Ruling from State’s Public Utility Commission Advances Community’s Fight Against Aqua Texas’ Over Pumping and Wasting of Hill Country Water 

Ruling from State’s Public Utility Commission Advances Community’s Fight Against Aqua Texas’ Over Pumping and Wasting of Hill Country Water 
With PUC vote, request for action against Aqua is referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings

Complaint – to be docketed and assigned a preliminary hearing date – asserts:
Unlawful operations by Aqua Texas including mass unauthorized pumping and excessive water losses from a system in need of urgent repair.

(Austin, TX | October 30, 2024) – The tens of thousands of Texans who depend on Hill Country groundwater secured a critical next step to hold water utility Aqua Texas (AQUA) accountable for its years of reckless operations that have unlawfully pumped and wasted significant amounts of Hill Country groundwater that residents depend on. In response to a formal complaint filed against AQUA by the Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association (TESPA), the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) issued a Preliminary Order, referring the matter to the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) for a fully evidentiary hearing on Aqua’s violations.

TESPA’s formal complaint asserts that AQUA’s longstanding misuse and abuse of Texas water has violated PUC requirements for water utilities, placing the reliability of Texas Hill Country groundwater at serious risk. In its filing, TESPA requested the PUC to either decrease Aqua’s customer base in the Wimberley area or to mandate significant changes to its operations.

“TESPA is very gratified with this action by the PUC,” said Jim Blackburn, President of TESPA. “We filed an action because what is occurring with Aqua should not be allowed to continue, and we filed this action because we needed a state remedy to this state of Texas problem.  We now have a chance to prove our case before an Administrative Law Judge.’

Adam Friedman, TESPA’s attorney before the Public Utility Commission added, “We plan to present a compelling case that AQUA has been a rogue utility in violation of PUC rules that needs to be reined in. Hill Country residents are counting on the PUC to make sure AQUA can provide adequate water service and that AQUA is not wasting the already stressed groundwater supply.”

For at least two years, Aqua failed to abide by Texas groundwater law and over-pumped its permit by more than 150 million gallons. After years of non-compliance with Texas law, the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District denied Aqua’s applications to renew groundwater permits in 2023, which means the company currently has no legal access to water supply for approximately 2,000 homes in in Hays County.

Aqua continues to pump without a permit. Their continued dependency on an unlawful groundwater supply means that water for many Hays County customers is unreliable and affects all nearby who lawfully depend on Hill Country groundwater. Expert hydrogeologists are of the opinion that AQUA’s over-pumping contributed to Jacob’s Well – a key spring that feeds Cypress Creek and economic engine for Wimberley – running dry on multiple days. TESPA’s complaint details the history of actions that establish Aqua has violated the public trust, placed local residents’ water service in jeopardy, and caused Jacob’s Well to go dry, including:

  • In 2022, AQUA violated its authorized groundwater production limits by 90 million gallons;
  • In 2023, AQUA again exceeded its production limits by another 70 million gallons;
  • AQUA lost 55 million gallons of water due to leaks in its infrastructure and a lack of maintenance –a direct violation of the PUC’s requirements to maintain infrastructure and State and District prohibitions on wasting groundwater;
  • As a result of Aqua’s disregard for restrictions, Jacob’s Well stopped flowing on multiple days when it otherwise would have been flowing, causing harm that reached beyond the recreational and aesthetic value of the site and into the entire region’s economic vitality;
  • Since AQUA requested authority from the PUC to sell water in the affected communities, the number of connections Aqua serves has grown by 65 percent – without the company ever demonstrating to the PUC it has an adequate water supply to handle this increased demand; and
  • AQUA continues adding customers in these Hays County communities despite not having a legal or adequate water supply.
In January, Aqua sued the local groundwater district in federal court, seeking to prevent its enforcement of groundwater production and drought curtailment rules. Aqua’s lawsuit could have far-reaching consequences, as it seeks to undermine the ability of all groundwater districts to effectively manage a utility’s groundwater use.

TESPA’s PUC filing seeks to ensure AQUA customers do not lose their water and that Hill Country water resources protected. As such, TESPA has requested the PUC officially revoke or reduce Aqua’s territory for providing water service and replace it with a responsible utility with a lawful and adequate water supply. Now that TESPA’s complaint has been officially referred to SOAH, it will be docketed and a preliminary hearing date will be scheduled.