Stakeholders in the Lampasas watershed district gave their resounding approval of the Lampasas River Watershed Protection Plan at a meeting hosted Thursday by Texas A&M AgriLife Research. About 15 stakeholders attended the meeting to discuss details of the plan, which was released in January and open for review and comments.

Although a quorum of the steering committee was not present, the group decided to move forward to explore outreach programs and funding opportunities, said Lisa Prcin, Texas AgriLife research associate at the Blackland Research & Extension Center in Temple.

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Clearwater Underground Water Conservation District General Manager, Dirk Aaron, is concerned about the Trinity Aquifer and the considerable drawdown being experienced in three significant regions of Bell County. Those rural areas that count on the Middle (Hensell) Trinity Aquifer as their sole source of household water are the River Ridge Ranch Development, Hidden Springs Development, and the Stillman Valley Community that includes parts of Youngsport.

District staff completed the quarterly static water level measurements of monitor wells this past month and has found some very disturbing facts relative to the Trinity Aquifer. Aaron said, “Couple these disturbing drawdowns of the Trinity Aquifer and the fact that we are moving into the driest season of the year, confirms the need for rural well owners to take action and stop their excessive use of groundwater for extreme landscapes. Keep in mind the Trinity Aquifer does not have a recharge zone that could quickly replenish the aquifer and that area of recharge is farther to the west and northwest of Bell County than most people realize. We know most regions of Texas, because of the epic drought, have not received enough rainfall in the last three years to replenish the aquifer. When adequate rainfall returns, it will be years before that rainfall makes its way to the Middle Trinity Aquifer. Currently, Clearwater has registered over 1946 domestic wells in the Trinity Aquifer, and a majority of these wells are the sole source water for most parts of West and Southwest portions of Bell County.

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