85R5098 SLB-D
By: Creighton S.B. No. 1529
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the collection, analysis, and dissemination of
information regarding the availability and quality of the
groundwater resources in this state by the Geo-Technology Research
Institute.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 149.004, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 149.004. DUTIES IN GENERAL.
SECTION 2. Chapter 149, Education Code, is amended by
adding Section 149.0045 to read as follows:
Sec. 149.0045. COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, AND DISSEMINATION OF
INFORMATION REGARDING GROUNDWATER RESOURCES. (a) The institute
shall use data from the Texas Water Development Board, the Railroad
Commission of Texas, and the Bureau of Economic Geology of The
University of Texas at Austin to develop a three-dimensional model
of the availability and quality of the groundwater resources in
this state. The institute shall digitize data necessary to develop
the model, if necessary. Once developed, the institute shall run
the model and use the model run results to:
(1) develop a time-based representation of water level
and water yield declines in aquifers, including information on
production or injection well intervals in the aquifers studied; and
(2) identify favorable areas, including aquifers with
multiple zones, for aquifer storage and recovery projects and the
estimated storage capacity of those areas.
(b) The institute shall make the model run results described
by Subsection (a) available in software suitable for
three-dimensional visualization and volumetric analysis.
(c) Not later than September 1, 2019, the institute shall
develop and run a model described by Subsection (a) for the area
included in the following counties:
(1) Bastrop;
(2) Bell;
(3) Burnet;
(4) Coryell;
(5) Lampasas;
(6) McLennan;
(7) Travis; and
(8) Williamson.
(d) After developing and running the model for the area
described by Subsection (c), the institute shall develop and run
models for areas included in other counties in decreasing order of
importance, as determined by the institute from an analysis of
population projections and projected municipal water needs.
(e) For each area for which the institute completes the
development and running of a model, the institute shall conduct a
workshop in the area to provide information to groundwater
conservation districts located in the area, if applicable, on how
to use the model and the model run results to coordinate groundwater
management activities by those groundwater conservation districts.
(f) The institute shall create and maintain an online
geospatial information application to educate the public about the
effect of drought on groundwater quantity and quality.
(g) The institute shall assess trends in groundwater
quality during a known drought period selected by the institute to
determine how production affects groundwater quality and how those
effects vary geospatially.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.