Groundwater district considers another mandatory reduction
Some Burnet County well owners might have to reduce groundwater usage by 15 percent in 2025. The proposed restriction is one of the possible changes the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District is considering to its Drought Management Plan.
A public hearing to review those updates is 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 20, in the Hill Country Community Foundation building, 402 E. Jackson St. in Burnet.
The Groundwater Conservation District oversees groundwater use and conservation in Burnet County. Each December, the district’s Board of Directors reviews possible water usage restrictions for the next year based on drought conditions. The GCD’s goal is to promote sustainable groundwater use while considering the needs of agriculture, industry, and municipalities.
The proposed usage restrictions in 2025 are in line with the previous two years.
“We had 15 percent mandatory restrictions for non-exempt permit holders in 2023 and 2024,” said Mitchell Sodek, the GCD’s general manager. “In 2024, we started with 15 percent, but after the rains, we reduced it to 10 percent.”
The district had to recalculate its conservation needs based on its Drought Management Plan following a dry fall this year.
If implemented, restrictions for non-exempt well owners would begin on Jan. 1, 2025, and last until Dec. 31, 2025, unless the GCD board decides to lift them earlier.
The 15 percent usage reduction would be mandatory for the district’s 168 largest water customers, including the cities of Burnet, Bertram, and Highland Haven and users in parts of Kingsland and Marble Falls.
“We will also ask the exempt well owners to conserve and reduce usage voluntarily,” Sodek said. “We have 1,000 exempt well owners who don’t have meters, so they can’t measure their usage. We are asking everyone to conserve, but only 168 will be required to do so.”
For more information, call the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District at 512-756-4900 or visit its website.