Groundwater Conservation Districts: Can They Save Our Water?
Groundwater Conservation Districts:
Tomorrow morning, when you get up, do not turn on the water to make your coffee. Do not brush your teeth or shave. Do not wash your face or shower. Do not wash your clothes, your dishes, or your car. Do not water your plants, your lawn, your crops, or your animals. Do not turn on your water at all.
One may ask why I would suggest doing such a bizarre thing and my answer is that you might need the practice.
Many Texas Counties are facing two critical issues regarding water: contamination and depletion.
As county commissioners work toward establishing the greatly needed Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCD), some important issues about what a GCD can and cannot do for residents desperately need clarification.
A GCD has no control over the main offender in the usage and contamination of our water because the main offender, the oil and gas industry, is exempt from any local control.
A GCD has no jurisdiction and no effect over water usage and contamination by the oil and gas industry. That is why it is crucial that we demand repeal of the exemption so that we all play by the same rules.
Contamination
Injection wells are located in counties throughout the Barnett Shale area and anywhere else where fracing occurs.
In Wise County, we have 27 commercial injection wells and approximately 200 private injection wells that drilling companies use to pump hazardous waste into the ground.
This hazardous waste includes but is not limited to the following:
