The Board of Directors of the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (“UTGCD”) will hold a special-called public meeting to adopt the desired future conditions (“DFCs”) for the Trinity Aquifer Group underlying Hood, Montague, Parker and Wise Counties, in accordance with Section 36.108(d-4) of the Texas Water Code. This meeting will be held on December 18, 2017, beginning at 4:45 p.m., at the UTGCD office located at 1250 E. Highway 199, Springtown, Texas 76082. Besides accepting public comment and discussing and adopting the DFCs, no other substantive agenda items will be included at this special-called board meeting.  The UTGCD board may have other hearings and board meetings posted for this same date, each with their own notice and agenda. Special Called Agenda 12-18-17...Read More

The Board of Directors of the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District ("District") will hold a public hearing and may take action on proposed amendments to the District Rules.  The proposed amendments change the District’s rules related to applications for exceptions to the District’s water well spacing requirements by clarifying that the District may consider the effects of an application for an exception to the District’s minimum water well spacing requirements upon any existing well, rather than just existing wells that are registered with the District.  The proposed amendments also make related clarifying and conforming changes to the notice requirements for such exception applications, the authority of the District to use registered existing wells in making a determination of whether a well registration application meets the well spacing requirements from existing wells, and other related conforming changes. This hearing will be held in conjunction with its regu...Read More

March 5 – 11 is National Groundwater Awareness Week, and regardless of whether or not you are a well owner, groundwater is an important resource for everyone. Below is some useful information that might help to make sure everyone can do their part to keep this precious resource protected. What is groundwater? Groundwater is underground water that fills voids, cracks, and other openings in soil and sand to form what are known as aquifers. The major aquifer in our area is the Trinity Aquifer. Fact: Americans use 79.3 billion gallons of groundwater a day.* Why is groundwater important? Not only do many people in rural areas depend on private water wells as their sole source of water, but many public water providers also utilize groundwater if surface water is not available. Fact: 1 out of 9 people across the world don’t have access to clean water and over 840,000 people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene related illnesses. This means gro...Read More

What are the requirements for water well disclosure as real property? House Bill 1221, affecting all transfers taking place January 1, 2016 or later, requires sellers of residential real estate to disclose whether any part of a property is in a groundwater conservation district (GCD) or subsidence district. It officially incorporates groundwater as an important component of real property, but the law expressly states that it does not apply “unless the seller has actual knowledge on the date of the notice that the real property is located” in a GCD, and does not “create any duty for any person to investigate to determine if the residential real property is located” in a GCD. So if you simply don’t know, you’re not required to find out.¹ If property you own is in a GCD, you have an opportunity --and some would say responsibility-- to be informed and involved in its rulemaking and operations. Groundwater districts exist for the protection of shared groundwater, to ensure lon...Read More

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Licensed to Grow By Barbra Rodriguez A wet year in many parts of Texas may have you wondering whether to spend time replacing landscape greenery that requires frequent watering. Unfortunately, Texas’ burgeoning population will likely intensify water restrictions, and long-range forecasts still include drought. ABOVE: A closeup of the mix of seven native grasses that were compared to bermudagrass and buffalograss in the 2011 study at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. By Bruce Leander, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. One way take a major chunk out of future watering bills is to replace your traditional lawn of Bermudagrass or other non-native grasses with one that requires less water and other resources. The good news is the Wildflower Center’s native turfgrass, Habiturf® will soon be available as sod. The turfgrass that includes Buffalograss and two other short grass species found in the South has been licensed by The Un...Read More

SPRINGTOWN--  Based on Driller’s Reports submitted to the Texas Water Development Board, there were more wells drilled within the boundaries of the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District in 2015 than in any of the other 100 groundwater districts in the state. Further, there were more new water wells reported in Parker County (559) than in any other county, said UTGCD General Manager, Doug Shaw. Also, of the 254 counties in Texas, all four of the Counties within the boundaries of the District fell within the top 75 most active counties in the state: Wise County had the 12th most new wells (247), Montague County 59th (78) and Hood County 72nd (67). “Once thought of as an unending supply of water, modern science and on-the-ground data are now showing us that many areas within the District may potentially face groundwater shortages in the future,” Shaw said. “The District currently takes underground water level readings at approximately 150 wells in the four c...Read More

Does it cost anything to register my well? There is no charge for registering an existing well (drilled before 2009). What if I need to drill a new well? You must register your new well PRIOR to drilling. Oftentimes, a drilling company will register the well on your behalf but the responsibility falls on the landowner. Check with your driller. In addition, all new wells must comply with, or obtain a variance for, the following rules: Property must be at least 2 acres. Well must be drilled at least 50 feet from the nearest property line. Well must be drilled at least 150 ft away from any other registered wells. To see a full list of requirements, click here. To apply for an exception to the minimum spacing requirements you can download a copy of the form here. What if I purchased property with a well already on it? As the current landowner you are required to file a registration form to show a transfer of ownership. What does the District do with the information on the regis...Read More

The Upper Trinity GCD has purchased 14 new dataloggers for wells in its water well monitoring network which was established in 2010. The dataloggers are set to measure water well levels every hour and will be recorded by District staff each month. The automatic datalogging equipment is permanently installed in the designated wells, which will offer the District significantly more information than recorded in the quarterly readings made by District staff. Review of the hourly readings has already shown potential areas of recharge in the District which were previously unidentified. The District includes over 200 wells throughout the District. The program provides the District with localized information on particular areas of concern and insight into the health of the aquifers in the selected regions. Due to the progress of the District's program in purchasing the new dataloggers, more information will be readily available to the public and to District hydrologists. This new info...Read More

A subdivision is being put on hold due to a ground water shortage(Photo: WFAA) Demand is growing for nice rural subdivisions in west Parker County, but when a developer tried to build a new one next to a neighborhood near Brock, he ran into the new reality: not enough water. "There would be times when it would draw down the aquifer quite a bit. Some of those wells may not be able to produce," said Doug Shaw, a general manager of the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation district. The district was created six years ago to protect water supplies. It allows only one well for every two acres. The developer proposed one well per acre for 34 lots. Shaw says on a hot day, 34 new wells could quickly drop the aquifer level. "Like 10 feet in a half hour or so. Once stabilized it would come back up," Shaw said. A nearby monitoring well shows a stair step decline over the last 10 years -- a decrease of about eight feet, or roughly 25 percent. ...Read More

The Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (UTGCD) has purchased the equipment to test for coliform bacteria in water wells. Currently the District is not charging a fee for the test. The analyses are performed in accordance with analytical methods approved by the EPA, Texas Water   Development Board, the Hach Co., or Idexx Laboratories, Inc. UTGCD in-house analyses are not state-certified. The analysis results are intended to be representative of the water quality on the day of sampling only, and future samples from the same site may yield different results. “Coliform bacteria are a group of microorganisms commonly found in soil, surface water, and on plants. They are also present in the intestines of animals and humans. Coliform bacteria that are washed into the ground by rain are usually filtered out as the water goes through the soil and into groundwater systems. However, poorly constructed, cracked or unsealed wells can provide a path for coliform bacteria to enter...Read More