Groundwater Conservation District Index Updates - Julia Stanford

Presented at June 6-7 Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts Business Meeting

1. GCD Index Updates
Julia Stanford, Director of Programs & Communications
June 6, 2024
TAGD Regular Business Meeting

2. Overview
•Purpose
•Structure of index
•New data included
•Navigating the map viewer
•Navigating the table
•Example use cases
•On the horizon
•Questions

3. Purpose of the GCD Index
•Interactive representation of
information about GCDs
•Show people their district
•Help stakeholders easily
reference and compare GCDs
•Provide information that can
be aggregated and analyzed
to inform policy decisions

5. The Result
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

6. The Result
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

7. Data Includes…
•District contact and creation info
•Links to website, rules, management plan, enabling legislation
•Basic stats – aquifers permitted, community type, district
population, elected/appointed, income source, export fees
•Rule highlights – production limits, exemptions or spacing
requirements beyond Chp 36, metering/production reporting
•Additional info – presence of springs, water quality testing,
funding assistance for well plugging, newsletter

8. Data Includes…
•District contact and creation info
•Links to website, rules, management plan, enabling legislation
•Basic stats – aquifers permitted, community type, district
population, elected/appointed, income source, export fees
•Rule highlights – production limits, exemptions or spacing
requirements beyond Chp 36, metering/production reporting
•Additional info – presence of springs, water quality testing,
funding assistance for well plugging, newsletter

9. Newly Added
•Does Texas Water Code Chapter 49 apply to the district?
•2nd largest groundwater use by volume
•Authorized/actual income sources
•Budget (listed by tiers like TAGD membership levels)
•Tax rate ceiling from enabling legislation or district adoption
•Production fee structure
•Export fee structure
•Amount of groundwater being used annually
•Term of permits
•Final permit type
•Has the district established any management zones?

10. Newly Added
•# of active/authorized export permits
•#s of domestic, oil and gas wells
•Types of wells requiring meters and/or production reporting
•# of PWS that hold groundwater permits
•How PWS permits are determined
•Adopted drought contingency or water conservation plans?
•Mandatory curtailments in drought?
•#s of monitor wells for water levels and groundwater quality
•Are there springs in the district?
•Do you collect spring flow data?
•PLUS ~20 fields modified for clarity or easier analysis

11. User Interface Upgrades
•Button to reset filters and sorting on the table
•Icon in table to jump to district on map
•Improved address locator
•Table all left justified
•Fixed width columns to prevent auto-fitting
•Added button with link to a survey for feedback

12. Navigating the Map Viewer
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

13. Layer - GMA Boundaries
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

14. Layer – Texas Counties
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

15. Layer – Major Aquifers
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

16. Layer – Minor Aquifers
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

17. Isolating Layers
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

18. Layer – Texas Geologic Atlas
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

19. Search by Address
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

20. District Details on Map
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

21. District Detail Page
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

22. Basemaps
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

23. Basemaps
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

24. Navigating the Table
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

25. Pages
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

26. Search Bar and Scrolling
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

27. Sorting
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

28. Sorting
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

29. Filtering
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

30. Filtering
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

31. Filtered Results
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

32. Export Table
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

33. Exported File
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index

34. Use Case #1
Realtor with client
looking for property in
North Texas, researching
what barriers exist for
developing the raw land
options.
Spacing requirements
Income source
Abandoned well funding

35. Print Feature

37. Use Case #2
District looking to change their spacing rules
and wondering how other districts structure
theirs.
Spacing requirements
Link to district rules
Contact info

38. Use Case #3
Legislative staff considering bill to modify Open Meetings Act provisions for >4 counties
>4 counties
Has newsletter
Contact info

39. Use Case #4
State agencies doing
outreach to GCDs about
funding available
Meter requirements
Abandoned well funding
Springs
Fee based

40. On the Horizon
•Data update
•FY22 data
•Every other year
•Improvements to user
interface
•Continue to build visitation
•Over 3,500 hits in 2023
•Spreading the word

41. Any questions?
www.texasgroundwater.org/gcd-index
Julia Stanford • [email protected]