save the water

[MACVSOG]

just a water thought. one of my places is probably the largest intact in my local area. all 400+ acre ranches surrounding me have been sold and divided into 5,10, a few to 25 acres. houses going up everywhere. can't get down the road for the house builders. what will happen to water when everyone drills a well? the water table may be unreachable. water is already a scarce commodity and drilling a well, if feasible, is quite expensive.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

It all depends on the geology of your area. Would be a good question for a local geologist.

In my area I have a well that is 75 feet from the shore of the largest body of fresh water on the planet, yet the well is 300' deep to hit water. The geologist told us they have done some sort of isotope testing and the water we draw from wells within spitting distance of the lake originates from an aquifer over 75 miles away in the opposite direction.

Underground water veins are a strange beast.

 

[RocDoc]

As Chevy stated, it all depends on your location. Different aquifers in Texas have correspondingly wide ranges of attributes (depth, permeability, total thickness, uniformity). I have a few degrees in Geology, and had to study the local aquifer to determine the depth to drill a recent well.

 

[gman4691]

Additionally, the groundwater chemistry changes with retention time in the aquifer…and groundwater chemistry variations can occur based on the strata through which the water is traveling. Chemistry, and therefore groundwater quality, can be impacted (sometimes significantly) by over pumping…as can the depth to usable water…pumping the water level down to below the top of the water-bearing interval can also decrease the permeability of the water-bearing zone. What part of Texas are you located in? Do you know which aquifer is being tapped for use in your area?

 

[4hfarms]

When we built our house in Florida 20 years ago, the well was 150ft. Not great water but it was ok for everything but the taste. So we drank jugs. We were in a neighborhood of about 400 houses. We moved 12 years later and the water quality decreased so much in that time. We replaced everyrhing on the water softener multiple times. Iron was more than our sofener could handle by the time we moved. Somewhere about 800 homes then. There are about 1500 houses there now.

Yes, you are correct. More homes = less water.

 

[MACVSOG]

Do you know which aquifer is being tapped for use in your area?

probably, trinity

 

[Brute 23]

I see these water conservation boards always pushing "save the water" to us in the rural areas. Wait a minute... our usage per acre owned is minimal. Go talk to these people in the cities who measure their lots in Sq ft about their water usage per acre.

 

[bird dog]

The big usage fora lot of urban housing is lawn watering and swimming pools. Simply getting out of the "must have a green lawn" mindset would go a long way with our water issues.

 

[RocDoc]

Where is your property located? The Trinity is quite variable....and has already seen quite alot of drawdown, especially near the Waco metro area.

 

[greybeard]

The big usage fora lot of urban housing is lawn watering and swimming pools. Simply getting out of the "must have a green lawn" mindset would go a long way with our water issues.

+ corporate/industrial drinking quality water that is used for production purposes. Houston and Corpus Christi municipal water's biggest customers are industry. Oil/gas/plastics and in the case of Corpus, that heavy industry uses way more drinking quality water than the homeowners or small business.
(Most people on rural well water actually have no idea how much water they use per month. They don't need to and it's not metered (and I'm NOT in favor of farm water EVER being metered) so they simply don't know and rarely give it any thought. The closest approximation of their water use might be if their electric bill went up or if they notice their well pump ran more than usual)

NOT counting lawn or swimming pool use, I can tell you that I use approx 5000gal/ month-just my wife and myself for purely household needs..kitchen/laundry/bathroom. I did ONCE, get a bill for 30,000 gal/mo when I had a leak underground in my lawn sprinkler system. After decades of living off private well water, it was a big shock to get a water bill after moving to town.

They bill you for the water you use, metered coming on to the property. They also bill you a certain amt/gal for "Reclamation'...... meaning treatment of water that goes out the sewer pipes, but they do not take into consideration, that any water used in lawn, flower beds, or swimming pool will never ever go back to the water treatment plant. This part, is about 1/3 the total bill.

 

[greybeard]

Where is your property located? The Trinity is quite variable....and has already seen quite alot of drawdown, especially near the Waco metro area.

Temple and Killeen/Cove etc use some from Trinity aquifer but they get most from the lake named for the house that never moves and Lake Belton. All of which is part of Upper Colorado River Authority.

 

[MACVSOG]

"various parts of texas"
five places in four counties. san saba, llano, hamilton. water is supplied by windmills, stock tanks, and one has solar pump backup (less windy). during the recent (ongoing) drought was difficult to have water for all. required judicious moving (selling) of livestock to keep enough water for the remainder. fickle weather; one place receives a decent rain and another half mile away remains dry. at least stock tanks took turns, not all dry at once. one place is close to a lake which is just now looking better after being at (probably) a near record low water level.

fourth county, comanche, where the just mentioned lake is. along with increased water usage from new homes, i must include increased electric usage. this place has an excellent well only, no stock tanks. several years ago when that area experienced low (0+/- degree) temperature all my plumbing was destroyed.
the co-op had sent a warning (when i was about 100 miles away) that the electricity would be turned off. of course, not just me, many friends/enemies in proximity experience the same situation.

