This article has been adapted from an original video report posted by NewsWest9 on May 16, 2024.
The Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District (MPGCD) has unveiled a new website that is linked to public data from every water well in Pecos County, Texas.
Many places in West Texas rely on groundwater for everything from drinking to irrigation. In areas with sparse water, it is important to monitor and track the groundwater supply. In Pecos County, the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District has turned to a new system to track the pumping activity from aquifers to ensure enough water remains for everyone.
"So, the groundwater district had a need several years ago," said Ty Edwards, the general manager of MPGCD. "We have been collecting data for the groundwater district for a long time. Generally, for many entities across the whole state (Texas), we do this through Excel, we do this in spreadsheets. [Now, we have a] half-built data management system that does a way with that and basically it houses every well in the district. Every well has its own number. When you enter information into that well, it auto-populates it through the whole system."
With no statewide groundwater laws, the Texas Legislature has allowed for the formation of local groundwater districts to regulate pumping in their county. Once the MPGCD was formed, all county wells were required to be metered to show pumping amounts.
“For several decades, landowners and local governments have disagreed over who is pumping how much groundwater, and what it is doing to aquifer levels,” according to the original report. The new computerized system will allow data to be collected from every well in the county.
The system is available for public to provide access to the information for anyone with interest to see the status of pumping activity and aquifer capacity. The system shows 3,382 wells and 973 wells pump the majority of water; of those, about 100 wells are pumping the majority of the 100,000 acre feet of water being used.
The system also shows the status of each of Pecos County’s six aquifers so the district, and the public, can understand in real-time the status of available water in their area.
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From the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District website: Our mission is to develop and implement an efficient, economical and environmentally sound groundwater management program to protect and maintain historical aquifer levels and enhance the water resources of the District, and to communicate and administer to the needs and concerns of the citizens of Pecos County.