together on the claim can have a positive impact.

If needed, the adjuster can take a more aggressive approach and have a physician from the

not yet been included but it may be in the future given the notice is it receiving. Should this new treatment be included as an “N” drug in the formulary, both the medication and the implant itself would require preauthorization. Buprenorphine is a drug that helps suppress the body’s need for opioids by acting first as any other opioid to reduce pain. In addition, it is longer lasting so users may be able to skip a dosage. Another advantage to buprenorphine is that it has a “ceiling effect” at which point higher doses have no additional effect. The ceiling effect reduces the potential for overdose and the longer lasting effect helps reduce the symptoms of withdrawal. Together with counseling and behavioral therapy the medication may be effective in treating addiction to other forms of opioids like oxycontin or hydrocodone.

BUPRENORPHINE IMPLANT In May 2016, the pharmaceutical companies that developed the implant (Probuphine) received approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the maintenance treatment of opioid addiction.

While the first buprenorphine formulation was approved by FDA for treatment of opioid dependence more than a decade ago and has been available in injectable, oral tablet, sublingual, and patch delivery systems, this is the first buprenorphine implant approved. It should be noted that the most forms of buprenorphine carry the FDA mandated warnings about the serious risks of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose and death.

While some of the articles in the trade press hail the implant as a potential solution in the fight against opioid addiction, a few points must be emphasized: • The clinical studies for the implant form of buprenorphine only prove non-inferiority – i.e., that this this form of the drug is not less effective than the existing sublingual form of buprenorphine.

• The buprenorphine implant requires the patient to be on specific dosages of an existing form of buprenorphine and is specifically indicated for patients who are already stable on low doses of the sublingual form of the medication.

• The implant does not allow tapering since dosage flow is fixed • The implant lasts six months and raises the question of what to do after the six month period.

The buprenorphine implant contains a significant amount of medications that can cause accidental exposure or create an opportunity for

Continued on page 48 47

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Opioid Addiction

A typical progression of the weaning or tapering process is a medically supervised progression of reducing dosage. The first reduction is usually between 10 and 25% of the daily dose. This reduction may last up to ten days before the next 25% cut is made. As dosage gets smaller, the rate of reduction may slow depending on the patient’s tolerance for the treatment. Both pain and depression may re-appear since they were both suppressed by the much higher dosages of opioid. The substitution of anti-depressants and an NSAID type pain reliever may be needed. The tapering process should only be attempted with close medical supervision. 

Continued from page 47 managed care team who is experienced in industrial pain management, alternative treatment options and well-versed in managing the dialog with the treating physicians conduct a peer-to-peer discussion with the claimant’s treating physician.Together the team members with the claimant’s medical provider can develop a plan to reduce dependence on the opioid for pain management.

To ensure that the use of opioids is managed in accordance with the agreed-upon plans, the claims adjuster can also assign a nurse case manager to follow up as needed with all the involved parties.

The goal of the claims team’s involvement is first to help the injured employee recover fully and return to work. The process of weaning someone who is addicted to opioids because of the pain initially caused by an on the job injury is an important part of recovery and return to employment. The use of an implantable buprenorphine could help in a process where the physician helps the employee gradually reduce their intake of opioids.

Sources: “Buprenorphine” May 2016, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration web site article, York Perspectives, “A New Way to Treat Opioid Addiction?” by Dr. Joyce Ho, CompPartners, Lea Eslava-Kim, PharmD, Monthly Prescribing Reference, “Sustained Opioid Abstinence Seen with Buprenorphine Implant,” June 16, 2016 web site article.

PET scan showing available opiate receptors at various doses. PET scans- mu receptors- Effects of Buprenorphine Maintenance Dose on mu-Opioid Receptor Availability, Plasma Concentrations, and Antagonist Blockade in Heroin-Dependent Volunteers - 2003 - www.nature.com 48 CON 3_5_17.pdf 48

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FUTURE TWCA MEETINGS The 2017 TWCA Annual Convention will be held March 1-3, 2017 at the Sheraton Austin Hotel in downtown Austin, Texas.

The 2017 TWCA Mid-Year Conference will be held June 14-16, 2017 at the Moody Gardens Hotel in Galveston, Texas.

Check online for additional information www.TWCA.org 49 CON 3_5_17.pdf 49

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TWCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2016 – 2017 PHIL KELLEY President

IRRIGATION

JOHN W. GRANT Immediate Past President

SONNY HINOJOSA, San Juan – 2017 (EC) DAVID MONTAGNE, Orange – 2017 GLENN JARVIS, McAllen – 2018 (Chair) STEVE WALTHOUR, Dumas – 2018 KYLE MILLER, Wichita Falls – 2019 TITO NIETO, Los Fresnos – 2019 TROY ALLEN, Edcouch – 2019

DRAINAGE DISTRICT

MUNICIPAL

MICHAEL J. BOOTH President-Elect

ALAN MOORE, Harlingen – 2017 CHRIS GALLION, Clute – 2017 ANDRE’ McDONALD, Sugarland-2018 J.L. ROSE, Brookshire – 2018 KIM CARROLL, Beaumont – 2019 NEIL FORD, Orange – 2019 (EC) MIKE YOST, Pearland – 2019 (Chair)

GENERAL & ENVIRONMENTAL

FRED ARCE, San Antonio – 2017 WAYNE OWEN, Fort Worth – 2017(EC) HOPE WELLS, San Antonio – 2018 (Chair) FIONA ALLEN, Arlington – 2018 JUN CHANG, Houston – 2019 HEATHER COOKE, Austin – 2019 DENIS QUALLS, Dallas – 2019

