By Brian K. Murphy

FLORESVILLE — With much of the ongoing regional water-planning debate focused on large-scale projects, local officials took a step back Monday to look at the effect aquifer “mining” for export could have on rural water-supply corporations.

The effect likely would be an increase in water prices if large-scale pumping is allowed to the point that it lowers the water table, according to discussions at Wilson County’s monthly development-committee meeting.

Representatives of seven water-supply corporations and two municipal water systems joined county officials for the 1 1/2-hour meeting in the American Legion Hall.

There is local concern that some long-range “options” currently under consideration by the South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group ultimately could — if fully developed — lower the water table in Wilson County by as much as a few hundred feet.

If that is allowed to happen, some local water purveyors would have to abandon wells and dig deeper, more costly ones, Clarence Littlefield, president of Southwest Engineers, Inc., of Gonzales, suggested.

He estimated a new municipal well costs $300,000.

The cost of operating the local-use wells could triple, Littlefield said, and the increase would be passed on to consumers.

But that’s not the only potential problem. Oil from nearby fields actually could leak into the aquifers.

“Where there is oil on top of water, the oil will drop down into the aquifer” and ruin it forever, said Littlefield.

“You just can’t go out and drill,” he added. “You’ve got to plan and see what the consequences are.”

Littlefield also presented his 50-year projections of Wilson County’s population. They exceed previous projections, made by the Texas Water Development Board, by more than 20,000 people.

Southwest Engineers projected a county population of 106,140 by the year 2050, compared with the state water board’s estimate of 81,961 — a figure used now by regional planners.

Further, data presented by Southwest Engineers suggested an inconsistency in water-demand data developed by the state water board.

Littlefield estimated Wilson County annually would need 18,153 acre-feet of water by 2050.

However, his figures did not include an estimate of agricultural irrigation and livestock’s future needs.

Darrell Brownlow, a self-employed geologist and member of the Region L water-planning group, said agricultural here currently uses about 14,000 acre-feet a year.

One acre-foot of water equals 325,860 gallons.

By plugging in a figure of about 12,000 acre-feet for year 2050’s farming, Brownlow suggested, Littlefield’s calculations would present a more accurate picture of the county’s water needs.

In comparison, the state water board estimated the county would need a total of 22,800 acre-feet of water, including its agricultural needs, in the year 2050.

“There’s a major disconnect with what Region L is using …,” said Brownlow.

“This is the type of information Region L could have used six months to a year ago,” Brownlow said after the meeting.