PROGRAMS AND SERVICES


Well Registration and Permitting

Click on the above link to find information about the District's well registration and well permitting process, including a flowchart that explains who needs to register and when a permit is required.

Education Program

The District's Education Program was established with the goal of teaching District wide school children the importance of water conservation and preservation.  The program is a one hour long PowerPoint presentation  illustrating basic aquifer facts and groundwater information, as well as a demonstration of a groundwater flow model.

Schools and other civic groups interested in having a presentation from the District should contact the District office (see Contact Us).

On May 4,2005 the fifth graders in the La Grange ISD science classes got to experience an award-winning program, called “WaterWise”, which is a hands-on water conservation program that teaches the importance of water, energy, and related environmental issues.  This program also provided action kits for the students to take home and conduct their own investigations and experiments.   

The program was sponsored and funded by the Fayette County Groundwater Conservation District as a pilot program, and was presented by Susan Brown, whose services were provided at no charge by the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District.  Ms. Brown, also known as the “Water Woman”, made the science-based program both fun and informative.   

The Fayette County Groundwater Conservation District has evaluated the success of this educational program and has developed a comparable but less expensive program which it has distributed to all Fayette County Fifth Grade science teachers for the 2006 school year.   Drought is not the only time when water should be used efficiently. Texas continues to grow rapidly. The population of Texas is expected to almost double to about 40 million people by 2050.   As these students learned, despite all the advances in technology, we still can not make new water.  There is the same amount of water on the Earth today as there was thousands of years ago.  Since the water supply is limited, all Texans should learn to protect and conserve our most valuable natural resource. 

La Grange ISD 5th Grade Science classes enjoy learning about water conservation.  Pictured are Mrs. Hawkins' and Mrs. Williams' students.  (Mrs. Hawkins is substituting for Mrs. Zapalac.)

Bookcover Program

Additionally, the District distributes water conservation educational bookcovers every year to area schools. In 2005, the District provided two different bookcover designs, one geared toward the younger students and one geared toward the upper grades.


Water Testing

The Fayette County Groundwater Conservation District intends to establish its own laboratory to conduct basic water quality sampling and testing at no charge to District members.   The District also plans to conduct regular sampling of monitoring wells throughout the district to detect changes in water quality and aquifer contamination.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a guide for homeowners entitled Drinking Water From Household Wells (1.6 mb). This booklet helps answer the most frequently asked questions. It also describes problems to look for and offers maintenance suggestions.


Well Plugging

Abandoned wells can pose a health threat to you and your neighbors. If abandoned wells have not been plugged or capped, they provide a direct conduit for contaminated water to get into the aquifer. Also, if the holes are left open children and animals can fall into the wells. We urge all landowners to identify abandoned wells on their property and report them to the District. State law requires that any well open or uncovered at land surface be closed or capped.

When plugging an abandoned well, owners must meet the requirements of the Texas Water Well Driller’s Rules, and fill out a state plugging report. The well must have all pumps, piping, and obstructing materials removed, and be disinfected before it is sealed. Information and forms for this procedure are available at the District office.

If wells are not plugged, they should have a cap capable of supporting at least 400 pounds. The cap should either be permanently attached to the casing or have a permanently attached pipe extending at least 3 feet into the well casing. The weighted pipe should be no more than 2 inches smaller than the diameter of the well casing, and the cap should be of sufficient size that no opening shows if it is shifted.

The Texas Cooperative Extension offers a free booklet entitled Plugging Abandoned Water Wells (415 kb), which discusses why and how to plug an abandoned well.  

The District will contribute up to 50% of the cost of the capping or plugging of the open or uncovered, deteriorated, or abandoned well, provided the well owner can supply sufficient written evidence of payment of those expenses, not to exceed $300 contribution by the District per well, on a first come – first served basis, as long as money remains in the budget for that purpose.

Monitoring Network

The Fayette County Groundwater Conservation District plans to establish a network of voluntary well owners who will allow us to perform semi-annual water level measurements on a network of wells throughout the District to determine aquifer changes for the purposes of science, data collection, and planning.  

The Texas Water Development Board is currently monitoring 23 wells in Fayette County to measure the rise and fall of the water table.  The District is in the process of determining how many more wells need to be added to this network, and the optimal locations of those wells.

Watch for more details on this program!