Consultant: Border Region Need Not Fear Pecos Water Extraction

ROUND ROCK, May 24 – During a press conference in Mission recently, Gov. Rick Perry referred to the issue of ground water extraction from the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer by Clayton Williams’ company, Fort Stockton Holdings.

A proposed plan to transport water via aqua ducts to the Midland-Odessa and San Angelo metropolitan areas is an issue requiring “the wisdom of Solomon,” Perry said, in a humorous reference to a prayer meeting he had just attended.

South Texas political leaders along the Rio Grande have joined their counterparts in the Fort Stockton area in requesting a moratorium on the water extraction plans of some 41,000,000 gallons per day for the next 30 years until an independent hydro-geological study can be completed. They want assurances that the extractions would not compromise the flow of the Pecos River into the Rio Grande, an estimated flow at the confluence of some 80,000,000 gallons per day.

The border leaders have nothing to worry about, hydro geologist, Mike Thornhill told the Guardian. Based in Round Rock, Texas, Thornhill has been contracted by Fort Stockton Holdings, a Clayton Williams Company, to conduct a two-year comprehensive study to determine if the amounts requested in a Fort Stockton Holdings permit would be “in compliance” with the rules and management plan of the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District.

“I will look any political leader in the eye (from Mexico or South Texas) and assure them that the requested amount of water extraction would not compromise the flow of water from the Pecos River into the Rio Grande, nor the amount of water in Amistad Reservoir,” Thornhill told the Guardian, in a telephone interview.

“Based on our studies for the area, and our research and experience over the last 22 years, I have found that there is no possible way that neighboring communities or counties could be adversely affected by the amount of pumping that Mr. Williams is requesting.”

Certainly, the Rio Grande flows cannot be affected by the permitted pumping, Thornhill said.

“The point is – if the pumping cannot be detected in the Pecos River, there is no way the pumping can be detected in the Rio Grande which is more than 100 miles away. It is impossible,” Thornhill said.

There are several scientific reasons why this is true, Thornhill explained, many of which were presented at the most recent meeting of Groundwater Management Area 7 (GMA 7).

“The simplest explanation is that Fort Stockton Holdings is asking to use the same amount of water that they are currently permitted to use, which is even less water than was pumped from FSH’s properties in the past,” Thornhill said.

“All they are requesting is a change in use – they are not requesting any new or additional water. That is, instead of watering alfalfa, they would like to transfer their water to surrounding communities who have projected shortage of water.”

Thornhill said the water will either be pumped for farming, or for the beneficial use of tens of thousands of Texans.

“Again, the amount of water will not change. So, if the amount of water pumped does not change, the impact will not change. The permits will actually ensure that pumping will not be as much in the future as it was in the past,” Thornhill said.

Many political and community based entities have expressed skepticism with Thornhill’s assessment.

Jay Johnson-Castro, of the Rio Grande International Studies Center, based in Laredo on the banks of the Rio Grande, originally brought the issue of Pecos groundwater to the Guardian. He says communities on the Rio Grande are right to be concerned about the permit.

The sister cities of Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, the County of Hidalgo, and the Texas Border Coalition have all publicly expressed very public concern over the issue of extraction of water from the Edwards-Trinity aquifer, as well as its sale and transport to other West Texas metro areas. They are calling for a moratorium on the permit for water extraction until an independent hydro-geological study can be accomplished.

Fort Stockton City Manager Rafael Castillo, in a previous interview with the Guardian, expressed concerns that the precedent for large-scale extraction from the aquifer could indeed compromise the flow of water into Amistad Reservoir and the southward flow to the millions of residents on both sides of the Rio Grande down-river from the permit area.

Thornhill doesn’t share these concerns. “This is a false alarm,” says the hydro-geologist. “There is no measurable flow into the Pecos River (that could be affected by the extraction). Moreover, the Pecos River only provides 11 percent of the water delivered to the Amistad Reservoir.”

Thornhill, a registered professional geologist, is president of the Thornhill Group based in Round Rock.