The Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District will have a public hearing on new rules regarding management zones in Bosque and Coryell counties Sept. 10 at 1:15 p.m.
This follows discussion and a unanimous vote by directors present at the regular MTGCD Board meeting in the Stephenville office Thursday, Aug. 13.
Due to the “unique hydrogeologic conditions” in those counties and problems with drawdown, the district has been running studies and determined the need for wider spacing and stricter guidelines in the name of conserving water within those counties.
MTGCD is a state sanctioned body responsible for permitting and regulating the spacing and production of groundwater wells in Erath, Comanche, Bosque and Coryell counties. They also offer services like water quality tests to well owners in the district.
Under the district’s governing rules, new wells drilled within those counties are regulated to 3 acre-feet per contiguous acre of land.
The management zones if approved will reduce the production to one acre-foot in Bosque County and .5 acre-foot in Coryell due to conditions like slow recharge, depth of wells and drawdown as indicated by monitoring the district has done in the counties. This would apply to wells approved after the implementation of the new rules.
Legal counsel Ty Embry and Jake Steen were present as general manager Patrick Wagner presented boardmembers with potential rules changes which included definitions and the guidelines where metering and hydrogeologic wells are required.
The board also unanimously approved a resolution recognizing 20+ year boardmember Fred Parker for all he has done through his “thoughtful deliberation, sound judgment and a genuine commitment to the landowners and citizens of the district to every matter that came before the Board.” Parker represented Erath County on the board and passed away July 29.
The board also approved a proposed tax rate and discussed the fiscal 2027 budget, setting the proposed rate at $.005946 per $100 valuation. This is lower than the FY 2026 rate of $.005950 but the average homeowner would incur $0.65 more in taxes due to the rise in appraised values. (Boardmember Shane Tucker opposed the approval.)
Wagner briefly went over the budget, noting the proposed budget included funds for the replacement of vehicles and salary for two more employees. (The proposed budget can be found on the district’s website at middletrinitygcd. org.) The rate and budget will be voted on in the Sept. 10 meeting.
The board also unanimously approved $27,627 for work to make the website ADA compliant under a federal mandate. (The contract also includes and annual fees for continuing work.)
The board also approved the order of elections for Nov. 3 with the seats of Comanche Director Frank Volleman and Erath directors Fred Parker and Ed Ditturth up for election.
In regular reports, field tech Johnny Wells reported 16 water quality tests performed with three Comanche wells testing high in total dissolved solids/ salinity. Coryell monitoring wells were checked in July showing nine up from last reporting, seven down and six about the same.