DAVID HARKINS, Austin – 2017 TIMOTHY BROWN, Austin -2017 (Chair) CAROLYN AHRENS, Austin -- 2018 ED SHACKELFORD, The Woodlands2018 ROBERT M. JOHNSON, Dallas – 2019 TOM RAY, Waco – 2019 MARTIN ROCHELLE, Austin -- 2019 (EC)

NAVIGATION & FLOOD CONTROL

GROUNDWATER

RIVER AUTHORITIES

HARVEY EVERHEART, Lamesa – 2017 JOHN SEIFERT, Houston – 2017 BRIAN SLEDGE, Austin – 2018 KATHY T. JONES, Conroe – 2018 (EC) DREW SATTERWHITE, Denison – 2019 JOE B. COOPER, Stephenville – 2019 JIM CONKWRIGHT, Lubbock -- 2019 (Chair)

INDUSTRIAL

MOLLY CAGLE, Austin – 2017 RICKY CLIFTON, Houston – 2017 GARY GIBBS, Austin – 2018 GLENN LORD, Freeport – 2018 (EC) SARA TAYS, Austin – 2019 JAMES KOWIS, Austin – 2019 (Chair) JIMMIE SCHINDEWOLF, Houston – 2019 LEROY GOODSON, GENERAL MANAGER EMERITUS

FRANK BROGAN, Corpus Christi –2017 JERRY NEWELL, Houston – 2017 (EC) PATRICK BRZOZOWSKI, Edna – 2018 LYN CLANCY, Austin – 2018 (Chair) TOM GOOCH, Fort Worth – 2019 DOUG CAROOM, Austin – 2019 MARY BETH STENGLER, Anahuac – 2019 JACE HOUSTON, Conroe - 2017 PHIL WILSON, Austin - 2017 KENT SATTERWHITE, Sanford -2018 COLE WALKER, Big Spring - 2018 KEVIN WARD, Arlington – 2019 (Chair) WALT SEARS, Hughes Springs – 2019 (EC) SCOTT HALL, Beaumont – 2019

UTILITY DISTRICTS CHRISTOPHER WINGERT, Abilene – 2017 DAVID WEIDMAN, Mount Vernon 2017 JOHN CHISHOLM, San Antonio – 2018 (Chair) DARRELL D. GRUBBS, Mt. Pleasant – 2018 DONNA HOWE, Austin – 2019 MICHAEL F. THUSS, San Antonio – 2019 (EC) KELLEY HOLCOMB, Lufkin – 2019

PAST TWCA PRESIDENTS *GUY C. JACKSON, Kerrville *A.F. MITCHELL, Dallas *MAX STARCKE, Austin *JOHN SIMMONS, San Antonio *JOSIAH WHEAT, Woodville *BEEMAN FISHER, Fort Worth *J.W. BUCHANAN, Dumas *HENRY GRASER, Dallas *WALTER WELLS, Waco *HOWARD DREW, Fort Worth FRANKLIN B. MOON, Houston *CARL RIEHN, Wylie JOHN H. SPECHT, Pocatello, ID *OURY SELIG, Galveston R.H. “BOB” PARKER, Houston FRED N. PFEIFFER, San Antonio *A. WAYNE WYATT, Lubbock SAM F. COLLINS, Newton RONALD J. NEIGHBORS,LaGrange *DUNCAN ELLISON, Lubbock JAMES P. MURRAY, Angleton DANNY F. VANCE, Arlington OWEN F. IVIE, Granbury *CARSON H. HOGE, Waco ROBERT LEE JOHNSON, Dallas ROBERT J. HUSTON, Austin *RICHARD S. BOWERS, Burnet CON MIMS, Uvalde ALAN H. PLUMMER, JR., Fort Worth JAMES M. OLIVER, Fort Worth ROBERT WAGNER, Crystal City *JAMES R. NICHOLS, Fort Worth A.T. “TOMMY” HEBERT, JR., Beaumont W.E. “BILL” WEST JR., Seguin C.E. WILLIAMS, White Deer *JAMES R. ADAMS, Conroe WAYNE HALBERT, Harlingen ROBERT H. LLOYD, Austin JOSEPH J. BEAL, Bastrop PEGGY W. GLASS, Austin GREGORY E. ROTHE, Hondo JOHN E. BURKE, Bastrop JERRY L. CLARK, Buna M. JEFF TAYLOR, Houston SONIA LAMBERT, San Benito JAMES M. PARKS, Wylie LUNA BUCKNER, Hondo PHILLIP J. FORD, Waco ROBERT J. BRANDES, Austin JOHN W. GRANT, Big Spring *Deceased

With Sincere Appreciation to Our Generous 2016 Fall Conference Sponsors PLATINUM SPONSORS

Thursday Evening Reception Sponsor

Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP Brownsville Public Utilities Board Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend, P.C. North Harris County Regional Water Authority North Texas Municipal Water District Sabine River Authority Tarrant Regional Water District Trinity River Authority of Texas GOLD SPONSORS

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For sponsoring the Coffee Breaks

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Lavaca-Navidad River Authority NewGen Strategies & Solutions, LLC San Antonio Water System SWCA Environmental Consultants Vinson & Elkins, LLP SILVER SPONSORS

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Golf Hole Sponsor * As of printing

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