Denton, Collin counties discuss forming groundwater conservation district

12:00 AM CST on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 By BJ LEWIS / Denton Record-Chronicle blewis@dentonrc.com

Denton and Collin county leaders have begun working to form a groundwater conservation district.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has mandated that districts be formed to manage groundwater around the state and that if the counties don't get the job done, the commission will.

"TCEQ will determine who forms what district and under what rules or regulations; we want to control our own destiny," Collin County Judge Keith Self said.

The collaboration between Denton and Collin counties makes sense because of their similar size and concerns, Self said.

The counties have been discussing for several months how to form the district and strategies for funding it.

Collin may not be the only county that Denton joins with, Denton County Judge Mary Horn said. She said such a district could benefit counties that are more dependent on groundwater.

For example, Cooke County is 85 percent dependent on groundwater, compared with Denton's 12 percent to 15 percent dependency and Collin's 5 percent, she said.

Horn said one of her concerns was the gas and oil industry being excluded from the district as it has been in other areas.

"To [fracture] a well, they could use 3.5 to 5 million gallons of water," she said. "That has a huge impact on groundwater. For that reason, they should be included."

Details are still being worked out. Horn said it's important to get started on a district to protect the water and the quality of water.

"With the influx of new people, as fast as you're growing, water is going to become a commodity," Horn said. "That's more reason to support water districts. We need to take care of what we've got."