Dear Legislator:
Lake Travis is the single greatest economic driver to the Austin area. Water is essential to our life and our growing population. These appear to be in direct conflict with each other.
We hope you will find a way to protect our river and lake levels while quenching the thirst of our growing population.
Conservation of what we use must come first. We urge you to uphold and strengthen the Texas Water Development Board's goal of 140 gallons per person per day (GPCD) for all Texas cities. Provide a way for cities to put in a reuse infrastructure before they are allowed more water. (Every drop of water taken should be used and used again.) Support meaningful education for both retail providers as well as water users, like myself.
Water use planning should be flexible and easily changed. Changes are happening faster than every 5 years. Ground Water Management Areas and Regional Planning Groups should be required to find the best source of water instead of the retail providers making that decision. More attention needs to be paid to desalination.
Conjunctive use of water should be a requirement of retail providers serving over 5000 customers. No city should be allowed to rely on a single source of water! That practice puts my water and my life in jeopardy.
Inter-basin transfers should forever remain junior. The Legislature should never permanently allow water to leave one river basin for another one. When water is plentiful, sharing is great. In drought conditions, water should remain in the basin of origin. All water removed from a basin should be replaced drop for drop.
State Agencies cannot lobby. Why can River Authorities?
All counties should be in Ground Water Conservation Districts. Texas is the only western state with the Rule of Capture. Why should one county be allowed to water-grab leaving others with low supplies? This highly politicized ownership of water rights needs to end! This puts Texas back in the "Wild West"!
The "must sell" policy and retail sales of LCRA need review.
Water belongs to the State of Texas. It is time the State takes back its water!
Thank you for representing me and my friends and family. Please make my water an issue of the 2009 Legislative Session.
Sincerely,
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