Welcome to Region K News

Welcome to the Lower Colorado Regional Water Planning Group (LCRWPG or Region K) electronic newsletter. This newsletter will highlight activities and solicit input on water planning issues in the 14 counties that comprise the Lower Colorado Region.

In response to a Texas legislative mandate to plan for the water needs of all Texans, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) created Region K and 15 other regional water planning groups.

Get Involved

Region K invites you to participate in this process.

*Share ...*	Input or feedback with us. Forward comments to Cynthia Braendle.
*Attend ...*	Region K meetings and communicate your views. Your opinion is valued.
*Schedule ...*	A presentation by contacting Cynthia Braendle. Region K members are available to speak to your group.
*Keep ...*	Up with water planning activities. Visit the Region K Web site often.

Region K Members

As mandated by Senate Bill 1, Region K members represent 11 diverse and often competing interests for water supply in the 14 counties. The members apply for the positions and are elected by current Region K members to serve five-year terms.

Members (in alphabetical order) are:

Member	Interest
Jim Barho	Environmental
John Burke	Water Utilities
Ronald Fieseler	Environmental
Rick Gangluff	Electric Generating Utilities
Ronald Gertson	Small Business
Dale Henry	Counties
Barbara Johnson	Industries
Dennis Jones	Small Municipalities
Mark Jordan	River Authority
D.C. "Chris" King	County
Teresa Lutes	Municipalities
Julia Marsden	Public
Bill Miller	Agriculture
Bill Neve	County
W.R. "Bob" Pickens	Other
Stanley Reinhard	Water Districts
W.A. "Billy" Roeder	County
Haskell Simon	Agricultural
Harold Streicher	Small Business
James Sultemeier	County
Paul Tybor	Water Districts
Jennifer Walker	Environmental
Del Waters	Recreation

Region K members are available to speak to interested groups.

Region K Committees

Region K committees review most of the Region K work before forwarding it to the full Planning Group for action. The following table lists the active committees, their charges, and chairpersons:

Committee	Charge	Chair
By-Laws	Provides occasional guidance and recommendations regarding Region K bylaws. First adopted in Spring 1998, the bylaws provide organizational and administrative structure for the Region K planning group. Several amendments have been created over the years to better serve the group's needs. Check the Region K Web site archives for a copy of the bylaws.	John Burke*
Environmental Flow	Reviews and makes recommendations to Region K regarding in-stream and freshwater flows to bays and estuaries.	Jennifer Walker
Executive	Selected annually by and from the voting membership to carry out certain voting membership administrative and designated contractual services duties, and guide the group through the regional water planning process. It consists of the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and three at-large members.	John Burke
Groundwater Management Plan Review	Provides Region K and its consultants with guidance and advice regarding groundwater, and reviews the Groundwater Districts' Groundwater Management Plans to assess consistency with the Regional Plan.	Ronald Fieseler
Legislative	Makes recommendations to Region K regarding agency and legislative matters, including the development of legislative testimony and written policies for inclusion in the regional plan.	Ronald Gertson
Nominating	Determines which voting members are interested in holding an elected office on the Executive Committee and submits a list of interested parties to the planning group members before the election and at the election meeting.	Dale Henry
Public Information and Participation	Leads the public involvement effort, which includes disseminating information, holding public meetings, providing speakers, publishing an electronic newsletter (Region K News), and soliciting input on Region K initiatives.	Julia Marsden
Unique Stream Segment	Reviews proposed unique stream segments and reservoir sites, and makes recommendations to the Region K planning group.	Jim Barho
Water Modeling	Provides technical and directional guidance to the contractor, TC&B, on the use and output of Groundwater Availability Models (GAMs) for the various aquifers in the Region and the surface Water Availability Model (WAM) for the Colorado River to determine the total water supply for the Region.	W.R. "Bob" Pickens
* Because this committee does not have a chair, please contact John Burke for information.

Important Dates to Remember

Milestone	Date
Region K Meetings	Because meeting dates vary, please check www.regionk.org for an updated schedule.
Committee Meetings
Public Meeting on Draft Plan	TBA
Draft Plan to TWDB	July 2005
Public Hearing	TBA
Adopted Plan to TWDB	January 2006

Region K Population and Water Demand Projections

A significant task in preparing the 2006 Region K Plan is to estimate water demands as well as current and future populations. The TWDB and Region K have adopted these projections. Using the 2000 census data as a starting point, Region K developed the 2006 population projections, making adjustments as needed. [FULL STORY]

Region K Reviews Groundwater Management Plans

To help protect and manage Texas' groundwater resources, the State Legislature established a process for local management through groundwater conservation districts. Groundwater conservation districts must develop groundwater management plans (GMPs). A GMP is the district's plan for managing the groundwater resources within the district, and includes how much water is available from a particular aquifer and how much is being pumped. After districts have adopted or amended their respective GMPs, the Region K's GMP Review Team reviews them. The GMP Review Team determines if the GMPs are consistent with the regional water plan. If a critical conflict exists, the region will notify the TWDB to address and resolve the issue. The region may choose to overlook a conflict considered to be of a noncritical nature or if the conflict coincides with expected future changes to the regional water plan. [FULL STORY]

House Bill 1437: An Interbasin Transfer

The Texas Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 1437 in 1999. HB 1437 authorizes the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) to transfer as much as 25,000 acre-feet of water per year to Williamson County under certain conditions. The HB 1437 water transfer should result in "no net loss" of water to the Colorado River watershed. The bill requires that a charge be added to the base water rate to cover the costs of mitigating any adverse effects of the transfer.

LCRA held public meetings in July and August to give the public an opportunity to learn about HB 1437. Additionally, the public was able to give input on the proposed method and implementation strategy for developing water sources to fulfill the "no net loss." Access the HB 1437 Web site to find information on the issues that prompted the need for this transfer, where the water will come from, the definition of "no net loss," and more.

We Look Forward to Hearing from You

The Region K News is published quarterly. Click here to subscribe to this newsletter and receive notices of public meetings and hearings.