May 30—Continued county growth spurs increased demands for water and an attentive need for conservation and new thinking, Prairielands Groundwater Conservation District General Manager Kathy Turner said.

“We need to put people on notice that the availability of groundwater is not unlimited, that we are facing finite resources on that,” Turner said. “This is to wake up users that this is very serious.”

Turner delivered Prairieland’s annual report during Tuesday’s meeting of the Johnson County Commissioners Court.

The district serves several purposes.

“The mission is to develop rules to provide protection to existing wells, prevent waste, promote conservation, provide a framework that will allow availability and accessibility of groundwater for future generations, protect the quality of the groundwater in the recharge zone of the aquifer, ensure that the residents of Ellis, Hill, Johnson, and Somervell Counties maintain local control over their groundwater, respect and protect the property rights of landowners in groundwater, and operate the District in a fair and equitable manner for all residents of the District,” according to Prairieland’s website.

Last year saw the installation of 328 new wells in the district with more than 50% being installed in Johnson County, Turner said.

Those include domestic wells as well as wells for municipal and public water supplies and oil and gas wells.

Demand for public water and water for industry and manufacturing increased while domestic well use decreased somewhat last year.

“That’s due to the drought not being as severe last year as it was in 2022,” Turner said. “Which is kind of surprising given all the 100 degree days we had, but early rain last year helped with demand.”

That said, ongoing growth in Johnson and other counties continues to drive the demand for water.

Prairielands employees have taken several measures in that regard including installation of the district’s first monitoring well with a second planned and working with platting entities to review groundwater availability certification guidelines.

“Senate Bill 2440, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2023, requires counties and cities to implement requirements on groundwater availability certifications and, through our office, we’re happy to provide that service once it’s submitted so that you all will have some reassurance that the information provided is adequate and meets the standard of law,” Turner said.

Prairielands officials continue to work with officials from other groundwater districts to monitor and seek better ways to maintain aquifers, she said.

The district also updated its management plan last year, which they forwarded to regional water providers throughout the district, such as the Johnson County Special Utilities District.

“It is of dire need that these entities start looking at bringing in additional sources of water, something JCSUD is doing,” Turner said. “We’re encouraging that sooner than later because these new developments are turning to groundwater and wanting amounts in excess of the permitted allocations.”

Commissioner Larry Woolley asked about well spacing. Commissioners several years ago prohibited installation of wells on properties of less than 2 acres.

Woolley inquired into the likelihood of having to expand that minimum acreage requirement in the future.

“That question comes up often,” Turner said. “When we first looked at the 2-acre minimum I think that was the bare minimum in looking at how do we get the public to buy in.

“But. as we see growth getting more expansive people are asking us when we’re going to change that. So I think that will be a topic fairly soon.”

Woolley asked too about testing of PFAS chemicals in wells. PFAS chemicals, also known as per-and polyflouroalkyl substances. Recent testing and investigation uncovered the presence of PFAS chemicals and other biolsolids in groundwater and other water sources near Grandview.

Such chemicals are manmade and in many cases did not exist until recent years. Found in numerous household products and items, they have been tied to cancer and other ailments. Counties lack authority to prohibit the land application of biosolids and PFAS chemicals. That said, commissioners recently passed a resolution calling upon Fort Worth, fertilizer and other companies to cease land application of such chemicals, derived from sewage waste, in Johnson County combined with a call to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to better monitor and/or restrict such activities.

Commissioners also recently filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency to better monitor and update guidelines concerning such chemicals.

PFAS chemicals have been a big topic of late especially since Johnson County issued a report of their presence and harmful characteristics.

“We’ve fielded several calls on how to test for them and what filtration systems are available,” Turner said. “People are worried about it. Unfortunately, I think TCEQ has dropped the ball on their role.”

A sentiment Johnson County commissioners have voiced for months.

“Can you say that a little louder?” Woolley said.

Turner obliged.

“I’ll be brave,” Turner said. “I’ll tell that to them to their face right now. I’ve had some conversations with them. They want to say that falls back on the groundwater districts in a way.

“But our role is not that. It’s that we look at well completion and standards and, if they have met all that, well, the contamination is occurring through different means deeper down so we have to look at all that. In [TCEQ] just pointing to someone else they have failed us significantly on that.”

The EPA, Turner said, finally added some perimeters on drinking water but not, so far, TCEQ.

Several property owners in Johnson County and the Prairielands’ district have since had there water tested with some making the results public and others not, Turner said.

“The problem is some fear if they want to sell their properties,” Turner said.

Woolley told Turner that several other counties are considering joining Johnson County’s lawsuit against the EPA and added that Prairielands and other groundwater conservation districts may want to consider doing the same.