The Brewster County Groundwater Conservation District (BCGCD) was created in 2001 through House Bill 747 and approved by the voters of Brewster County in a confirmation election on November 6, 2001. It is a fee-based (i.e., non-taxing) groundwater district that receives the bulk of its funding from the Brewster County Commissioners Court.
The district covers the entire county and is governed by a seven-member board of directors chaired by Joan Johnson. Sul Ross State University Professor Dr. Kevin Urbanczyk also serves on the board and contributes his expertise in geology and groundwater to the district’s decision-making process. Other directors include Tim Leary, Tom Mangrem, Rush Warren, Colton Foster, and Ambrosio Valles. According to Johnson, one of the district’s main goals is “to register all existing wells in Brewster County.”
The district’s most recent groundwater management plan states that the purpose of the district “is to provide a locally controlled groundwater district to conserve and preserve groundwater, protect groundwater users, protect groundwater, prevent pollution or waste of groundwater within the boundaries of the district and regulate the transport of water out of the boundaries of the district.” In order to do so, Johnson is seeking to obtain “more data on the aquifers in our district by implementing a monitoring program.” The regional aquifers, over which the district has shared jurisdiction with neighboring districts, include the Edwards-Trinity, Capitan Reef Complex and Igneous aquifers. The only other aquifer currently managed by the district, the Marathon Aquifer, is subject to the sole jurisdiction of the BCGCD because it is contained entirely within the boundaries of Brewster County. Although the Santa Elena Aquifer is also located within the district, it has historically been considered insignificant and very little data has been collected on it. This will change as the district begins the process of sponsoring a study in coming months.
According to Urbanczyk, one of the greatest obstacles to setting up the district’s management system has been the “lack of access to strategically located wells for monitoring.” In this regard, the district’s stated goal to “research and provide more information to residents about the aquifers” could serve to educate the public in general, and well owners in particular, about the need for more monitoring as perhaps the most meaningful way to protect private property rights in groundwater. “Our district attempts public outreach via invitations to meetings, presentations to realtors, and occasional groundwater science presentations. Additional efforts, including a strategic planning process, are also underway,” says Urbanczyk. Public outreach and the registering of wells will grow increasingly important in northern Brewster County because the district is receiving permit applications for water service requests from property owners in many areas of Alpine. This is resulting in more wells being drilled on small parcels for domestic purposes and placing further stress on the Igneous Aquifer, which is the primary source of water for Alpine and its surrounding residential areas.
Dynamic growth in the communities of Terlingua and Study Butte also poses challenges for the district. According to reporting by the Texas Tribune, the number of short-term rental properties in southern Brewster County jumped from 133 in 2018 to 399 in 2024. The Study Butte Water Supply Corporation has also seen sales more than double from 8.4 million gallons in 2014 to 18 million gallons in 2023. The Texas Water Development Board has classified 31 groundwater formations throughout the state as either major or minor aquifers. But the obscure Santa Elena Aquifer, which is the source of water for most of southern Brewster County, is considered “unclassified.” With year-round and transient populations projected to increase throughout Brewster County, the district is seeking to expand its understanding of all aquifers under its jurisdiction “starting with the unresearched Santa Elena Aquifer,” according to Johnson.
When General Manager Robbyn Hill recently retired, the district hired its intern Sydney Bauer to take her place. Bauer started as an intern with the BCGCD in the summer of 2023 and is currently working towards her bachelor’s degree in geology from Sul Ross State University. She came to work for the district through the recommendation of Urbanczyk, who is one of her professors. In his capacity as senior research scientist at the nascent West Texas Water Research Center (WTWRC) at Sul Ross, Urbanczyk is working to open the center in collaboration with Interim Director Billy Tarrant and a 15-member steering committee. One of the intended goals of the WTWRC is to train the regional water workforce of the future, including groundwater district administrators. In many ways, Bauer’s assumption of the general manager role at the BCGCD during her studies at the university could be a sign of things to come.
Trey Gerfers serves as general manager of the Presidio County Underground Water Conservation District. A San Antonio native, he has lived in Marfa since 2013 and can be reached at tgerfers@pcuwcd.org.