City of San Antonio Edwards Aquifer Protection Program Southwest - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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City of San Antonio Edwards Aquifer Protection Program

Southwest Texas Section TX Chapter of the American Planning Assoc. Summer Mini-Conference – August 29, 2014

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Introduction

• Objective of Edwards Aquifer

Protection Program to protect City’s main water source

• Edwards Aquifer supplies over

90% of San Antonio’s drinking water

• Funded by 1/8-cent sales tax

collection

• To date, 123,865 acres have been

protected over Recharge and Contributing Zones

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About the Aquifer

• Edwards is a Karst aquifer, meaning it is made up of

porous, soluble rock that allows water to flow through it like a system of underground streams and channels

Source: Edwards Aquifer Authority

• It naturally regenerates when

water flows through specific zones via an elaborate network of fractures, fissures, and caves

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Generalized Edwards Aquifer Cross Section

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Drainage Zone Recharge Zone Artesian Zone

Artesian Well Balcones Fault Zone

Source: Edwards Aquifer Authority

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Program Funding

• Proposition 3
• Approved by the voters in 2000
• 1/8-cent sales tax venue project
• $45 million
• Used toward fee purchases in Bexar County
• Proposition 1
• Approved by voters in 2005 and 2010
• 1/8-cent sales tax venue project
• $90 million per round
• Used for purchase of fee land or conservation easement
• Can be used outside of Bexar County

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Program Funding

• Proposition 1 sales tax

initiative in 2005 and 2010 was partnered with City Parks development and expansion venue project for Linear Creekways program

• Linear Creekways program
• verseen by COSA Parks &

Recreation Dept.

Parks Venue Edwards Aquifer Venue

$90 Million $45 Million

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Program Basics

• Prop 1 is a watershed

protection venue project

• Two methods to protect land
• ver the aquifer:

– Fee purchase – Conservation easement purchase

• Overseen by Conservation

Advisory Board

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Conservation Easements

• Majority of property interests acquired for

program are conservation easements

• Conservation easements are:

– Voluntary legal agreements between landowner and

City that restrict future uses of land in perpetuity

– Landowners retain ownership and certain rights, such

as hunting or grazing cattle, but give up future development rights

Landowner Rights =

Source: Wikinut.com

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Conservation Advisory Board

• COSA Parks & Recreation Board
• COSA Parks & Recreation Director
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
• Edwards Aquifer Authority
• San Antonio River Authority
• San Antonio Water System
• Economic Development Foundation
• Medina County Board Member
• Uvalde County Board Member

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Program Accomplishments

2000 - Present

Total Protected Acres 123,865

• Bexar County

7,721

• Medina County

35,518

• Uvalde County

80,626 Of the acres protected

• Fee Simple Acquisitions

7,136

• Conservation Easements

117,729

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Total land protected to date: 123,865 acres

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Aquifer Flow Patterns: General Flow Is West to East

70% of our aquifer water originates in Uvalde and Medina counties

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Land Identification & Acquisition

• To assist the program with land

identification and acquisition, two groups were established:

– Scientific Evaluation Team

(SET)

– Land Acquisition Team (LAT)

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Scientific Evaluation Team (SET)

• SET is a science-based advisory group

responsible for determining the weighting matrix for the GIS spatial model used to rank properties based on the following factors:

• Permeability
• Biology
• Property Size
• Location

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Members of the SET

• COSA Parks & Recreation Department
• Edwards Aquifer Authority
• U.S. Department of Agriculture
• San Antonio River Authority
• San Antonio Water System
• Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Bosse & Associates

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Land Acquisition Team (LAT)

• In addition to COSA staff, LAT, composed of

nonprofit conservation organizations, reports to CAB on availability of certain tracts based upon CAB & COSA directives

• LAT members assist with negotiation of

acquisitions and help coordinate due diligence necessary for each property

• Current LAT Members
• Green Spaces Alliance
• The Nature Conservancy

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Features We Look For

Caves Sinkholes Fractures

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Annual Monitoring

• City has an inter-local

agreement with EAA to monitor and inspect conservation easements acquired over the aquifer

• All conservation easements

are monitored and inspected annually by EAA & COSA

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Thank you.

Contact:

• Grant Ellis, Special Projects Manager

Grant.Ellis@sanantonio.gov, 210-207-2815 Program Website: www.sanantonio.gov/EdwardsAquifer