recently the weather news mentioned the then upcoming cold spell which included a possible strain on the power grid. weather people always cover their nether region
as a precaution i turned off the electricity and water. hauled livestock to another place, stacked and packed. anticipate them returning to their home in a couple months with new spring grass.
everyone has their own situation to deal with. it may be caring for acreage and livestock or it may be keeping the yard mowed and filling the pool. each one should do what they need/want to. just speaking here, not complaining about anyone or anything. never a dully moment around here.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

The State of Oregon, which micromanages everything, has The Water Master. You have to get a permit to use your own water from a well, a pond, a spring, a stream, even rain barrels. The Water Master tells you your limit and you have to put a meter on to measure it. At my place in Curry county I captured a spring, diverted a small amount to a tank, overflowing to a horse trough which overflows on the ground and returns to the little stream. I had to pay $5000 in permits, am allowed to use 350 gallons a day for household use only. No irrigation allowed. This in an area of coastal Oregon where the annual rainfall is measured in feet.

Every year we have to fill out reports of monthly water use. At the home place in the next county we have water rights to the river and allowed 500 gallons a day. It rained 5 3/4' feet here last year. Everybody in the countryside hates the Water Master and probably falsifies their reports. Water Master - Sounds like the name of a boat doesn't it? I wish it would sink.

 

[Stonewall Joe]

The State of Oregon, which micromanages everything, has The Water Master. You have to get a permit to use your own water from a well, a pond, a spring, a stream, even rain barrels. The Water Master tells you your limit and you have to put a meter on to measure it. At my place in Curry county I captured a spring, diverted a small amount to a tank, overflowing to a horse trough which overflows on the ground and returns to the little stream. I had to pay $5000 in permits, am allowed to use 350 gallons a day for household use only. No irrigation allowed. This in an area of coastal Oregon where the annual rainfall is measured in feet.

Every year we have to fill out reports of monthly water use. At the home place in the next county we have water rights to the river and allowed 500 gallons a day. It rained 5 3/4' feet here last year. Everybody in the countryside hates the Water Master and probably falsifies their reports. Water Master - Sounds like the name of a boat doesn't it? I wish it would sink.

you get what you allow

 

[Brute 23]

The State of Oregon, which micromanages everything, has The Water Master. You have to get a permit to use your own water from a well, a pond, a spring, a stream, even rain barrels. The Water Master tells you your limit and you have to put a meter on to measure it. At my place in Curry county I captured a spring, diverted a small amount to a tank, overflowing to a horse trough which overflows on the ground and returns to the little stream. I had to pay $5000 in permits, am allowed to use 350 gallons a day for household use only. No irrigation allowed. This in an area of coastal Oregon where the annual rainfall is measured in feet.

Every year we have to fill out reports of monthly water use. At the home place in the next county we have water rights to the river and allowed 500 gallons a day. It rained 5 3/4' feet here last year. Everybody in the countryside hates the Water Master and probably falsifies their reports. Water Master - Sounds like the name of a boat doesn't it? I wish it would sink.

That's ridiculous.

 

[Dave]

The State of Oregon, which micromanages everything, has The Water Master. You have to get a permit to use your own water from a well, a pond, a spring, a stream, even rain barrels. The Water Master tells you your limit and you have to put a meter on to measure it. At my place in Curry county I captured a spring, diverted a small amount to a tank, overflowing to a horse trough which overflows on the ground and returns to the little stream. I had to pay $5000 in permits, am allowed to use 350 gallons a day for household use only. No irrigation allowed. This in an area of coastal Oregon where the annual rainfall is measured in feet.

Every year we have to fill out reports of monthly water use. At the home place in the next county we have water rights to the river and allowed 500 gallons a day. It rained 5 3/4' feet here last year. Everybody in the countryside hates the Water Master and probably falsifies their reports. Water Master - Sounds like the name of a boat doesn't it? I wish it would sink.

As with everything, it depends on where you are and which individual you have to deal with. Here in the far eastern part of Oregon which is a desert with 10-12 inches of precipitation the water master pretty much just looks at available irrigation water and irrigation water rights. Other individuals can be power happy and enforce every single letter of the law. But I know of no where in the west where you can just pull in and develop water source and start irrigating or other use of it. Water rights are pretty serious stuff. Small wars have been fought over water. People have been shot and killed. Thus some pretty strict water laws. And as usual laws that make sense in one area of the country might seem insane in other areas. But that is how government works.
Water rights are first in use is first in line. I have documented water rights dating back in 1872. Thus I have the right to use all the water I want. Someone with no documented rights has to apply for a permit granted by the government and good luck with that.

 

[mwj]

Dave what happens if someone upstream from you has the same water right?Is there any way to compromise? Your using river water if I remember correctly. How many users are upstream?

 

[Travlr]

I was a "ditch rider" in South Dakota, for the irrigation district. As @Dave said, people have been shot over water.

I know that in the Central Valley of California the ground has subsided significantly as water has been drawn from the ground. Some places the elevation has decreased by 6 feet or more and it is likely to collapse a lot more over time. Once the spaces underground collapse they won't refill.

 

[RDFF]

Makes you have to wonder about all the drain tile that we put in then doesn't it?

 

[StrojanHerefords]

A larger worry would be wild fires. Pretty much all the big fires in California have been on ranches that have been broken up and left to accumulate fuel.