We, the citizens of Bastrop, Lee, surrounding and recipient counties, request that necessary and appropriate actions be taken with the Texas Water Development Board, South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group (Region L), Lower Colorado Regional Water Planning Group (Region K), and the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA), to protect the groundwater interests of citizens in the Bastrop, Lee and surrounding counties from exploitation and export of groundwater outside of our district by water planners and marketers without our consent and agreement.  

We further request that such legislative amendments be made to the Texas Water Code as necessary to ensure that we are able to exercise our local rights to the groundwater under our counties prior to export of water from our counties. Though we do not mind sharing excess water that may be available without causing damage to the aquifers, surface waters, ecology and economy of our region with communities outside our region, we must satisfy our local needs first, before groundwater or surface water is promised for export outside of our local jurisdiction.

We specifically request that our elected and appointed officials take immediate and necessary actions with the Texas Water Development Board requiring the Board to exercise its authority and duty to intervene in the conflict between Region K and Region L regarding the GBRA Simsboro Project. Specifically we are requesting that one such action must be the removal of the GBRA Simsboro Project as a "recommended strategy" from the Region L water plan or be made an "alternate strategy" thereby removing the "over-draft" conflict that currently exists between Regions L and Region K which would cause damage to the aquifers under the jurisdiction of the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District.  Imposing "over-draft" on a regional water planning group against its wishes, against the guidance of the local groundwater conservation district, and against the desires of the citizens of the counties, does not, in our view, remove the conflict.

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