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CS has OK to drill well

The agency responsible for protecting and conserving the area's groundwater has authorized the city of College Station to drill a new well.

But the Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District rejected the city's request to increase the amount of water it pumps annually from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer from the current 5.7 billion gallons a year.

Dave Coleman, director of the city's water services department, said the decision shouldn't immediately affect College Station's ability to provide water.

"We're in good shape for now," Coleman said. "Years down the road, we'll have to keep a close look on it."

Coleman said the board is cautious when it comes to increasing water allowances because it is responsible for ensuring the longevity of water resources for all users in Robertson and Brazos counties.

"It's just deferred the issues of additional water," Coleman said. "We're certainly good for at least five years."

The city's new well will be critical to maintaining an adequate water supply for the city, Coleman said, because its lease on a well known as No. 4 will expire in December. The well is leased to College Station by Bryan, and officials in both cities were unsure how that agreement came to be.

Jayson Barfknecht, the director of Bryan's water services department, said the city invited College Station officials to discuss their future use of the 21-year-old well about six months ago but never received a response.

College Station's lease on the well first expired 21/2 years ago, and Bryan agreed to a one-time-only extension, Coleman said.

Bryan officials then offered to renew the lease a second time if College Station agreed to split the cost of a $2 million project for a new pipeline, Coleman said.

"We are spending so much money already buying the property and drilling these wells," he said. "We just can't afford another $1 million for something that would have marginal benefit for us."

Coleman said the city's new well, off Old San Antonio Road on the west side of Lake Bryan, won't produce as much water as the No. 4 well, but that shouldn't affect the city's overall supply, and water conservation mandates aren't expected.

Coleman said the city would review its water-conservation efforts to get a better idea of future water needs. The city uses recycled water at Veterans Park, which requires about 1 million gallons of water per month for irrigation during the summer, he said.

"As soon as we get through this summer and see what the actual results are, we can evaluate further," he said, adding that more stringent conservation measures may be necessary in an emergency, such as a well malfunction.

Currently, the city has a capacity to pump 26 million gallons of water a day. Without the new well, the city would have been limited to 22 million gallons per day, Coleman said. There have been several days this year when demand has exceeded 22 million gallons, he said.

The city hopes to have another well approved and online by the summer of 2011, Coleman said.

The city of Bryan pumps from 12 wells in the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer and has a sufficient supply of water for the next 50 years, Barfknecht said. Bryan has a demand of 17 million to 18 million gallons a day and pumped about 4.2 billion gallons in 2008.

Adding well No. 4 to Bryan's system will allow officials to rotate the wells that are being used, which will help keep from draining one part of the aquifer before it is able to refill, he said.

The city's conservation efforts include reusing water at the Traditions Golf & Country Club, Barfknecht said.

The Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer has supplied water to Brazos and Robertson counties for about 100 years. The aquifer extends from the Rio Grande into parts of Arkansas and Louisiana.

Sixty Texas counties rely on groundwater from the aquifer.