Water Conservation: A City Success Story
by: John Crompton
College Station’s drinking water comes from wells located on Sandy Point Road west of Lake Bryan. From those wells, the water is pumped 13 miles to the Dowling Road Pump Station, from where it is distributed to residences and businesses. The wells penetrate 3,000 feet into the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer. Access to the aquifer is controlled by the Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District, the governing body charged by the state with ensuring the level of the aquifer is sustained.
The city had six wells at Sandy Point in 2007, when projections showed that the city had two significant issues with water supply: First, that peak daily demand was approaching maximum daily capacity, and second, by 2023 the annual demand would exceed the permitted pumping limits. This projection was based on the aquifer’s capacity, and included an informed assumption that the city would receive permission from the Groundwater Conservation District to drill four more wells (No. 7 in 2008, No. 8 in 2010, No. 9 in 2013 and No. 10 in 2018). However, one of the existing wells – Well No. 4 — would be lost. (more…)
