Southwest Community Association

The Edwards Aquifer Authority & YOU

Mar 02, 2003

What is the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA)and Why Should I Care?
The EAA was established by the state legislature in 1993 to control pumping out of the Edwards Aquifer (EA). However, because of legal hassles, it did not become operational until 1996. It has an elected board, with representatives for different districts elected by the common citizens. Board members are elected for 4-year terms. Unfortunately, most people are never even aware when EAA elections take place?—and they know little about the candidates. The EAA board member that covers our area is Mr. Rafael Zendejas (207-5432). He was elected just last Nov and will not have to run again until Nov 2006.
Board members don?’t get paid for their board work, although they are provided meals for their meetings and are reimbursed for many board-related expenses. Although the board can NOT levy taxes, it CAN and DOES levy fees to all who pump from the EA based on the amount they pump. The fee is determined every year. By law, there is a cap of $2 per-acre-foot of water pumped by agricultural users. The current fee for municipal users (in our case SAWS) is $29 per-acre-foot. SAWS, of course, passes that charge on to all SAWS customers. The EAA determines their fee based on how much money they need to meet their budget. If you?’ve been checking the employment classified ads in the Express-News for the last few weeks, you will have noticed that the EAA is hiring a lot of professionals?—setting up their agency. As the agency grows in size and power, so will their expenses ?–and therefore their fees. As an example, in 1998, the fee charged to municipalities was $17 per-acre-foot; now it is almost double that.
This information provided to help you be more knowledgeable and informed. The EAA website is ?“www.edwardsaquifer.org?”.