Given that Medina Lake is a reservoir that has one very major permit holder who is allowed to take 66,000 acre feet of water from the reservoir each year, an explanation of surface water rights in Texas may shed some light on what this means.
First, surface water means all waters that lie on the surface of the land, (streams, creeks, lakes, etc.) Ground water is that which is found underneath the earth and is usually lifted to the surface by means of wells. The Edwards Aquifer and the Trinity group of Aquifers are examples of Ground Water. The rules regarding Ground Water use are different.
Water in streams and reservoirs in the state belong to the people of the state and are held in trust for them by the state.
People who own land that is next to a stream have the right to use enough water for their domestic household use and for watering a yard and cattle used by the family. They may also impound 200 acre feet a year of water from the stream. This is called “Riparian Rights” or Domestic and Livestock (D&L) rights. This is the oldest surface water right and is honored first when any rights are challenged. (As in a drought) D&L use is a property right that remains attached to the land.
Any other water taken from the streams and reservoirs of Texas must be obtained by obtaining a permit from the State of Texas, which designates the amount of water that may be taken, the use for which it is taken and the date the user obtains the permit. (Priority in case of drought is given to the earlier dated permit.) BMA’s permit was obtained in 1910. This permit may be also called a “certificate of adjudication”.
During the history of Texas, other state agencies have granted these permits to individuals and organizations. Today, the granting of these rights is the duty of the Texas Natural Resources Conservations Commission (TNRCC). Permits also may be amended (in amounts of water diverted or the intended uses of the water) when the user requests changes be made. This is done through a process also with the TNRCC.
In 1994 BMA asked for and received a change in their certificate of adjudication allowing them to use their permitted 66,000 acre feet per year for other than irrigation purposes, which was the intent of the original permit. Now they may sell 20,000 afy to municipalities and use 46,000 afy for irrigation.
Along the Medina River and its tributaries, from the headwaters to Medina lake, there are 50 individual permits for amounts ranging from 2 acre feet per year to 120 afy, mostly for irrigation of fields, though some are for other uses. The only permit to divert water from Medina Lake belongs to the BMA, who built the dam and is allowed (by permit) to impound 256,000 af of the state’s water. Below the Diversion Dam and on to the San Antonio River, the water of the Medina River (and its tributaries) is diverted by 82 permit holders for amounts ranging from 5 afy to 7500 afy. Bexar Met has bought several relatively large permits from individual ranches along this stretch of the river and is using that water in their purification plant now.
The adjudication or permitting of surface water is a statewide practice. All water diverted from streams in Texas (and all states) must be done by permit only (With the exception of the D&L user, who merely must live on the edge of the stream).
We are told that the amount of water that has been permitted on the Medina River is actually more than is available. This is possibly due to the fact that many permits were issued before modern means of evaluating the amount of stream water available was possible. At any rate, not all of the amount permitted is usually diverted by permit holders and there seems to be enough to go around – most of the time. In times of drought, however, when there is even less water available to permit holders, there is a need to reduce the amount allowed and to determine the priority of the permit holders. In this part of Texas, where we are defined as “semi-arid” and suffer frequently from drought, TNRCC has provided a “WATER MASTER” to settle these issues. More about this monitoring position and its importance to the dispersal of the state’s surface water and its impact on all of us in another report to arrive later.
You may be interested in learning more about ownership of water and the laws pertaining to that subject. If so, try this URL: http://www.nationalrivers.org/
ACRE FEET: (or acre foot) A measurement for large amounts of water - specifically the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land with one foot of water. The symbol is "af". Acre feet per year is the amount taken per year. This is represeted by "afy". (i.e. Medina Lake holds 256,000 acre feet (af). The permit for use of this water allows the user (BMA) to take 66,000 acre feet per year (afy) from Medina Lake.
BMA: Bexar, Medina, Atascosa Water Improvement District @1. The organization which owns the Medina Dam and holds a state permit to impound a large amount of water behind the dam (Medina Lake) and from thence, to take out 46,000afy for irrigation and 20,000afy for municipal use.
BEXAR-MET: Bexar Metropolaton Water District: The second largest water provider to homes and businesses in Bexar County. (SAWS is the largest).
Bexar Met holds a contract to buy 9,000 afy of water from BMA now, increasing to 20,000 afy in years to come. So far they have received NO water from this 1999 contract. However, they plan to begin receiving BMA water later this year, if possible. As of now, they are using Medina River water from permits they own on Medina River below Medina Lake for the treatment plant in Von Ormy, Texas.
BED AND BANKS; In order to deliver water from BMA to Bexar Met, the water must be moved, perhaps through a pipe line or down the river from Diversion Lake to the plant where it will b e purified. The later choice was made and BMA will first take the water from Diversion Lake into their canal, meter the amlunt taken in and allow the water to flow about 2 miles down their canl, thence into the medina River at a point where the canal and the river cross. This is a point called Siphone 2. The water will flow down the river 50.3 miles and be taken out there. BMA must obtain permission from the state to use the "bed and banks" of a state stream in order to deliver water in this manner. So, they have made the necessary application for the use of BED and BANKS. It is assumed that there will be som loss of water as it moves through the canal and through the river for such a long distance due to absorption into the banks, use by plants along the sides of the river and into the sands or aquifers below the canal and river. This is called "carriage losses" and shoud become part of the total amount withdrawn, not an addition to that amount. LAMCOS is examining the application and the methods used to measure the permitted amount and the carriaged losses claimed. Our concern is to see that we do all we can to hold the water amount leaviong the Medina Lake (or Diversion Lake, actually) to the amount permitted for each purpose and no more.
If there are other terms we use which are obscure perhaps, please let us know and we will attempt to explain as best we can. We are all in the learning process in this matter.
Links to other Mico information