+ Who are the Alliance Water participants?

Alliance Water is sponsored by the cities of Buda, Kyle, and San Marcos and the Canyon Regional Water Authority

Alliance Water also has an agreement in place with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority to share in water treatment and treated water pipelines to deliver water to the cities of Lockhart and New Braunfels along with the Goforth Special Utility District

+ What are Alliance Water’s objectives?

Alliance Water’s objective is to develop a cost-efficient project for public water supply treatment and delivery, as well as manage future water need in a fast-growing region by supplementing current water supply with groundwater from the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer.

+ What is the expected timeline for providing water supply?

The Alliance Regional Water Authority began the planning process in 2006 and plans on starting to deliver water to Central Texas in 2023.

+ What is a Regional Water Authority?

A water authority is a political subdivision of the State of Texas created by the Texas Legislature with the ability to develop water supply, transport water, and develop wastewater treatment facilities. Alliance Water was created through the passage of Senate Bill 1198 in the 85th Texas Legislature in 2017.

+ How is the project funded?

Each of the members contribute funding for the project in percentages proportionate to water supplied. Capital funding of the infrastructure is primarily provided by way of bond issuances through the Texas Water Development Board. The operations and maintenance of Alliance Water are funded directly by the Authority Sponsors.

+ how are resources from the carrizo-wilcox aquifer managed?

Aquifers in Texas are primarily managed by individual groundwater conservation districts. In the area of Alliance Water’s project, the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer is managed by the Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation District and the Plum Creek Conservation District. The two districts work together with other districts in a larger region, known as Groundwater Management Area 13 (GMA-13), to determine what future they want for the aquifer.

The groundwater districts and GMA-13 rely on Groundwater Availability Models (GAMs) which are computer programs that account for water: 1) remaining in the aquifer, 2) leaving the aquifer, and/or 3) entering the aquifer. They help predict the impact of pumping systems.

Scientists collect and organize data associated with groundwater and aquifer properties, including groundwater levels, well drilling reports, pumping records, and rock and sediment types. They add it to data on streams, lakes, springs, precipitation, climate, surface water runoff, geologic structure, vegetation maps, root depth, evaporation, and more. This information is analyzed to quantify aquifer properties and groundwater inflows and outflows.

+ How does this affect longterm supply of the carrizo-wilcox aquifer?

Alliance Water has agreements in place with two groundwater conservation districts, which provide oversight of water usage to ensure that supply is available in the long-term. They calculate each permit by calculating estimated future water usage, supply, and demand, and ensure that water supply levels are sustained. The permits are created with the intent to preserve the aquifer and its water resources for many generations to come.