Managing Groundwater Conservation Locally Using Flow Meters and Alternative Measuring Methods

Texas’ groundwater resources are managed and protected locally, through groundwater conservation districts.  Created by local residents, North Plains Groundwater Conservation District manages groundwater within its eight-county area in the northern Texas Panhandle.  Within the district, crop irrigation accounts for 95 percent of the 1.5 million acre-feet average annual groundwater withdrawals from the Ogallala aquifer.  In 2003, the district’s elected board composed of agricultural irrigators proposed sweeping changes to the district rules in response to Ogallala aquifer depletion.  The proposal required flow meter installation on all wells not exempted by state statute, groundwater production reporting and annual groundwater production limits.   Though well owners were concerned about the district requiring production limits and annual production reporting, they objected most to installing and maintaining flow meters because of the associated costs.  In 2005, the district adopted production limits and required annual production reporting.  In response to public input, the district adopted rules that required installing meters on all new wells and provided an option using alternative measuring methods for owners of existing wells to estimate groundwater withdrawals.  The first annual production reports were collected for 2006 groundwater withdrawals. Use of the alternative measuring methods addressed the public’s concern regarding meter costs, accelerated implementation for production reporting, and allowed the district to collect more accurate data for groundwater management.  Later, the Texas Legislature created the joint planning process between districts for setting aquifer desired future conditions (DFCs) within their management areas.  During the joint planning process, measured production data allowed the district to scientifically establish reasonable DFCs for its portion of the Ogallala aquifer by comparing actual production to groundwater availability modeling. Requiring production reporting from water meters or alternative measurement methods enables well owners to better manage their groundwater withdrawals and the district to better manage the area’s groundwater resources.